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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 10, 2017 18:32:39 GMT -6
Ideas can come from anywhere, you just have to keep your mind open to them. Case in point:
Enough (2002)
What if:
... the lead character hadn't had a rich/powerful father?
... the lead was rich in her own right?
... the lead and her husband were both middle/upper middle class? Or dirt poor?
... the lead character had had more than the one child? Had an infant child? Was pregnant?
... the lead's daughter was a son?
... the lead's mother-in-law had stepped in to help out? Stood up to her son?
... the sex of the main characters were reversed? If the husband was the wife, and the wife was the husband? What if the wife was pregnant with their second child?
When you have a story idea from asking these questions, you take the idea/concept and create new characters around/within it. A new location for the story. A new background/backstory for the characters.
And once you've learned to find/create new story ideas using stories created by others, you can then find/create new story ideas from the world around you. Find true stories in the world around you, and ask, "What if ... ." What if it had happened to you? How would you have reacted? How would you have reacted as a tween? a teen? in your 20s/30s/40s/??s. Make yourself the character/s at first, and then ask yourself, "What if ... ." What if you had been born with a handicap? How would that change the story? What if you had had different parents? How would that change the story? Create new backgrounds for yourself ... new parents ... different illnesses and experiences, etc. Toss all of this into the pot and see what sinks to the bottom, and what floats to the top, and what bobs up and down from top to bottom and bottom to top, and what stays in the center and never comes up to the surface, nor sinks down to the bottom. Mix and match to your hearts content, and flick it at the wall and see what sticks.
Before you know it, ideas will come from stumping your toe ... and you'll have far too many to ever write.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 11, 2017 22:46:05 GMT -6
What if:
... the story was about a same sex couple?
... the daughter was a teenager?
... the story was about a male/female couple, but one/both was/were transgendered?
... the wife lost their baby, but was too drugged to know it, and the husband stole/bought (illegally) a baby to replace their baby?
... their baby was mentally/physically challenged or suffered from a chronic illness, and while the wife was drugged the husband paid a nurse/doctor to switch their baby with someone else's baby?
*** Your "What Ifs ... " can get further and further away from the story that inspired it. Just keep jotting them down for as long as you can spit them out. Then go over the list again and again, cutting out the ones that don't interest you. Mix and match the ones that do interest you until you come up with something that sparks your muse/creativity.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 12, 2017 19:29:10 GMT -6
Okay ... Let's throw in some other genres, shall we?
What if:
... the lead is a witch, but doesn't know it, and her powers lay dormant until ... ?
... the lead is an alien, from another world/planet/??, but doesn't know it, and her powers lay dormant until ... ?
... the lead's daughter is a changeling?
... the daughter finds and drinks a magical elixir, and it gives her powers to control the world around her ... how will she deal with her parents?
... the lead, and her daughter, are shifters, but they're unaware of it, until ... ? How does that aid them in hiding from their bad hubby/daddy?
... the husband is a mad scientist, or owner of a secretive pharmaceutical company, and he comes up with an elixir that he puts in his wife's food/drinks ... daughter's too, maybe ... and this elixir does ... ?
... the lead was able to, or found a way to, travel through time and space?
... the lead was from a far off planet that sent her ahead to scout Earth? Does she take her daughter and have her people wipe out Earth's population? Does she save those she cares about first?
... the lead finds out her husband is a: shifter, alien, etc.? How does that impede her escape? How does his abilities hinder her from staying hidden? From defeating him?
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 14, 2017 1:06:06 GMT -6
What if:
... after six boys, a woman finally has a daughter, who turns out to be transgender?
... hmm ...
What if:
... after five girls, a man finally gets a son, who turns out to be transgender?
