Monday, April 7, 2014

F IS FOR FEDORA!


F is for Fedora (Skim to the underlined genre or style that best suits you.)

Ideas can’t be copyrighted, so the ideas I am posting are free for any of you to use.

Ah, the Romance of the fedora! I think a guy wearing a fedora would be super sexy, but you can always make the heroine the one wearing the fedora. The couple might meet by accident, coincidence, or destiny at some bazaar, and instead of a glass slipper getting left behind, it is the fedora. To what lengths will your hero go to find that hot chick with the flirty eyes he’s spotted wearing a fedora?

Mystery buffs, too, could have a grand old time with a fedora. So, Sherina takes a brisk walk on the back forty of her grandparent’s land. Naturally she comes within inches of a dead body. She forgot her cell phone, and it’s too far to run back to the farm, so she aims for a shortcut to the road. Not but twenty yards from that dead body, she finds a fedora. Does it belong to the murder victim? Or to the killer? One of her grandparents? She’s no private investigator, but you can bet she’ll find out what’s going on. This killing happened on her grandparents’ land. Do they know this victim? Maybe they’re next on the target list.

Using a fedora in a Literary masterpiece is sort of a lustful thought. Callie has kept a certain fedora for years, the funky hat having belonged to her late grandfather. But she won’t wear it. She won’t even touch it. Why not? What does it symbolize to her? What baggage is attached to the fedora? And why does she refuse to get rid of something carrying so much baggage?

Children love characters wearing or possessing interesting clothing or attributes. For a children’s story, a fedora can be illustrated to look silly. Is that man wearing the funky hat silly? Is he building himself a house of pea-rock? Is he an artist? A recluse? What if this strange fedora-wearing guy asks the main character to help, end even offers payment? Maybe the main character could use the money to help out Mom and Dad. Or to help a sick sister. So what can go wrong during this house-building venture, and what can be done about it? Maybe the fedora owner isn’t a person at all. Maybe it’s a giraffe. Since when does a giraffe wear a fedora?

Choose an idea and get started writing! Or, share your own idea in one of these genres or in one I didn’t mention, such as sci-fi or fantasy. Thanks!

Happy writing!

 

54 comments:

  1. OOOH the lost fedora rather than the glass slipper! Has a kind of earthy romance!

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  2. It's a great idea of have the female character wear the fedora - with just that detail it immediately brought up so many mental images of what that woman would be like. Really goes to show that the little details make all the difference when it comes to defining characters.

    It's actually given me the idea to go back to my characters and pull up just one main detail that defines them the best - so thank you for that! :)

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  3. I miss hats! I used to wear them more when I was younger - and way hipper than I am now. :) I love the idea of using them some way in a story.

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
    Minion, Capt. Alex's Ninja Minion Army
    The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge

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    1. I love hats, too, but I don't wear them. I should. I'd love a fedora. :-)

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  4. My favorite hat ever, thanks to Indy. :)

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  5. I can't wear hats. I just don't look good in them. BUT, I love a character who can pull it off. Thanks for the writing tip!

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    1. I don't look so hot in them either, so I don't wear them. Isn't it great that our characters can do anything that we wouldn't even dare try?

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  6. Good one today, Debi! The literary idea really intrigues me. Excellent questions posed around the affected fedora!
    I’ve just let your comments through over at The Essence of a Thing, btw – got a few more hours of work before I can begin my magic trick! My schedule’s been all over the place >:-(
    Miss A

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    1. I'm glad you found some interest in my post, and thanks for stopping by.

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  7. Hah! I love that hat. You know, it's surprising how different societies, time periods and classes put value on hats or the lack thereof.

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    1. I agree, but I wish hats were more in style in my area, and I also wish I didn't look like crap in them. :-)

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  8. I see a fedora, I think Indiana Jones. Can't help it.

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    1. Made me smile. Thanks. I forgot about him. My husband would have a fit! :-)

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  9. I like that fedoras came back a few years ago. I love a guy in a good hat. I like to wear hats too though I don't have my own fedora :)

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    1. Put it on your shopping list. :-) Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. Fedoras conjure up that whole movie era in the 1940s of private eyes and damsels in distress. Very Humphrey Bogart. Love it! :)

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  11. I actually used a fedora in one of my stories. A character made to look mysterious, and for some reason I thought the fedora would help with that.

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    1. I saw a painter wearing a fedora, and then my grandson has one for play. He was wearing it and pretending to be somebody famous the day wrote this post. Like I said, I usually grab an idea right from my house. :-) It's a shortcut.

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  12. Ooooo Fedora I like!! It could be so intriguing to use it in a literary piece! You are doing such a fab job! Thanks :)

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  13. Fun! I have an Indy Jones fedora . . . ~MPL

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  14. Have you seen the cover of The Traveler in Black and White? No? Then you've missed seeing a guinea pig in a fedora :)

    Lovely post - great fun.

    Jemima
    #TeamDamyanti
    Blogging form Alpha to Zulu in April

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  15. I love fedoras on long-haired women. Unfortunately I'd look silly despite my mane. :D

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    1. NO, I see your picture. You'd look just fine. Better you than me. :-)

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  16. I love fedoras! I'll admit that I own a couple. Plus, the way Matt Bomer looks in one...*fans herself*

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  17. I love fedoras! I'm a science fiction geek, so I'm picturing a tall, handsome alien wearing a fedora and a trench coat to avoid being noticed by the government agents that are out to get him. What he needs is a sympathetic soul to grant him refuge. Hmm, I'm stumbling into romance now, but that's okay. That's how my mind works.

    Thanks for following my blog! I'm now following you back and looking forward to more fun posts!

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    1. A sci-fi romance can work. Aliens probably fall in love. :-) I did.

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  18. so so stylish - a reminder of times past, grace and subtlety ...
    Thank you!
    Garden of Eden Blog

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, and grace, YES! That's the perfect word for them.

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  19. now I feel like maybe I need a fedora! ;)

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  20. I love fedoras, and no one wears them better than Jon Hamm on Mad Men! Of course some of the classic movie stars like Clark Cable, or TV character Clark Kent were also able to pull them off in grand style. It's great to meet you Debi, and I look forward to following your wonderful blog!

    Julie

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    1. Thanks, and I agree on Jon Hamm. I love Mad Men.

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  21. I think I've only written one character who ever wore a hat. Now you've got me thinking why that is the case.

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    1. It's time to get your characters dressed up with hats and boas.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  22. I absolutely loved the teleportation through ordinary doors via special agent fedoras in "The Adjustment Bureau"! What I could accomplish with a teleporting fedora:)
    WriterlySam
    Echoes of Olympus
    A to Z #TeamDamyanti


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  23. Great 'F', who doesn't look cool in Fedora!:)
    On the A to Z Challenge Maggie@expatbrazil.

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  24. Someone needs to declare "wear a fedora day." So few wear and they look so cool. I agree you could do a lot with characters.....wearing any hat for that matter
    Shells–Tales–Sails

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    1. That would be a great day. So, how do we go about establishing one?

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  25. Replies
    1. Thank you so much for stopping by, Natasha. Great name, by the way.

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  26. love fedoras! how about pharrell williams' giant fedora!
    i like the idea of making a special piece of clothing connect with a character - great thinking!
    happy g day!

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    1. Thank you so much. I'll be popping over to your blog in a minute.

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