Story idea about a drifter

[writer2005]

I have this story idea about a drifter, he is an ex-cop who was shot in the line of duty. And now uses a wheelchair to get around anyway he is going west to Texas.
so he can rebuild his life and forgot about what happened to him.

Anyway I need some help regarding the items he would carry in his backpack. If anyone wants to help me with this problem I would appreciate the help.

 

[Strangebuddy]

Water (canteen strapped to the side or some bottled water), can opener or pocket knife with attachment, some tools to do repair on the wheelchair, ration packs or at least some dry or canned foods, a towel, change of clothes, sleeping bag, cash, first aid kit.

Quick question: if he's a cop that got shot, there's usually a special fund he would have access to, why didn't he use part of that to get a bus ticket?

 

[writer2005]

First thank you for the gear suggestions I appreciate the help.

When the story starts he is on a bus and the bus stops in a certain town in Texas and he decides.

"I think I have drifted far enough and I think I will settle in this town."

And he settles in the town and slowly begins the life rebuilding process.

 

[Strangebuddy]

Got ya. For some reason I thought you meant he was doing a man in motion and wheel chairing across the US

 

[MyRubiLips]

Anyway I need some help regarding the items he would carry in his backpack. If anyone wants to help me with this problem I would appreciate the help.

Did you used to have a different screen name (or three)? Something-wheelchair-something...
Your question here reminds me of a person who'd offer up questions like "what kind of gun shoild my PI carry?" Or "what color dress should she have?" ..."what job should my wheelchair bound character have?" Et cetera.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Honestly you're writing a story not a video game. What the man has in his backpack is utterly irrelevant to anything in the story and knowing what's in his backpack is really going to tie you down more than it helps. Basically go the Felix the Cat route. If he needs it, it's in that backpack. Why? Because he was a Boyscout for 12 years, in the military for eight, an a cop for eight and during that time he learned to be prepared. He's got 100 feet of rope. . .because one time in the Boy Scouts he slipped off a mountain trail and had to repel down with a broken arm. He's got steel wool and 9v batteries because matches get wet, lighters break but those two things are almost always going to get you a spark for some fire.

Besides if the story starts with him settling in anything that can be considered a "town" in modern America the only thing that matters in his backpack is his wallet otherwise he's going to be able to obtain it without too much difficulty or else it's not really THAT important.

 

[keithb1002]

It really depends on what kind of story your doing. What story codes you will use. You might want to include some black tape, some color form to knock the girl out and some magazines to keep him company on those cold nights.

 

[Strangebuddy]

While I don't think we need to automatically assume noncon that is a good point. What type of story are you wanting to write? Non-erotic, romantic, may December?

 

[writer2005]

Its just going to be regular story he arrives in town gets something to eat checks into a hotel and at first I was thinking that he was only going to stay for a short time.

Then he was going to move on and keep drifting but then a job opportunity will come up and he decides to stay in town.

their might be some trouble for him later perhaps some one from his past comes back to haunt him but then again maybe not.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Then the backpack is utter irrelevant. Go with Felix's bag of "it has what I need because fuck you that's why"

If you wanted to limit something for whatever crazy reason it might be his skill set. that is something that comes up frequently in these stories. Some diner owner lets him wash dishes and one night the chef calls in dead and the drifter turns out to be the kid of Wolfgang Puck and can make a five star meal with nothing but flour and parsley. Or the janitor who would have been in the NBA if he hadn't turned his ankle senior year, or the bag boy who was in the military for eight years and when the shop is held up by some local punks single handedly takes them all down and saves the day.

 

[Everyday_Man]

If you have him moving through West Texas, he could be a High Plains Drifter ... sorry.

Instead of settling down, this guy could go form town to town like Caine from Kung Fu ... from your last post you don't sound exactly sure what he's about ...

Maybe from town to town, he helps guys/girls/couples in distress that involves plenty of action and a whole lot of sex and in the end, the ones he helps find love and he moves on ...

this sounds like a series of stories instead of one ...

is this a series or a standalone?

 

[Sean Renaud]

You know EverydayMan. I like your idea of a series. But. . .I just can't quite get past the part where we're talking about auto-erotic asphyxiation and how he's going to help people across this country. . ..

Sorry , carry on good sir.

 

[Everyday_Man]

So long as he stays out of Bangkok, I think he's safe from the autoerotic asphyxiation pitfalls.

 

[Sean Renaud]

That still leaves Beatrix Kiddo to be aware of. She knows the five finger donkey punch.

And. . .am I crazy or does one guy with four highly trained beautiful women sound like a porn looking for a place to happen?

 

[Hypoxia]

And. . .am I crazy or does one guy with four highly trained beautiful women sound like a porn looking for a place to happen?

Well, this *is* LIT, so of course... He's Charlie in a wheelchair, three of the women are his perambulating Angels, the forth is his Girl Friday -- maybe the women rotate their roles -- I think I recall an Adam Warren comic series about that.

But without the accompanying sexpots he's crippled Caine on Route 66 (or everywhere but, just like the series) -- he drifts into town, stirs up action, helps some folks, gets fucked a lot, and is always taken to the bus station by the local (female) constable, with unrequited / ambiguous farewells.

Since I'm on the edge of a disaster zone now I'll make him a disaster hound / magnet. He's at that polygamous Mormon town that flooded away, or busy with gerbil-pile sex at Harbin Hot Springs just before Middletown CA blazed, or (going retro) in NOLA just before Katrina, or (more retro) in the NYC Great Blackout, or (somewhat newer) involved with Florida's hanging chads -- what a fucking disaster THAT turned into!

POV trick: It's a story cycle, each stand-alone episode told by a local in a different town where he appears. Maybe (or not) he gets sexually involved with each narrator. Maybe they just report the effects of his presence. But he needs some gimmick -- WHY is he so transformative? Leave that as a mystery.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I officially take back 90% of the unkind things I've thought about you. You are built of sheer awesome and my brain apparently doesn't process on the same level that you work which is why so much of it seems batty. But I'm clearly the one in the wrong.

 

[writer2005]

Everyday Man this will be a stand alone story.

 

[Hypoxia]

I officially take back 90% of the unkind things I've thought about you. You are built of sheer awesome and my brain apparently doesn't process on the same level that you work which is why so much of it seems batty. But I'm clearly the one in the wrong.

Apology accepted. Be sure to +5 and fave all my stories, hey? Except maybe Story of My Fucking Life which ain't so great. I just mashed together a slew of story titles and first lines that weren't going anywhere and it shows. I'll do better.