We did the story of F last week. Today, it’s the story of A.

A is about half my age, and she started a conversation with me earlier this evening, when we were both making our ways home. She’s a lapdancer by trade, and knowing a few other women who’ve worked in similar fields I was able to talk to her without going down tired and tested-to-destruction routes.

I still haven’t much of a clue why A started talking to me, although over a coffee it turned out she’s having a lot of hassle at the moment, and wanted advice concerning her cousin, who is dating a guy she’s seen exchanging saliva with someone else. Only, A and this guy already have a history of animosity, so is cousin going to believe her if she decides to spill the beans? My advice, for what it’s worth, was not to get involved, on the basis that cousin has already found her man cheating on her once, and there’s no way A could easily communicate what’s going on without hassles of some sort or another.

Other stuff came up too, where I hope I was more valuable. Particularly where helping A find some direction is concerned. Right now, she knows things could be better, what with having a boyfriend in jail who is frankly a liability. And she’s still grieving over the death of three friends in a car crash a couple of years ago. More than anything, that seems to have left her at a loss about how to proceed. And why not? Learning that people can leave life so young, is it any surprise that this 20 year old has no particular sense of her own future?

Anyway, on the basis that it’s best to leave people better than when you found them, we chatted about this and that and, with the help of my trusty index cards (something I might go into in a future piece) came up with something that made some kind of sense to A. It started kind of silly, with how she wanted her dog to lose weight, but we ended up in some genuinely useful places as a result, and - I believe - a sense that A can choose where she goes in life, rather than feeling she’s a pinball on a table that others control. Maybe not: she’s got my email address now and may stop by here and give another take on the whole encounter. Like, why is the big man telling stories about her?

So, what has this got to do with anything, and screenwriting in particular? Well, if you’re tired of people asking you where you get your ideas from, you can point out that we’re surrounded by them 24/7 in the form of people, places, and incidents. And that, with eyes and ears open and preconceptions to one side, as far as that’s possible, you might just come across situations that teach you more about the actual world than a chapter of Robert McKee ever could.

Sure, McKee’s useful for what to do with turning those encounters into characters and scenes…but remember that the last gig I’m aware of McKee getting on an actual film was as an advisor on Disney’s series of Princess movies, which are as searing and authentic in their own ways as Pretty Woman was revealing about the realities of prostitution. Oh, below the belt, I admit - but ask yourself this: would you rather hang out with lapdancers or men who imagine the adventures of princesses who inhabit realms that exist only to flog merchandise on behalf of The Mouse?