Developing Story Ideas

"Part I OVERVIEW Chapter 1: This Book, Its Goals, and Getting Started You and Your Resources Why We Work in Outline Form Ideation and Originality Identifying with the Main Character Jump-Starting the Imagination The Assignments Concerning the Writing Samples Having Fun This Book’s Layout and Goals Getting Started The game called CLOSAT Chapter 2: You and the Creative Process The Journey of the Self Wanting to Tell Stories Self-Exposure and Giving Support What is Therapy and What Is Art? What Stories Mean Theme and Variation Just Do It Outline and Expansion Collaboration Part II SELF-EXAMINATION, OBSERVATION, AND IMPROVISATION ASSIGNMENTS Chapter 3: Artistic Identity Displacement Assignment 3-1: Survey of Yourself and Your Authorial Goals Assignment 3-2: Presenting Yourself and Your Storytelling Goals Assignment 3-3 Listening and Reacting Going Farther Chapter 4: Introductions and Playing ""CLOSAT"" Improvising Maintaining Focus Pitching If You are Working Alone Assignment 4-1: Five-Minute Self-Introduction. Assignment 4-2: Play the CLOSAT game. Assignment 4-3: Develop your Own Pitching Guidelines. General discussion Chapter 5: Autobiography and Influences Assignment 5-1: Autobiographical Survey Assignment 5-2: Presenting your influences. Chapter 6: Observing from Life Assignment 6-1: CLOSAT preparatory work and the writer’s journal Assignment 6-2: CLOSAT with 2 characters, 1 location and 1 Object Assignment 6-3: CLOSAT with 3 Characters, 2 objects, an act and a theme Going Farther Assignment 6-4: CLOSAT Variations for a Group/Class The Power of Imagery. Going Farther Part III USING THE TOOLS OF DRAMA Chapter 7: Developing Your Characters and the Dramatist’s Toolkit Checklist for Developing Your Characters The Tools of the Dramatist Tools #1–4, Four Hats Tool #5, the Questionnaire Tool #6, the Diving Mask Tool #7, the Key (the Dramatic Premise) Tool #8, the Pressure Meter (Detects and Measures Conflict) Tool #9, the Stopwatch (Represents Time Progressing) Tool #10, the Cake Slice (Separates Drama into its Components) Tool #11, the Set of Boxes (Representing the Three-Act Structure.) Tool #12, the Telescope (Finding Point of View) Chapter 8: Analyzing a Scene Using tool #5, the Questionnaire Using tool #6, the Diving Mask. Using tool #7, the Key (finding a dramatic premise) Using tool #8, the Pressure Meter (Detects and Measures Conflict) Using tool #9, the Stopwatch (Represents Time Progressing) An Analogy for Drama Using tool # 10, the Cake-Slice (Separating Drama into its Components) Assignment 8-1: Character and Destiny Assignment 8-2: Volition and Point of View Assignment 8-3: Acting on volition. Assignment 8-4: Scene Divisions for ""The Fisherman’s Wife."" The Fisherman’s Wife Chapter 9: Assessing a Complete Work Using tool #11, the Set of Boxes The Three-Act Structure. Character Driven versus Plot Driven Drama Using tool #8, the Pressure Meter Again (Sources of Pressure, Identifying Genre) Drawing a Dramatic Arc for a Whole Work Drama and Point of View Assignment 9-1: Dividing ""Little Red Riding Hood"" into Scenes and Acts. Assignment 9-2 Character Types and Story Meanings. Going Farther Chapter 10: Testing a Story Idea and Deciding Point of View Exploring a Story’s Effectiveness Story Effectiveness Questionnaire Exploring a Story’s Meaning and Purpose Story Editing Tools in Summary Assignment 10-1: Impressions and Feedback. Assignment 10-2: Critical Communication. Part IV: CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Chapter 11: A Tale from Childhood On Discussion Assignment 11-1: An Event from Childhood Assignment 11-1: An Event from Childhood Assignment 11-3 Developing a childhood film or photo scene. Example 1 (Vilka Tzouras) Example 2 (Alex Meillier) Example 3 (Chris Darner) Example 4 (Amanda