Screenplay IDea Generation: How to choose your next story

You’re finally ready to sit down and work on a new screenplay, but find yourself hitting a brick wall when it comes to coming up with your next screenplay idea? In this article, we cover three easy ways that you can generate story ideas so that you can get to writing. Let’s dive right in!

COMBATING WRITER’S BLOCK

The first step to generate story ideas is to get over writer's block. While writer’s block can be a very real experience, getting over writer’s block and getting into a routine can really help your writing process in the long run. If you want to dive deeper into how to overcome writer’s block, be sure to check out our article Push Through, Beloved!: Combatting Writer’s Block.

WHAT MAKES A “GOOD” STORY IDEA?

Now that writer’s block is out of the way (good riddance), let’s break down the ins and outs of idea generation. Just because you have an idea, doesn’t necessarily mean you have a story. While generating a viable story idea doesn’t mean you need to have a complete beginning, middle, and end, it does mean that the story needs to be composed of the very basic story elements. 
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When sitting down to generate story ideas, consider the following aspects: Who is the protagonist? What is their goal? What is at stake? Considering these story elements up front will aid in saving you time in the long run once you sit down to write and realize the story doesn’t have much going for it other than being a “cool idea.” Below are three easy tips to consider when generating story ideas.

3 EASY TIPS TO GENERATE STORY IDEAS

1. Use what you know. Art is based on life. You aren’t necessarily expected to re-invent the wheel here. What are some life experiences that can be turned into a screenplay? What have you seen just casually walking down the street and wondered “what if” about?
2. Explore different story elements. Another way to generate story ideas is to play around with different elements. Make a list of characters, goals and stakes and play around with the different outcomes. The possibilities are endless. You don’t necessarily have to re-invent the wheel here either. What are some common characters, stakes, and goals from well known stories? What would happen if we took the characters from Hansel and Gretel but gave them new stakes and a different goal? Voila. Instantly a new story idea is created. 
3. Start with a logline. Starting off with just a logline is a great way to generate story ideas. Remember that a great logline includes a character plus a goal plus a stake. If your logline is missing any of these elements, then it probably needs to go back to the drawing board.

​HAVE A GREAT STORY IDEA, BUT WONDER WHAT’S NEXT?

Generating story ideas can be challenging, but knowing what’s at the core of a great story idea can help the process go smoothly when it’s time for you to sit down to generate new ideas. So, you landed on a great story idea and want to see if your idea is popping off? Check out our Development Notes service to get personalized feedback from one of our Story Experts and take your screenplay to the next level!

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author

Khadija Roane is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from the illustrious Howard University where she received her BFA in Theatre Arts. Khadija then graduated from UCLA's MFA Producers program where she interned in film and television development at MACRO, Vertigo Films, Gamechanger Films, and Pamplona Productions before working as a Scripted TV Assistant at WME. She has placed in the Pittsburgh Shorts Screenwriting Competition and the Atlanta Film Festival, and received the Barbara Boyle Promising Producer Award. Khadija lives in Los Angeles where she is an independent filmmaker and a Story Expert at The Professional Pen.