brainstorming threads?

Chris Light said:
this is such a tough idea. "in a world...", i.e. the internet...people steal stuff by the minute....artwork, songs, etc. that includes your idea for your next epic. i don't know man....a brainstorming thread?...that's asking for someone to take your good idea and run. if the internet in its current form existed in 1960, that may have gone over well...not now. in some ways i hate that, in other ways, i think "disconnect from the internet, and write, for as long as it takes....just write". on paper or on wordpad, or on screenwriting software. (some)Authors are reclusive for a reason, yet they're more observant than most of us. the best writers are a silent bunch, yet they get ideas from very unsilent means. news stories....random events, often from people they know. I guess what i'm saying is that writing a story is rarely a collaborative effort, but if need be, and you have someone in mind that can write like you write...go for it, and share.
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i do understand the caution. but what is it that a writer should be protective of? isn't there something we can share and not be afraid that a certain something be ripped off?

i mean, aren't stories essentially the same? what is it that the writer comes up with that makes his/her story unique, good, sell-able? isn't it a combination of plot, character, setting, and theme? anyone of those would bare no meaning or significance without the special combination the writer gave to them.

so... if we can talk freely about the elements individually, would there still be caution?

and you're right, i might be looking at this whole thing idealistically.


azharrison said:
"In a world where no one has any money, one man will settle the ultimate debt" :grin:

That was kinda fun, especially since all involved were just goofing off!

Who cares if anyone steals it!?! If you think you can make a Spec script out of that, go for it! I don't think anyone here would sell out any of their own intellectual property BUT, it is a fun and enlightening exercise to watch where a static idea will flow.
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this is what i'm talking about. get the juices flowing!

"In a world where no one has money, one man will settle the ultimate debt".

i can almost see the protagonist as being irresponsible. he probably just got fired, too. a substance abuser of some sort?
 
^^...or perhaps, he is a retired financial consultant, who has was conned out of the bulk of his rather large nest egg by an indifferent wall street mutual fund company that he discovers has taken countless investors for a ride due to some "fine print" technicality...


This is a healthy exercise! If someone wants to take some part of an idea out of this thread and run with it, so be it and good luck to them! If they made some huge blockbuster out of it that terrific! Perhaps they were inspired and ran with an idea that slipped by the rest of us participating.

Don't misunderstand me though, I DO NOT intend to share the characters or stories that I am working on currently, I just think that this sort of exersice is healthy, and inspiring.

We can all see a fresh new protagonist emerging that may have eluded us working alone.
 
PING>>>

When a retired CIA operative discovers his wife has been having an affair with a prominate politician...
 
when a disgraced former CIA-operative discovers his wife has been having an affair with the politician who cost him his career...

i see something about vengeance in the moral of this tale.
 
It's possible that a "group write" project could result in a usable story. There must be certain rules. I've done it in the classroom and honestly, the results were much better with first-graders than high school students.
 
The rules should be simple:

One sentence limit that must make sense.

The structure of the story is known before beginning.

A prompt, which can be almost anything—a word, a sentence, a picture—can help begin it.

A leader edits, refines, and ascertains that all of the elements of plot are present.
 
would you be willing to start a thread and be leader?

(i ask because you seem to have a better understanding of how this should be done)

should the genre be specified?
what kind of structure? etc.
 
I'm just a teacher who has met with mixed success using this. You should start the thread because this is your idea.

You may wish to state the theme in the beginning but that's not necessary. Its genre can unfold naturally. Start with an intriguing photo or sentence.

The structure can be maintained by posting an edited copy of the story every ten posts or so.

Other challenges will crop up that can be addressed later.

Another good rule to add might be a restriction on how often one can post. Of course, this could directly impact the success of the thread.

It's worth a shot. Heck, if another online community can have a senseless "word game" thread, I believe a story thread is quite feasible and worthwhile.
 
ok.

i really like this idea. but, i can't start it for another few days or so. i'm moving right now (psychologically, figuratively, and physically). but, i'll try to muster something up when i post back.

@azharrison:
won't you take the responsibility while i'm gone?
 
I would be happy to. I am obviously very new to this forum and I don't want to step on anyone's toes, I am not sure how to go about this...

ARE THERE ANY MODERATORS OUT THERE WHO COULD OFFER SOME ADVICE?
Should we form a new Category? or should we just Start our own threads and call them "BRAINSTORM-XXX"
 
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