Hatrack River Writers Workshop: More ideas than hands to type them

This is topic More ideas than hands to type them in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by ArCHeR (Member # 2067) on :

I have a feeling that if there was a job that consisted of coming up with ideas for stories to sell to writers, I could make a good living. But unfortunately our society feels that one must trudge through the writing process in addition to coming up with a good idea.

So how about this: I do it for free, and you guys take a crack at the ideas I think are good, but not as good as the ones I want to write myself. Who knows, maybe we could get a Kubrick/Clarke thing to happen...

Title: Genre; Time; Location; Plot summary.

Anagenesis: Action/Adventure; Future; Mars; A pilot crash lands on the surface of Mars, which has been teraformed into a hospitable planet. The problem is that he has landed on a forbidden continent where a massive experiment is being conducted: Humans have created another species of sentient beings. Not only must he try to survive in this jungle wilderness, but if he interferes with the primitive civilization he can never return, unless he wishes to spend his life in prison. Spoiler: Humans were created in the same way that these new Martians were, and the parent race must reveal itself in the end to prevent the humans from spreading their warlike ways to the new race.>

Rose: Suspense/Horror; present; Duplex, Any-town USA; Two newlyweds move in next door to a man whose sister committed suicide when she was 8 after her parents were murdered in their own home by a thief with a knife. Strange things begin happening, and they begin hearing, and then seeing the ghost of the little girl. She begins telling them about how her brother killed their parents and then faked her suicide. The couple discovers that she has been tormenting her brother for the past 36 years, and they must confront him to put the girl's soul at rest. Spoiler: <The parents and the little girl were secretly practicing witchcraft, unbeknownst to the brother. When the parents were going to sacrifice their daughter, the brother walked in on them and tried to stop them, but ended up killing them by accident. The daughter, several years later completes the ritual so that she can punish her brother for what he did. When the couple discovers this they attempt to stop the girl from killing the brother.>

The next one has to be different in the format in which I explain it. The idea is that the Roman Empire never falls. I have a specific idea of how this can happen the I originally thought of for a strategy game. But the truth is that the idea is so broad that it can be expanded into as many stories as can be written, and I have no problem with creating this universe in one or two stories and letting other people have fun in it.

If you have anything to say about this whole idea, or any of the concepts feel free to say it.

[This message has been edited by ArCHeR (edited December 27, 2004).]

Posted by Heresy (Member # 1629) on :

I hate to tell you this, but Silverberg already did the roman empire never falling. It's called Roma Eterna. Good book though.

Posted by JBSkaggs (Member # 2265) on :

In a way the Roman Empire never fell it just fragmented, went into hibernation and emerged as the USA.

Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :

Three.

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

Edited: You know, when I wrote my first response I completely misunderstood this thread. I have therefore decided to modify my response. The truth is, there are billions of ideas out there. The reason that you can't make a living off of making ideas is a simple issue of supply and demand. Your ideas are fine, Archer, and if they interest you then you should write about them. Meanwhile, I will drum up my own.

[This message has been edited by Christine (edited December 28, 2004).]

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

quote:
But unfortunately our society feels that one must trudge through the writing process in addition to coming up with a good idea.

Don't blame society, just decide where you are heading and go for it! Use the energy you've shown here and blaze a trail and make us proud to know you.

Cheers.

[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited December 28, 2004).]

Posted by HuntGod (Member # 2259) on :

If you have ideas but lack the desire to follow through and flesh them out into working full fledged works...

Well then you were made to either work in Hollywood or maybe politics :-)

You should look into that. Synopsis and outlines are what Hollywood generally wants, since they will typically take your material to another writer before they are done. I'd look into that, original or quirky ideas are marketable in TV and Film. The problem is that breaking into those industries can be very difficult.

Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :

I can't remember where I read it, maybe King's On Writing, but the author said something like:

You come up with more ideas than you could ever use. File them away in a notebook, file or computer file. The really good ones, the ones that endure, will come back to haunt you. Those are the ones worth writing about.

Posted by ArCHeR (Member # 2067) on :

But why waste the other perfectly good ones?