I bought a box of these newsletters at a garage sale. They date form the late 1940s to the middle 1950s. It is a service for writers who need ideas. I am thinking about scanning these and putting them up on my main site because they are very interesting.  There are some good ideas.

I remember Harlan Ellison said he subscribed to the Schenectady Writers Service and got many of his ideas from it.

Here are some story ideas that I transcribed from a 1948 issue of the newsletter:

Ideas: Trucks and Truckers. The world of truck drivers is a culture in and of itself. Using trucks and truckers as the principle theme of a story provides a ready made and interesting frame for almost any story.

Truck Drivers pass each other on highway at the same location. Each hears about the other driver at truck stops where waitresses repeat rumors. Each begins to hate the other. What happens when they see each others truck coming at them at 70 mph?
A small box is the only cargo on a cross country delivery. It is making a noise, and the Truck Driver’s curiosity is aroused. If he open’s the box, what happens, or if he delivers the box what happens?
A Truck Driver drives 20 hours a day using pills to keep him awake. It begins to affect his mind. He talks to his passenger and reveals a secret. Who is the passenger? What happens to them?
A car tailgates a long distance trucker for hundreds of miles. When the trucker stops to eat, though, the car is nowhere to be seen. As soon as the trucker starts again, the car is there. What is the secret of the car?
A delivery man is stuck in slow moving traffic. When he gets to the center span of a bridge the traffic is held up by a man in a disabled car. This happens once a month. It is always the same man in the same car on the bridge. Why is the man there? Is the car really disabled? What happens when the truck driver stops to give assistance?
An insomniac notices that a milk truck stops at every house on the street in the very early morning, but when he goes for a walk, there is no milk at the door of any house. Who is the milkman and what is he doing in the morning?
A neighbor complains about a noisy garbage truck that wakes everyone in the neighborhood up. The neighbor then is suddenly missing. Is the garbage truck picking up more than just the trash?
A traveler stops at a truck stop diner. The parking lot is empty except for his car. The diner is full of truckers talking about their loads and their routes. Where did the truckers come from. Where are their trucks?
An escaped convicted murderer hitches a ride on a cross country truck. The trucker is friendly, but the murderer suspects that he may be too friendly and decides to kill him and drive the truck himself. He tries to learn how to drive the truck from watching the trucker and asking questions. What happens when the murderer makes his move?
A Trucker specializing in transporting bodies from Florida to New York. On one trip he picks up a hitchhiker. What is the relationship of the hitchhiker to the body in the back of the truck?