Thinking about the October contest last night, this opening idea came to me while I was dreaming, and was sufficiently wacky for me to recall it after waking...

• A school puts on a production based on The Scottish Play... from the witches' perspective... on halloween (of course!)
• A 16 year old lad pulls the short straw and ends up playing one of the witches.
• To pad out the production, some cod Latin phrases are put together as spells to use.
• After the production, the lad discovers that - shock! - horror! - the make-up, wig, and prosthetics won't come off.
• Closer examination reveals that he has somehow transformed from a 16 year old lad into a 61 year old green-skinned hag.

...but already having two stories on the go and further ideas for the October contest knocking around in my head, I really don't want to pursue this idea myself (knowing me, if I did, it would be October 2011 by the time you saw it!)

Hoever, it sounds a good opener for a story, so I thought I'd throw it out to the masses, in case it inspires anyone. I declare the idea as public domain, so if you do write a story, you can claim full credit, prize money (if accumulates oodles of kudos) etc.

Another reason I don't want to pursue it - I can't help picking holes in the plot and coming up with question after question after question to answer - I'm a logical beast and would get far too bogged down in trying to ensure everything made sense to craft a decent story out of it (besides which, I can easily see it expanding into novella territory - which would exceed my patience levels!)

For instance, is it an all-boys school, or was there a lack of female interest in the production? Maybe the production is being held in an old castle or some other historic location, to make it more likely that the fake spells are interpreted by something-or-other as real. Does the story end at his realisation or is it continued into a quest to reverse the spell? Does he just have the appearance of an old hag or does he find he's able to do magic? Perhaps the new form also gives him unusual tastes / cravings... What if it takes a significant amount of time to revert back - how does he cope?