Hatrack River Writers Workshop: so much for being original...

This is topic so much for being original... in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by micmcd (Member # 7977) on :

This morning I was casually surfing the interwebs, as I often do before getting settled in to a grueling day of coding, and I happened upon an article from Cracked (I happen upon those most mornings) about the dumbest plans that various governments have come up with.

Now, I know that I'm not the first writer ever to come up with the idea of government agents staging attacks on their own country/planet to create a totalitarian regime. For instance, this is basically the plot of the Star Wars prequels. Perhaps I'm being naive, but I was hoping -- hoping -- that a real government would never do something quite so stupid. Moreover, I was particularly hoping that the US government would never do something like that.

We're all writers here, so you probably see where this is going... meet Operation Northwoods. A brief summary - the Joint Chiefs of Staff submitted a plan to fake a terrorist act against America in order to justify invading Cuba. Thankfully, President Kennedy realized how stupid this was.

I realize that the US military has come up with some... shall we say, less-than-brilliant ideas (I'm thinking of you, MK-ULTRA), but I never thought we'd consider hurting our own... sigh... okay... there's the small issue of the Tuskegee experiment. Well, I figured we at least wouldn't blow up our own stuff.

Anyhow - bringing this all back to writing - it really kind of struck me when I saw one of the crazy ideas our (I'm an American) gov't came up with is very close to the big evil scheme in my book. Given all the other crazy stuff we did back in the 60's, I'm wondering if I should bother trying to come up with my own ideas, or just look at crazy US gov't stuff and riff off that any time I need a "government doing bad stuff" plot device for my heroes to foil.

Anyone else ever come up with a plot line you thought was fantastical that you later found out played out in real life (or nearly did so)?

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Well, I was reminded of this again this morning, 'cause it's the twentieth anniversary of...

Long about, oh, 1980, I worked up an idea (never got as far as a written-down story with plot and characters) where the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, and sections were preserved for their historical nostalgia.

Lo and behold, in 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, and, from what I've read, this morning and over the years, sections are being preserved for their historical nostalgia.

Actually, in 1980 I thought it'd happen...just not in my lifetime...

Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :

During college (late 90's) I started writing a crime fiction about a serial killer on-board a US Navy aircraft carrier killing prostitutes at the various ports...

Sure enough, within the year FBI captured a serial killer in Detroit killing prostitutes. He was former Navy and the suspected that he was killing prostitutes in the ports they visited.

But mostly I think I have great ideas, then I see them in a recent movie like Surrogates or I Am Legend

Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :

Thats why I think its a little silly to worry so much about cliches and all especially in plot lines. Just about anything you come up with has probably been done before in fiction, real life or both.

Posted by Lionhunter (Member # 8766) on :

Stranger than fiction,anyone?(double meaning:P)

Posted by BenM (Member # 8329) on :

I think this is an example of why some writers suggest studying History if you want to be an author, rather than studying English