Ideas Generation #3

Ideas come from public places…

I love this technique. It really uses my ability and fondness of ear wigging and being nosey.

Sometimes, the best snippets of dialogue can be found in a public place.

I remember once, listening to a full on argument about a bus pass taking place over the phone on a bus.  It was great because I only got one side of the story from the woman sitting behind me, but some of the phrases she came out with were priceless.

I then regenerated the conversation, but with two of my own characters and changed the bus pass to a gun. Needless to say, the scene became quite dramatic!

So these are three ways in which I generate ideas.

Of course there are plenty more ways to generate ideas, some of which will fit the way you work a lot better.

Hopefully these processes will help me over the next few days to develop a plotline for my Scriptwriting Frenzy.

If all else fails, there seems to be a great plotline generator on the Scriptwriting Frenzy website.

For all those taking part….good luck!

The views and opinions in this article are that of my own and not my employer.

Ideas Generation #2

Ideas come from job titles…

Once I have my basic plotline, I like to use this method to create great character lines and reactions to situations.

Pick a few job titles at random. I think it makes it more fun if you list a few, put them in a hat and draw how ever many you want out at random.

For example, an army officer, a chef and a school caretaker.

You can have as many as you want but I always start with a few and then build if necessary.

Once I have the job roles, I write a short scene, perhaps three pages set in a lifeless room. The characters interact with one another.

For example, how differently would the caretaker speak to the chef than the army officer?

The other great thing about this is that you can choose any gender for the characters. Half way through, I sometimes change the gender and see how this changes the situation.

It always amazes me how quickly the characters come alive.

From the pieces of dialogue I have written in this exercise, I can then try to fit them in to my other scripts.

The opinions and views in this article are that of my own and not my employer.

Ideas Generation #1

Ideas come from postcards…

My favourite way of generating ideas is to get a random postcard, traditional or electronic (like the one below) and, in a 30 seconds, list everything in the image.

They can be anything from objects, weather, situations, to feelings and emotions.

For example here we can see…

Witch, cat, broom, wooden flooring, apple, cauldron, fire, smoke, devil, skeleton, hat, ribbon, red, blue, yellow, brickwork, fireplace, chimney, shawl, heels, scared, disappointed, logs, poker, forks, wood, cloth, wool, fur, black, green eyes, crooked nose, smashed pot.

Once I have the list, I either pick three things at random and fuse them together OR I write about what could be happening in the scene.

For example, here the cat is being shouted at by the witch after it knocked the potion (which is smashed on the floor) into the cauldron. The potion mixed together to create the little creatures that are floating around the room.

The creatures go on to escape the house. The witch then goes out to collect them before they cause havoc.

Similar storyline to Gremlins, but without the water being their vice. Instead, red apples cause the creatures to act mischievously.

You can then go further and turn any emotions or feelings that may be in the postcard on their head.

For example, the cat is the one that is in charge of this scene and has thrust the broom into the witch, ordering her to clean the mess in the room. She is looking down, disappointed in her actions.

The opinions and views in this article are that of my own and not my employer.

Ideas Generation

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog a little recently, so today I have organised a little blog fest!

With Scriptwriting Frenzy starting in just a few days, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite ways to generate ideas.

This process can be an exhausting experience, but it is certainly the most important thing when working in any creative environment.

They have thousands of courses about generating ideas so it must be important!

Therefore, I shall be bringing you my three favourite ways of generating ideas in three separate blogs throughout the day.

Watch out for the first one coming very soon…

The opinions and views in this article are that of my own and not my employer.