I’ve been overworking my brain trying to come up with a short story for an anthology that’s coming up. Nothing I’ve conjured up has given me that happy, gooey, “That’s It!” feeling, so I’m asking you to share your creativity with me.
Why is this cowboy sitting on the train tracks with a suitcase? And why is he smiling? Has his girlfriend left him, and he’s going to jump on her train to apologize? Did he meet a lady in another town, and he’s hopping a freight train to go meet her?
What’s your story for this photo?
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Happy New Year, and thanks for your help!
Randi
“Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied”
RandiAlexander.com
-Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon, and in paperback at Createspace and Amazon.
-Turn Up the Heat, Chase and Seduction, and Her Cowboy Stud are available at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon
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-Cowboy Lust is available in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon
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I am so not creative but I think he met a girl in a bar one night..Had and amazing night and woke up and she was gone. He found an envelope with her address and is going for her.
I like that, Lori! One hot night, he can’t forget her. Very romantic!
WOW, the possiblites are endless. He missed his ride to the rodeo and he’s hitchin one on the train.
Maybe the tracks are close to a road and his car/truck broke down.
Maybe he’s just jumped off the train and is looking to hitch a ride.
Good Luck with your project Randi!
Great ideas, Tiss! I can see a cowboy sleeping through (and not alone in bed!) his ride to the next rodeo, and having to hitch. Thanks for helping me get my brain back on track! (hahaha)
Actually he is a mail-order husband, who is leaving for a ranch in Texas. Our heroine is a widow with 3 children- 10, 4, 2.It is a cattle ranch with 100 head herd. She does have 2 hands working for her. They have been hitting on her since her husband fell off his horse, when spooked by a rattle snake. So she submitted a request for a mail order husband, she is unaware that he is 5 years younger than her and is a doctor( or preacher), with very little ranch skills. On arrival they meet for dinner and talk, but she is apprehensive going through the marriage because of his age and occupation. You may take it from here!
Holy cow, that’s very creative! Woo-hoo, there’s gonna be a weddin’!
Maybe the cowboy is off to Madison Square Gardens for the big rodeo, if they still hold that one. Looks like a beautiful place he is leaving, maybe it is somewhere very rural but anyway there will be a big culture clash. He has to figure whether the painted town glamour girls are for him, or whether he’s better to come back to the jeans-clad, butt-whipping cowgirl he’s known forever. Can we share copyright on this?
Claire, yes, you’ll be on the copyright! LOL I can see him being dirt-poor, and having to travel by jumping trains. Great plot idea!
He is on his way home from the service and is. Looking forward to riding horses and kiss’n his girl.
Aw, yes, and he’s tired of flying in airplanes and wants the quiet click-clack of the train to easy his troubles. Wonderful idea, Porchia!
I think that he is smiling and is happy because his pa gave him his blessing to send him off to get an education instead of staying home to work on the ranch. He is waiting to catch the next train. LOL Or maybe he is waiting to catch the train so he can go get his bride who lives in a big city and he is happy knowing he will soon have her with him especially now that he has a job as a deputy in order to support her. LOL .
Hugs – I think I have read too many wagon wheel stories – LOL
Ronda
Yep, he should be smiling for either scenario. Very creative, Ronda! Wagon wheel stories are so much fun, though. Can’t get enough!
Ok here’s my impression…He just got off the train, finally home after two tours overseas. He’s looking forward to getting home & seeing family and the girl he left 8 years ago. Is she still in town, married, moved on? He cut all ties with her, because he had no way of knowing if he’d make it back. He couldn’t let her wait, he had to make sure she had a chance at happiness. Now he’s worried he’s missed his opportunity to love & live with his soul mate.
~Not that original, but so much can happen…maybe his girl waits, but he falls in love with the new girl in town
Oooh, Gail, I love the twist at the end! That’s good. Thanks for the idea!
Well, to go in a slightly different direction: “They told me this was Brokeback Mt as they booted me off the train and I’ll be darned if that isn’t a goodlooking cowboy riding my direction and he’s smiling!”
I like the direction, Nancy. No wonder he’s smiling! Yee-haw!
I’m going with, he’s a cowboy by heart, who is on his way home from the city (where he worked in as a mogul). Being the smart sort he has tons of cash, but he doesn’t want his friends at home, who he hasn’t seen in years to act differently towards him, hence he is hopping the train. He plans on investing in his own land/ranch, but will be staying with his dad until then. The heroine is an old high school crush, she was a wallflower then, and they just never had a chance to connect. She has of course grown up and may just be running her own shop in town (lingerie? Book store?). They now connect, date, fall in love, and he needs to find a way to tell her the truth before she finds out from someone else….
That’s a great plot, Michelle. It reminds me of the style of Linda Lael Miller’s books (which I love!) Thanks for sharing your idea.
LOL…My first thought was he was going to meet up with his friends to go find a dead body.
Yes, bringing a little mystery into the plot. First impressions are always best, Julie. Thanks!
I think of a guy that has gone and worked for months in North Dakota to save up enough money to buy his girl a ring. He is finally home and can’t wait to propose!
That’s a fun one, Ginger. He’s working the oil fields in ND, and comes home to be a cowboy again. Love it!