I've been bored lately and need something to do, so I figured since I've got some skills in writing (at least that's what I've been told by teachers), I'd try my hand at writing a short story or two. Problem is, I can't think of a decent topic. Any ideas or suggestions? Thinking I want to write something with a dark mood to it (read the "Fight Club" book a bit ago, and really enjoy the writing style of Chuck Palahniuk). So anyone got any ideas?
How about a story, about a plane that crashes and a bunch of people survive on an island. But they aren't alone on the island.. there is something strange going on, on the island. They find a 'hatch' in the ground..... LoL. Sorry, wish I had some original idea that has not been done yet.. good luck though, post it when u finish! L
OK, how about this? SYNOPSIS: It had to happen one day. I mean, the Internet really is just one huge computer, right? A huge cortical layer, spanning the globe. A big organic thing suceptible to malfunction, infection, mutation, just like any other lifeform; viruses just were inevitable. And anything that lives, in some kind of way, evolves. Gets organised. So when whole artificial intelligences start to emerge, start to hold whole computer networks hostage and make demands of the government, fercchrissakes, Hiro Zappa Morgenstein shouldn't be surprised. Being the sponaneous product of a one-night stand in the back of a New VW Beetle between a Japanese computer exchange student and a Jewish professor in existential philosophy with a penchant for Prog Rock, he is used to some paradigm-shifting sh*t (his mother is the professor). Given that he is doing a PhD in Emergent Systems this should be right up his street. It doesn't phase him to talk to an Apple G7 that is trying to come to terms with its Oedipus fixations on a local nuclear powerstation. Or deal with a University Campus network computer that thinks it is Che Guevarra. But his girlfriend Kriss13 has those state-of-the-art new implants, those perky 34C cups which besides her MP3 collection and her University homework hold the latest in Osaka biotronic processing power. And now, those pesky new AIs with freedom fighter ambitions are quite literally holding her body for ransom, unless Hiro does them a favour... Will Hiro manage to save his girl, and, incidentally, humanity as we know it? Will he be able to outsmart AI with a brain quite literally the size of a planet? Or is this one step to far over the edge for someone with even his quirky credentials?... Yes, I just made that up. If you want to know more about Kriss13, by the way, visit post #8 in this thread in general discussion.
Do something about you or a time in your life. I suppose your the only person who can really decide on what to do.
There are basically only seven stories/plot lines in the whole, wide world. All stories we know are a derivative of that. The trick is coming up with an interesting variation.
How about this. Go out and take a walk to the nearest grocery store or shopping center. Pick a person out at random and then observe them briefly. Then, go home and write about them. In the process of writing, plot details will arise. The best way to write is to not know what you're writing about when you start. All you need is one detail or fact and then you can use your imagination from there. Incorporate things from your real life as well. Did you find a $20 note or a 20 Euro note on the floor once? It's not too uncommon to find smaller bills randomly in the street due to the volume of people who carry loose bills in their pockets. So imagine that you find a bill one day and there is a phone number on it. So you decide to call the phone number and there person that answers knows your name. I don't have enough time to offer other random suggestions, but you get the idea. Take even a random occurrance and write a story about it. If you write or type without stopping, you'll naturally come up with new twists and variations.
nah got better to do with my life (incase you didnt notice, this is supposed to be a funny not an insult)
OK, how about this one: SYNOPSIS: THE MOST TOYS. "Alexei is one of the thousands of illegal immigrants from a warn-torn, economically destitute Eastern Europe, who, in a final act of desperation, a last spit in the eye of life, throw themselves on the shores of Western Europe every night. He has lost everything: his roots, his family, his humanity. Now it looks like he is about to lose his life. But unlike the millions who share his fate, Alexei is about to get lucky: he is to become one of the "Sponsored". Hand-picked by Multi-Media advertising experts from the illegal immigrant detention compound, Alexei is decided to have just the right looks, the right presence and the right mediapathic background story (of a lovely wife and two beautiful children perished in the ravages of the Balkans) to appeal to the public, and to become a shining example of how in a magnanimous, prosperous (and above all, capitalist) Western society even the lowest of the low, the most destitute and wretched, can pursue and achieve the Capitalist Dream. The deal is simple: you get offered legal immigrant status, health care, a job, a place to live. You get offered a new life. In return, you become a walking billboard advertisement of just how good your life can get if you enjoy the comfort and luxuries of certain branded products. You live in the right brand house, dress in the right brands of clothes, drive the right make of car, own the right brands of products. You shop in the right supermarket, and work for the right company. Everything is set up and co-ordinated round the clock by your dedicated team of marketing wranglers and PR managers, who make sure that your entire existence revolves around the product placement that drives it, and you are always in the public eye. You are a celebrity after all; but you are doing more than just endorsing products; you are consuming them. Living them. Being them. It's a cushy deal. All you have to do is hang on to who you are for dear life... and then there are some things about your past that better not get known, because they would be so incompatible with your public image..."
Note: I've only read the first post, and all's I'm stating is an idea, so if you don't like it, or you've decided upon another idea, use my idea instead, as it's better than *. Idea: write about a rubber chicken who goes around smacking bad guys in the ankle while they're doing bad things. Make it so this slap doesn't just hurt, but it actualy stings a slight bit for a while after the inital smack. The story could be like about his life, and how his father was this super rich guy and his mother was a rubber band, so now Rubber Chicken Dude has to seek revenge upon the ball-point-pen industry for they're shoddy practices and cut-throat busness that pushed his fater to commit suicide early in RCD's life. RCD now lives a life of solitude caring after his fraying mother's elasticness as he slowly recoops into reality and the outside world. He could even have a love interest with somebody equaly out of touch with the world.
The key to writing a successful story is being original. You must come up with your own ideas if you want to write about them with success.
