It’s funny how new ideas arrive. I don’t get them a lot. Maybe a couple of really good ideas every year, but definitely not more than that. As a writer, though, we always have to be in search for those new ideas, and willing to open our minds to and chase nearly every idea that comes along. We must test whether or not it actually is an idea worth really thinking about.
I read a lot. Partially because I know I need to, but I actually love learning and gaining insight into other storytellers’ minds. I read the news a lot, and try to keep up on scientific developments – particularly in Physics and Astronomy (I’m just very interested in those subjects). Recently however, I’ve been reading a 2400 page fantasy trilogy which has been a drag. As with many fantasy books the concepts are great, the characters are great, but the author gets so carried away with the minutia of the world that he or she forgets to tell a gripping story. But this is where my mind has been for the last month or so, except for the 15 hour book-on-tape marathon I had in which I listened to The Elegant Universe (all about String theory).
So yesterday, I climb onto the orbital trainer at the gym, and start my daily exercise routine. Within a few moments, no more than a minute, a new idea had spawned in my brain. For the next 1/2 hour while I was on the machine, I followed that spark of an idea and saw where it led me. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. There are strong elements of every boy’s childhood in there, but with a fantastic sci-fi thriller angle, all set in a great location which I’ve never seen in a film before. And the kicker – I tend to think BIG – and this is an incredibly small, contained idea that could be made for just a few hundred thousand dollars – if the production team was right.
So I pitched it to Tess, just the concept, and she dug it. It’s now been a full day, and I still think it’s got a lot of potential. “Where’s that double-edged sword you mentioned? Isn’t this a good thing?”
Well… here it is. Writing is hard. And writing from a brand new idea is very hard. So while it’s great to have some cool new idea that I can actually see specific moments in my head that are thrilling, that’s all I’ve got. Will it blossom into a full and interesting story? It can. Will the idea be worthy of the time commitment it’ll take to develop and write? I could. But will it?
This is the double-edged sword of a new idea. It’s a spark, but nothing more. Taking it from a spark to a complete, satisfying story full of lifelike characters, twists and turns, and hopefully interesting new ideas… well… that is very hard. And these sparks are dangerous. Potentially very dangerous. Here I am now with at least 4 other scripts at some stage of completion, which can all develop into great scripts, and I am drawn to write something new before finishing those.
As Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio say, “Your premise will make or break your script.” That’s wonderful advice, but equally important is having the dedication and fortitude to actually finish what you start. We are not writing ideas, and we are not writing premises. We are writing complete, compelling, and satisfying stories!
