Have you ever done something just because you thought it would make a good story?

Have you ever done something just because you thought it would make a good story, and you were pretty sure you could turn said story into a winning book proposal?

And if so, is that OK?

That’s what Joyce Wadler asks in her yesterday’s piece in the New York Times, about Kyle MacDonald, aka ‘The Red Paper Clip Guy,’ a 27-year-old ’slacker’ who famously swapped—through a shrewd series of trades—a red paper clip for, most recently, a modest house in Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada.

MacDonald’s book, “One Red Paperclip,” goes on sale this week. In the meantime, what do you think? Have you ever done something just because of the story potential involved? Does the idea of undertaking an adventure go against the code of storytelling honor?