Where to Find Inspiration for Unique Story Ideas
Creating Original Plots for Screen and Play Writing
Aug 12, 2008
The struggle for many writers is the search for the “great idea”. They look within themselves, concentrate hard for hours upon hours and try to miraculously produce a completely original plot from thin air. Whilst this may yield the occasional moment of genius the more productive writer will find story ideas through diligent research and keeping their ears open.
Stories from Newspapers and Magazines
“Fact is Stranger than Fiction” is an overused phrase but in essence it rings true. Stories that come from real life and are about real people will make strong and unique scripts. The best place to source ideas like these is in Newspaper and Magazine articles.
The writer should not be looking for the big idea or mega concept but the compelling story within the story. A story about a bank robbery is initially exciting but the truly interesting story is not what happened but why it happened. What motivated the robbers? Money, Thrills, Desperation?
The writer should also look for stories that an audience would like to explore more. When “canoeist” John Darwin re-emerged 5 years after he had faked his own death and the details of his crime were revealed, it was not him who people were fascinated with but his wife. People couldn't’t comprehend how she could have told her children that their father was dead. The public wanted to know how this could have played out and why she would have behaved in this way.
Stories such as this that ask questions in an readers/audiences have a “must be told” quality and give an audience a reason for watching. The story won’t just answer the question “how?” but the more important question “why?”.
Stories from Friends and Family
Family History is a tremendous source for writers. Stories that are passed down from family member to family member can be rich in detail and very often completely original. Television Writer Stephen Poliakoff states in the preface to his script Perfect Strangers that if you keep up any family talking late into the night at least three great stories will emerge. Every family has a past and these are often riddled with secrets and interesting characters. Why did auntie so-and-so run off with that soldier, who is the uncle that nobody mentions and what did you granddad do in the war? Etc.
Similarly the writer should pay attention to any stories that their friends might tell them. For once again these stories will often be completely original and will be suitable material for a great screenplay.
Television Documentaries
T.V documentaries are superb at telling the “story within the story” and they can very often deal with fringe subjects. Subjects that don’t get as much attention as others. These stories can provide inspiration and help kick start creative thought. Documentary can also dissect an issue into smaller sub stories, a technique that all writers should become familiar with. For example the documentary Darwin’s Nightmare tells the story of Lake Victoria in Tanzania and how the introduction of Nile Perch into the Lake has impacted on the area. It tells lots of different stories all of which are compelling and dramatic and is a superb example of how something factual can provide a rich source of story material.
For more information on plot and story writing please read The Seven Basic Plots and What is an Inciting Incident in a Screenplay.
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