Ideas for Writing - Unexpected Meetings

If you need some more writing inspiration, here are another couple of real-life anecdotes that could spark off some writing for you. Today's topic is 'unexpected meetings'.

The first unexpected meeting was my brother-in-law's encounter with a very famous person on a short flight from Gatwick to Manchester. My brother-in-law, Nigel, lives in California, but often spends time in Toulouse in France on business. This weekend he decided to fly up to Manchester to spend the day with us before jetting back home to the States.

He must have been fated to get involved with famous people and big events today because it all started at quarter to five in the morning in Toulouse when he tried to drive from his hotel to the airport. The Tour de France was due to pass right outside his hotel and, even at that ungodly hour, staff were already out in the streets putting up barriers and getting the course ready. It took him a bit of time to negotiate the side streets and the one-way system to avoid the race route, but he eventually made it to the airport.

One plane journey later, he was getting ready to board his shuttle flight at Gatwick when he spotted a passenger who looked very familiar. 'Is that who I think it is?' he asked his friend.
'Yes, I'm pretty sure it is,' his friend replied.

As more and more people approached the famous-looking lady with autograph books, cameras, and microphones, the pair of them began to realise that she was indeed the real deal. And they already knew she wasn't just famous - she was a superstar!

And so it came about that my brother-in-law found himself sitting on a plane only one seat away from the legendary singer, Diana Ross. It certainly wasn't a meeting he'd expected to have that day, but it will give him something to tell the folks when he gets back home!

I had several unexpected meetings on my birthday this year when my husband and I went to Sheffield for the weekend to watch the stage show of Strictly Come Dancing, the British television show which became Dancing with the Stars in the U.S.A.

We were in a little gift shop just round the corner from our hotel and were waiting for a very slow credit card machine to make its connection so we got chatting to the shop assistant about how we'd come to Sheffield for the show. 'The stars are all staying in that hotel there,' she said, pointing to the one where we had our room. 'And you're something to do with the show, aren't you?' she said to the tall lady who was standing beside me in the queue.

'Yes,' she replied.

'You're Zoe Ball, aren't you?' said the assistant.

So that's how I came to be chatting to Zoe Ball, the television presenter and one of the celebrity dancers from the show. She was extremely nice. She talked to us for a little while, shook my hand, and said she hoped we would enjoy the show.

It was only the first of many close encounters we had with the stars and the professional ballroom dancers that weekend. There was our journey in the lift up to our room after the show in the company of Olympic heptathlon gold medallist, Denise Lewis, who was clutching a drink in a plastic glass in one hand and a polystyrene fast food carton in the other. I was dying to ask her if it contained a healthy salad or a fat-filled burger, but I restrained myself!

The next day, I literally bumped into Len, the judge, on my way out of the health club the following morning.

'I'm terribly sorry, madam,' he said, very politely.

'That's quite all right, Len,' I replied, as you do.

We had another journey in the lift with two of the top dancers, this time. Then after breakfast we saw nearly everyone from the show checking out and preparing to leave for the next step of their tour - more famous people than I can mention!

In fact, we encountered so many celebrities that weekend, we were getting really quite used to it. It seemed very strange that evening when we got back to Huddersfield and found that there wasn't a single famous person hanging around our street!

How about using unexpected meetings as the focus for a story or an article? You could write about a meeting with someone famous, dead or alive. Bumping into someone who turned out to be extremely significant, like the narrator's future partner. An ill-fated meeting that leads to someone's ruin. An encounter with an old flame who jilted you or with someone you hated with a passion.

Think not only about the meeting itself, but the emotions it evoked in all the people concerned. Show us vividly how they reacted, how they felt, what their hopes and fears were. Make us feel as if we were there too.

Good luck - and may you meet with success in your writing!