McCormick) Discussion On memory Going Farther Chapter 12: Family Story Assignment 12-1: A Story Told in Your Family Assignment 12-2 Family Story as Comic Strip Assignment 12-3 The Untold Story Discussion Example 1 (Margaret Harris) Example 2 (Amanda McCormick) Example 3 (Peter Riley) Going Farther Chapter 13: A Myth, Legend, or Folktale Retold Interpreting Oral Tales Adaptation Problems Assignment 13-1 Free Choice of Tale. Assignment 13-2 Myth Assignment 13-3 Legend Assignment 13-4 Folktale Discussion Example #1: The Legend of Pretty Boy Floyd Retold (Michael Hanttula) Example #2 (Tatsuya Guillermo Ohno) Example #3: Sisyphus Cries Dixie: A Modern Story (Michelle Arnove) Discussion Going Farther Chapter 14: Dream Story Assignment 14-1: Writing up a Dream Assignment 14-2: Surreal Narrative Assignment 14-3: Linking Dreams into One Narrative Assignment 14-4 Dream and Myth Discussion Dream Sequence #1 (Chris Darner) Dream Sequence #2 (Michael Hanttula) Dream Sequence #3 (Cynthia Merwarth) Going Farther Chapter 15: Adapting a Short Story Evaluating a Story for Adaptation to the Screen Assignment 15-1: Short Story Analysis Assignment 15-2: Adaptation Issues Assignment 15-3: Dramatic Breakdown Discussion Example 1: ""An Encounter,"" from Dubliners, by James Joyce (Peter Riley) Example 2, ""Le Diner de Cons,"" by Francis Veber (Louis Leterrier) Overview Going Farther Chapter 16: Ten-Minute, News Inspired Story Making a Working Hypothesis Assignment 16-1: A picture and its consequences. Assignment 16-2: Reality TV show. Assignment 16-3: Docudrama. Assignment 16-4: Based on a Real Story... Assignment 16-5: Behind the Façade Assignment 16-6: This Far, and No Farther Assignment 16-7: Analyze Four News Items. Assignment 16-8: Develop Interpersonal Difference Discussion Going Farther Chapter 17: A Documentary Subject Assignment 17-1: A Documentary Subject Assignment 17-2: Simple Voice-Over Personal Film Assignment 17-3: Simple Voice-Over Historical Film Documentary Subject (Angela Galyean) Going Farther Chapter 18: Thirty-Minute Original Fiction Assignment 18-1: Treatment for an Original Thirty-Minute Fiction Piece. Assignment 18-2: An Original 30-minute Fiction Piece Inspired by an Image. Assignment 18-3: An Original 30-minute Fiction Piece Inspired by CLOSAT Cards. Assignment 18-3: An Original 30-minute Fiction Piece Inspired by CLOSAT Cards. Example #1: Thirty-Minute Original Fiction Idea (Michael Hanttula) Example #2: ""Eggs Benedict"" (Michelle Arnove) On Comedy Going Farther Chapter 19: Feature Film Assignment 19-1: Idea for a Feature Film (Featuring Two Points of View) Example: Feature Film Idea (Paul Flanagan) On The Writing Process and Receiving Criticism Going Farther Part V COLLABORATIVE STORY DEVELOPMENT Chapter 20: Wholly Improvised (Scenes and story construction in the vein of Cassavetes, Fassbinder, Linklater) Chapter 21: Screenplay generated from Improvisation (Screenplay generated from a core of ideas, cast collaboration and improvisations, then best material transcribed and shaped into a screenplay, in the vein of Bergman, Leigh) Part V THE EMERGING WRITER Chapter 22: Revisiting Your Artistic Identity Your Creative Direction Assignment 20-1: Revisiting your Artistic Identity. Assignment 20-2: Say Where You’d Like to Go. Assignment 20-3: Ideas and Ambitions. Assignment 20-4 Setting a Personal Agenda. Discussion and Retrospective Part VI: EXPANDING YOUR WORK INTO ITS FINAL FORM Chapter 23: Story-Editing Your Outline Structural Options Transitions Stream of Consciousness Troubleshooting Yielding to the Dramatic Conventions Chapter 24: Expanding Your Outline Writing for the Screen Standard Screenplay Format Camera and Editing Directions Sound and Music Directions Documentary Film Proposal Plays Standard Playwriting Format Novel or Short Story Format"