on Anne R Allen:

The clip file.

Remember those?

Gone are the days of messy, torn-out newspaper and magazine articles jammed into over-flowing, disorganized files. Those ancient artifacts have been replaced now by their neat and spiffy digital counterparts. Writers are readers and what we read is (or should be) a rich mine of ideas. Here in our daily reading of magazines and newspapers is where we find the whack jobs, heroes, heroines, and leaders (influencers) good and bad.

Whether it’s an article with details about how to knit a cozy winter scarf or change the oil on a passenger jet, news items or magazine articles that grab your attention are a valuable resource.

Write crime? Here you can find the deets about heists and hold-ups.
Write mystery? Mix and match the perp from story A with the cop from story B
Romance? Engagement announcements and wedding coverage give all the yummy details. (It’s up to you to add the adorable meet-cute, the make-ups, break-ups and sigh-inducing romantic reconciliations as your plot requires.)