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 How do you come up with short script ideas? (currently 2625 views) |
| LuisAnthony |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 12:02pm |
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Posts106 Posts Per Day 0.03 |
I´ve written many, many shorts (a lot of which aren´t on here) and I confess myself worn out of ideas.
I am much stronger at writting feature length films, i can´t exactly pinpoint why, but when I write full feature films the writing just flows naturally as I don´t limit myself to a certain number of pages.
Now that I have written a lot of short films, I´ve been struggling creatively to conjure up new ideas. How do you guys come up with new ideas? It would be very enriching for me if you shared.
Thank you. |
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| Nomad |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 1:56pm |
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January Project Group 
LocationSouthern California Posts721 Posts Per Day 0.15 |
Wikipedia.
Just go to the home page and write something about their featured article.
Today it's about the Kuiper Belt.
How about a story of the first manned mission through the Kuiper Belt where the astronaut runs the risk of igniting the frozen methane with the engines on his craft and must decide whether to use most of his fuel to try and stop, but possibly not have enough to get back to Earth; to turn his engines off and float through the Kuiper Belt but run the risk of crashing into something; or to do nothing and just hope that he doesn't die.
It's a story of the choices we make in life and what we do to justify one action over another.
Jordan |
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| AnthonyCawood |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 3:22pm |
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January Project Group 
LocationUK Posts4323 Posts Per Day 1.13 |
I tend to draw inspiration from what I read, see and listen to...
Reading,
Various websites about unexplained phenomena, future technology, Snopes etc... I also subscribe to email newsletters on the same subject.
See.
I watch a lot of movies and TV, they often prompt ideas, but seeing is also the everyday things around me, drove along a little lane the other day which was called Cripplegate, immediately sparked. my imagination.
Listen.
I download and listen to a variety of podcasts, unexplained, short stories (Lore, Lime Town etc) and screenwriting podcasts too.
These all help to spark ideas and 'what ifs' in my mind, which I then record in Evernote where I have categories for shorts, TV and features.
Using those methods my shorts ideas in Evernote number well over 300. |
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| Nomad |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 3:26pm |
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January Project Group
LocationSouthern California Posts721 Posts Per Day 0.15 |
How good is your memory, Anthony?
I have a pretty good memory and I think that helps me connect the dots between several seemingly unrelated tidbits of knowledge allowing me to craft a story.
Jordan |
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| AnthonyCawood |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 3:31pm |
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January Project Group
LocationUK Posts4323 Posts Per Day 1.13 |
Hey Jordan My memory is awful, so I try and get things into Evernote as soon as possible, I've even resorted to dictating into my Apple watch before now  But whatever muscle controls the 'what ifs' works pretty well with that connecting of the seemingly unrelated dots - thank god! Anthony |
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| LuisAnthony |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 4:35pm |
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Thank you Jordan and Anthony!
Code Just go to the home page and write something about their featured article.
Today it's about the Kuiper Belt.
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I actually had never heard of your Wikepedia method, and it makes perfect sense!! I will experiment with that, thank you.
Code Reading,
Various websites about unexplained phenomena, future technology, Snopes etc... I also subscribe to email newsletters on the same subject.
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I have tried the whole looking around thing, that´s how I came up with a lot of my shorts. However, I had never thought about listening and reading on unexplained phenomena, that is genuis! I tend to gravitate a lot towards the horror, mysety department, that idea is definitely right up my alley. Thank you guys so much for answering this burning question I had. If anyone else has a different method, please do share. |
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Reply: 5 - 22 |
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| eldave1 |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 4:39pm |
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January Project Group 
LocationSouthern California Posts6874 Posts Per Day 1.93 |
I never wrote a short script until I participated in the One Week Challenge (OWC) here. I have now written 9 shorts - 7 of which were for OWC's.