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 17, 2017 22:01:54 GMT -6
Ladyhawke (1985)
What if one had been a horse by day, and the other a horse by night? And, on the day the sun was eclipsed by the moon, they both were in their animal forms, instead of their human forms? What if they "bred", and Isabeau turned up pregnant? Would the baby be born a horse/human? Would the baby change back and forth like his/her parents? How long would it be before they were able to break the spell? What if the Bishop of Aquila died before another eclipse could occur? What if there was a freak occurrence where the moon was eclipsed by the sun? Or, the sun and moon switched places when they crossed paths every million years or more? (This, of course, would make this story take place on another planet, or on a parallel earth with a different solar system, etc.)
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 18, 2017 15:11:30 GMT -6
Unfaithful (2002)
Note: I haven't seen this movie all of the way through. I just happened to stop on it while eating, and only saw a brief snippet of it. And this, "What if..." popped into my head.
What if:
... the wife wasn't having an affair? What if the guy she was seeing was her son that she had given up for adoption years before her marriage? She planned on telling her husband, but hadn't worked up her nerve just yet.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 18, 2017 22:08:32 GMT -6
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 19, 2017 14:20:00 GMT -6
Sister Wives (2010)
What If:
... the wives were identical quadruplets? The kids would all be full siblings genetically.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 19, 2017 21:14:05 GMT -6
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 19, 2017 23:01:46 GMT -6
Ideas and inspirations can be found on YouTube:
Toss it all in a mixer and see what you can come up with.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 21, 2017 20:54:35 GMT -6
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 22, 2017 16:11:45 GMT -6
Suicide Squad (2016)
I haven't seen the whole movie, I just flipped over to it while downloading updates, and didn't pay the last 30 minutes or so much attention. The gist of what I took notice of brought another memory to the forefront of my mind. An article on how soldiers were fooled into visiting approved businesses by putting those businesses on the restricted list. So ...
What If:
... the bad guys were tricked into doing good by putting that good deed on the restricted list?
... the bad guys were tricked into turning themselves in by restricting them from a 'well protected' location, or demanding they show up at a particular location? (Figuring they'd show up at the second best location to watch the action.)
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Post by Mini Mia on May 1, 2017 18:55:44 GMT -6
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
I believe I've seen this movie all of the way through at least once. That was a long time ago. Today, I got to see most of it, and these popped into my head.
What If:
... the main male character's mother was murdered, and it was made to appear as a suicide.
... the photo the main female character showed to the main male character was of his father? Or his father's _identical_ twin brother? (What if they were half-siblings?)
... the main characters were told that they were half-siblings, but that was a lie?
... the friend found hanging in the shower was murdered?
... this was an occupied military base? And the women were romancing the enemy for military secrets?
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Post by Mini Mia on May 3, 2017 1:45:24 GMT -6
The Cider House Rules 1999
I've not seen this movie all the way through, and I only saw about 20 minutes of it today. But I read the plot on WikiPedia. Here's what popped into my head while watching the 20/more or less minutes.
What If:
... one or more of the caretakers at the orphanage was a parent of one or more of the children?
... the orphanage was full of children from the local brothel? And it was used as a way for some fathers to "adopt" their child/ren?
... the "orphanage" was really a brothel for pedophiles? (Pretty Baby 1978)
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Post by Mini Mia on May 3, 2017 18:29:39 GMT -6
Romancing the Stone 1984 & Nim's Island 2008
Has anyone noticed the similarities of the two authors in each movie? And also the similarities of the main male character in the books they write to the male lead they encounter when they set out on a mission?
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Post by Mini Mia on May 13, 2017 17:52:01 GMT -6
Oooh! Combine these movies:
Enough & Sleeping with the Enemy
Romancing the Stone & Nim's Island
Mystic Pizza & An Officer and a Gentleman
Quiggley Down Under & Austraila
... ... ... ... ...
Speaking of Quiggley Down Under ... did anyone notice it's about two Americans who met in Austraila and fell in love? Two 'Americans' who found love with each other in 'Austraila.' What can you do with that?
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 15, 2017 2:03:22 GMT -6
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 15, 2017 21:17:53 GMT -6
Combine:
Mystic Pizza & Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman & Mystic Pizza & An Officer and a Gentleman
Overboard & ?? ?? ?? (Dang, I can't remember ... gonna leave it here so when it pops in my head.)