So, for me, it was the tight parameters of a challenge that forced me to brainstorm topics/stories for the Shorts. So, to get your juices going, you may want to go to the OWC thread which still has every challenge for the last decade, look at the parameters laid out and see if any stories come to mind. |
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| Grandma Bear |
| Posted: May 12th, 2017, 8:27pm |
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Administrator
LocationThe Swamp... Posts7961 Posts Per Day 1.35 |
I don't really write shorts anymore, but have probably written 80+. One of my last is titled Initiation (currently in post). That idea came to me while watching American Graffiti. There's a scene where this "cool" guy is forced to drive someone's little sister around and it makes him embarrassed and he just wants to get rid of her. At the same time, there was a lot of incidents in the news where black males were being treated unfairly by cops. To the point where they were afraid of cops. So, I thought like Anthony said, what if, there was a really nice black guy with romance on his mind who gets tormented by a thirteen year old white girl, then stopped by a white cop? It was sort of an intense script and I was approached by several filmmakers about the script. Why? Because it had a lot of conflict = drama. Anyway, that's where that idea came from. A scene from an old movie combined with current events.  |
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Reply: 7 - 22 |
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| eldave1 |
| Posted: May 13th, 2017, 10:58am |
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January Project Group
LocationSouthern California Posts6874 Posts Per Day 1.93 |
I don't really write shorts anymore, but have probably written 80+. One of my last is titled Initiation (currently in post). That idea came to me while watching American Graffiti. There's a scene where this "cool" guy is forced to drive someone's little sister around and it makes him embarrassed and he just wants to get rid of her. At the same time, there was a lot of incidents in the news where black males were being treated unfairly by cops. To the point where they were afraid of cops. So, I thought like Anthony said, what if, there was a really nice black guy with romance on his mind who gets tormented by a thirteen year old white girl, then stopped by a white cop? It was sort of an intense script and I was approached by several filmmakers about the script. Why? Because it had a lot of conflict = drama. Anyway, that's where that idea came from. A scene from an old movie combined with current events. |
Imaginative. This one sounds very interesting. |
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Reply: 8 - 22 |
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| LuisAnthony |
| Posted: May 13th, 2017, 4:04pm |
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New
Posts106 Posts Per Day 0.03 |
Code So, for me, it was the tight parameters of a challenge that forced me to brainstorm topics/stories for the Shorts. So, to get your juices going, you may want to go to the OWC thread which still has every challenge for the last decade, look at the parameters laid out and see if any stories come to mind. |
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Thanks for the advice, I will definitely give this a try. Sounds like an stressful, yet enriching method, which is what I need. So again, thank you. Just out of curiousity, do you feel like you can hammer out the best quality when you write shorts very quickly like the OWC, or do you need time to gather your thoughts to write something that you are proud of? I know some writers can write 1000mph and still have it not deteriorate their creativity, and if you´re like me, you really need to take your time. I feel like the OWC can also be very good to exercise that muscle.
Code I don't really write shorts anymore, but have probably written 80+. One of my last is titled Initiation (currently in post). That idea came to me while watching American Graffiti. There's a scene where this "cool" guy is forced to drive someone's little sister around and it makes him embarrassed and he just wants to get rid of her. At the same time, there was a lot of incidents in the news where black males were being treated unfairly by cops. To the point where they were afraid of cops. So, I thought like Anthony said, what if, there was a really nice black guy with romance on his mind who gets tormented by a thirteen year old white girl, then stopped by a white cop? It was sort of an intense script and I was approached by several filmmakers about the script. Why? Because it had a lot of conflict = drama. |
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Thank you for using a personal example, it is very helpful. Also, the way you have described your short has highly peaked my interest, if the script is available anywhere I would love to read, or perhaps watch the final product once that´s available. Thank you. |
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| eldave1 |
| Posted: May 13th, 2017, 4:13pm |
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January Project Group
LocationSouthern California Posts6874 Posts Per Day 1.93 |
The tight constraints are better for me - forces focus |
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Reply: 10 - 22 |
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| AnthonyCawood |
| Posted: May 13th, 2017, 8:04pm |
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January Project Group
LocationUK Posts4323 Posts Per Day 1.13 |
Dave is a masochist The constraints of an OWC dont work for everyone, but you do get 20 or so writers commenting on your script and you can revise it to you hearts content afterwards, |
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Reply: 11 - 22 |
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| Pale Yellow |
| Posted: May 14th, 2017, 11:38am |
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January Project Group 
Posts2083 Posts Per Day 1.38 |
I like to watch people...in the airport, in bars. Or listen to people... on the bus...or train... or airport bathroom wherever..... LOL Sorry but stories are everywhere... in conversation ... on a walk through the forest... in the things that have happened in our lives or others we know... I love listening and watching people most of all to get ideas.
If you need a prompt... just look at one item on your desk and make up a story. I'm looking at a ceramic unicorn with a broken horn as I type this. |
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Reply: 12 - 22 |
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| LuisAnthony |
| Posted: May 14th, 2017, 12:02pm |
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New
Posts106 Posts Per Day 0.03 |
eldave1 or Anthony, do you happen to know when the next OWC will be? I would love to participate. I�ve been in the forums for years but I have never been as involved as I�m starting to be right now. I was too young, but now I want to focus on my writing as much as possible. |
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Reply: 13 - 22 |
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| LuisAnthony |
| Posted: May 14th, 2017, 12:04pm |
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New
Posts106 Posts Per Day 0.03 |
I like to watch people...in the airport, in bars. Or listen to people... on the bus...or train... or airport bathroom wherever..... LOL Sorry but stories are everywhere... in conversation ... on a walk through the forest... in the things that have happened in our lives or others we know... I love listening and watching people most of all to get ideas.
If you need a prompt... just look at one item on your desk and make up a story. I'm looking at a ceramic unicorn with a broken horn as I type this. |
Thank you for your input!! Always appreciated!  |
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| AnthonyCawood |
| Posted: May 14th, 2017, 12:05pm |
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January Project Group
LocationUK Posts4323 Posts Per Day 1.13 |
Last year there was one in August and then in October... |
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Reply: 15 - 22 |
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| Grandma Bear |
| Posted: May 14th, 2017, 1:01pm |
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Administrator
LocationThe Swamp... Posts7961 Posts Per Day 1.35 |
do you happen to know when the next OWC will be? |
Traditionally it's always been Jan, April, July and October, but it's all subject to Don's schedule, wether he has time or not. I imagine it takes up a lot of his time. |
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| Penoyer79 |
| Posted: May 15th, 2017, 11:18am |
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Been Around  Chaos isn't a pit, it's a ladder.
LocationAtwater, CA Posts628 Posts Per Day 0.12 |
i'm working on a short now that i'm hoping i'll be able to post soon.
i wrote another script called Wash Away The Blood which takes place in an apartment complex. i'm always coming back to my scripts and tweaking them. and during one of these "tweak sessions" i started to ask myself "Who else lives in these apartments?" and the ideas for more stories just started flooding in. this new short is going to be one of those stories. ill probably just turn it into a series of stories about the different poor saps that live in this apartment complex and the gnarly shit that happens to them. and since all these characters occupy the same universe it'll also give me a chance to revisit some of them through other characters stories and expand on them a bit more. |
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| Steven |
| Posted: May 17th, 2017, 9:07am |
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New 
LocationSouthern California Posts466 Posts Per Day 0.15 |
I have a fascination of what love is, and how it can be a feeling of evil, or make someone do evil things. I've written both a short story and a short script trying to get this feeling across but I haven't been successful in doing so.
Besides that, I like to have two people stuck in a situation, whatever that may be. I'll think of the physical location, and maybe something that has happened/will happen that relates to the location, then "wing it" the rest of the way. |
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| HyperMatt |
| Posted: November 2nd, 2017, 7:21am |
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New 
LocationLondon, UK Posts440 Posts Per Day 0.17 |
Newspapers is a good one. Got so many ideas from there, whether it be scientific, social, religious. A rich source. |
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| Ares |
| Posted: November 28th, 2017, 8:50pm |
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Posts26 Posts Per Day 0.01 |
Think about them as commercials, TV ads, intros for video games, etc.
Poems can also be made into short movies so thinking of poems vs novels might also help.
Personally, I like to think about it as butchering a story, keeping only the very best parts that have the heaviest emotional impact and condensing all the details that are absolutely necessary to lead the viewer into katharsis.
Then again I have written only one short. I don't really like them. |
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| DustinBowcot |
| Posted: November 29th, 2017, 3:12am |
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Guest User
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I have the opposite problem. So many ideas I don't have enough time to get them all down. Plus the execution of those ideas really helps. I've gotten 70 pages in quite a few times and then scrapped the whole thing.
The only reason I've stopped writing shorts recently is that rewriting a feature is taking all my time. I'll be back doing as I please in the new year hopefully. |
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| HyperMatt |
| Posted: November 29th, 2017, 7:35am |
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New
LocationLondon, UK Posts440 Posts Per Day 0.17 |
I think if you have a lot of interests, it is not hard. One thing you could do, is get a stack of newspapers, particulalry local newspapers, and go through every page. I find this is a good way to stimulate ideas and asks questions.
I find I have the same problem as Dustin, too many ideas, and not enough time to adapt them all. |
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