[Edit]
Overboard & The Sound of Music (That wasn't the one I originally thought of, but it works.)
[/Edit]
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 22, 2017 12:48:06 GMT -6
Pick an actor and list all the movies s/he has been in. Combine two or three movies that are similar, in the same genre, and come up with a new story idea. Combine movies that are far removed from each other, have nothing in common/different genres, and come up with a new story.
Do the same with all his/her characters. Or take one character and drop into one of the other stories. See what you can come up with.
Ghost & Dirty Dancing Red Dawn & Dirty Dancing Red Dawn & Ghost
Can do the same for shows/series and plays.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 22, 2017 15:54:41 GMT -6
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 23, 2017 14:12:45 GMT -6
Combine "StepMom" & "Pretty Woman."
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 24, 2017 19:38:29 GMT -6
Combine:
Maid in Manhattan & Pretty Woman
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 26, 2017 18:48:32 GMT -6
On my satellite grid: Sleeping With the Enemy & Jaws ... hmm ...
What can you do with this?
You come home and find your family gone ... the government never checks to make sure you're safe ... what could go wrong?
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 4, 2017 15:54:33 GMT -6
Terms of Endearment + Steel Magnolias (+ Rebecca) (I don't know why 'Rebecca' popped into my head as I joined the two 'daughters dying' movies, but it did, and I decided to run with it.)
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 5, 2017 16:31:55 GMT -6
Can any of your ideas be turned into a card/board game?
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 17, 2017 22:04:51 GMT -6
Combine: What A Girl Wants & The Princess Diaries
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 26, 2017 23:34:16 GMT -6
Could these have inspired Firefly?
Space Cowboy ~ Steve Miller Band (1969) The Joker ~ Steve Miller Band (1973) Notting Hill (1999) Space Cowboy (2000)
Firefly (2002) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series)#Origin
It seems not ... ...
But ... could the idea for Firefly's cowboys/horses in space have come from them? Perhaps. ... ... You can definitely get ideas from reading/watching someone else's work. Ideas and inspirations gleaned from the works of others is not stealing. You can't use their characters, worlds, scenes, etc., as your own without their permission ... unless it's in the public domain ... but ideas are free for the taking. You can use the same loglines in most cases. As long as what you bring to that idea is all yours, and yours alone.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 28, 2018 17:45:16 GMT -6
Combine: Runaway Bride (1999), In & Out (1997) & 27 Dresses (2008).
[Edit]
Can include:
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) & Bride Wars (2009)
Mix and match your favorite scenes and see what you come up with.
[/Edit]
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Post by Mini Mia on May 6, 2018 21:59:02 GMT -6
I saw a video of Katie Couric interviewing Sex Robots, and an idea popped into my head: "50 Shades of Grey" with Sex Robots. One or both being robots.
If there isn't a 'Sex Robot' genre out yet, there probably will be at some point ... better jump on it now.
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sex+Robot www.google.com/search?q=Sex+Robots
Graphic images are blurred, but giving a warning heads up anyways:
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Post by Mini Mia on May 10, 2018 1:01:56 GMT -6
Disaster Date | Cotton TV Commercial
www.ispot.tv/ad/wUyU/cotton-disaster-date
https[://]www[.]youtube[.]com/watch?v=rUHkMSuPTmg https[://]www[.]youtube[.]com/watch?v=ca6-RKA3gAI www.youtube.com/user/CottonFabricOfMyLife/videos
When something piques your interest ... start asking questions that could lead to a story.
1. What happened to those Exes? 2. Why did they break up? 3. Who broke up with who? 4. Where are they now? 5. How did this date end? 6. ... ... ...
Continue until you run out of questions, and then ask:
What If ...
1. ?? ?? ?? 2. ?! ?! ?! 3. !?! !?! !?! 4. ?!? ?!? ?!? 5. ... ... ...
Keep going until you have something to work with.
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