Premonition

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

What would you do if you found out that your death is imminent? That death is not a far, vague thing but rather a sure and approaching reality?

A man often finds his recently departed relative visiting his dreams. Thinking it was a sign of things to come, he consults a psychic to interpret his dreams.

What the psychic said unnerved him: she said the dreams were the relative’s way of telling him that his death was approaching very soon. As the psychic said this, the man reflected on his life and realized that if death was approaching, there were a lot of things he has to change: he had to make peace with his enemies, remove his vices and start living a virtuous life.

 

He sets about doing just these, and from there he felt good about himself. He felt ready to die.

The Hanger:

After about a year of being “good,” the man grew impatient with waiting for death. Little by little, he starts returning to his old self: he started smoking and drinking excessively again, and made more enemies than before.

The Twist:

Shortly after returning to his old self, the man dies when he is hit by a car while texting on the side of the road.

Super Ramon

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

Ramon, a simple and unassuming life insurance salesman, has a terrible secret: he is not a normal human being. He has the extraordinary ability to levitate. And not just a trick of just-the-right angles like David Blaine does, he can fly around like superman, only without the speed of a speeding bullet or laser eye beams or superhuman strength. He can just fly… when he has diarrhea.

The Hanger:

One unfortunate morning, the world wakes up to a giant dog terrorizing the city, controlled by a lunatic, Dr. Amakero Buzwak. The only way to kill the robot is to put sticks after sticks of dynamite on the dog's head, which makes Ramon the perfect candidate for the job.

Can our hero upset his stomach in time to stop a giant bulletproof dog from destroying the city?

Writing Tip: Set Aside Time for Writing

Got a few minutes before work? Or a few hours between coming home from work and dinner?  How about during lunch breaks?

One basic advice for writers is consistency. Choose a time to write, and then write during that time every day.  Get your mind used to it. Make it a habit. Start small. Set aside maybe 20 minutes every morning for writing.

Every day, write one paragraph. Keep going at it. Develop your writing style; perhaps even find your own voice. Exercise your “writing muscle.” Once you find the exercise boring, make it two paragraphs and so on. Later you’ll realize that you are more comfortable writing and able to produce better writing compositions or stories.

Additionally, keep a notebook and try to carry it with you wherever you go. Sometimes ideas strike from out of nowhere and you might easily forget them. It’s better to have somewhere to keep it permanent so you’ll have something to write on your writing time.

Go on, set aside your personal time for writing.

Tic-Tac-Murder

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

As a former police officer, Richard McTougher  made a lot of enemies: both from inside the ranks (the corrupt officials) as well as outside (the criminals he pursued and brought to justice). So when his entire family was kidnapped, he had absolutely no idea who the perpetrator of the crime was.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), the criminal contacted him a few hours after the kidnap. It was Danton, the lunatic who was convicted of killing 200 people in a carnival who escaped after two years in jail. Richard was the one who arrested him before, and so Danton swore revenge when he got free.

The Hanger:

When Richard finds Danton’s lair, he learns that each of his family members are in separate rooms, and in order for him to rescue them, he has to solve one puzzle per person. Never having been academically smart, Richard must use all of his logic-analyzing skills to solve the puzzles laid out before him.

The Twist:

The last “puzzle” is a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with Danton, wherein if Richard gets defeated, he will be murdered with his family. If he wins, Danton will surrender to the police and allow Richard to go home with his family. If the game is tied, they play again.

Writing Tip: Imagine

There was a young boy, probably aged 14, who wanted to be a writer. He approached his friends who were brilliant writers, regularly contributing to the school paper and semi-annual literary magazine, and asked: “How do you do it? How do you write?”

Their answer was simple: “Imagination.”

Today, that 14 year old kid who wanted to be a writer has written quite a number of short stories and essays. He is also writing this blog.

See, a big part of writing is making things up and going from there. If you are a bored person working in an office, daydream for a little while. What would happen if terrorists suddenly attacked your building? Which of your officemates would panic? Who would be calm and think of a plan to get out of the office safely? Who would cry and accept death instantly? Who would die trying to become a hero?

If you are a nurse, what would happen if all the Doctors simultaneously quit their jobs? What scandal would ensue? What happens to the patients? What about their secretaries?

What if all the inhabitants of this world are zombies? And what would happen if the ones we thought were zombies were the real human beings? Pushing it further, what if there is a world under the ground where zombies live and “surface-dwellers” scare them?

This is what author and Cracked.com editor David Wong calls the “daydream” muscle. When you keep imagining things, you daydreams become more detailed and more plausible.

So go ahead, imagine a little bit.

The Mistress

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

Bob and Mary had been boyfriend and girlfriend for 4 years before they got married. At first, the marriage was perfect: Bob would work and provide well for Mary and their son, while Mary provided their little luxuries. It was a pretty little setup and for years they were contented.

However, in the fifth year, their marriage began to show cracks. Bob started to come home late and began seeing a mistress, while Mary started getting busy with many small businesses. They both began to neglect their son.

In the sixth year, although Bob had broken off his affair with the other woman, they decided to get a divorce. The marriage was irreparable, they realized. Bob won custody of their son and Mary got visiting rights. For the most part, they remained friends, but avoided each other as much as possible.

The Hanger:

Two years later, Bob had remarried and was living comfortably with his new wife. Mary, though not remarried, was living quite decently, too. They haven't been able to see each other much the for last two years.

One day, while both of them were at a party, they unexpectedly bumped into each other and stroke conversation. From there, they began to remember why they fell in love and married each other almost a decade ago.

Now, Mary is the former wife who became a mistress. How would they deal with their situation?

The Scavenger

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

A man goes to work just like he does every day: with passion. He is a scavenger, trying to find treasure among trash, meticulously separating plastic bottles and cans from the rest of the world’s waste. After collecting his loot, he sells these to a local junk shop, who pays him mere coins after a full day of back-breaking work. He then stores whatever is left from his money (after eating, buying clothes, etc) into a can and hides it under his bed.

One day, while he was doing his job in the local landfill, he finds an unused lottery ticket and keeps it. He then waits for the draw and was ecstatic when he found out that he won $100,000. Not knowing what to do with all his unexpected wealth, he spends it on everything he couldn’t buy when he was poor.  

After five years of extravagant living, the man realizes that all his money is gone. He was back to being poor. Ashamed, he went back to his old shanty house and began living just as he lived before: as a scavenger.

Then one day, he remembers the can of savings from years before and realizes that all is not lost. He begins saving again until he could afford a decent living. The lottery money and his subsequent extravagant expenses taught him to take care of his money more.

Rapping Aliens

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

Rapping aliens have invaded the Earth and became rulers of every city. They forced everybody to learn the art of rapping and engage in rap battles.  These became the new sports; they have replaced most major activities with rap, and in everything else they added rap themes. For example, diamond necklaces were required for all social events, and it is forbidden to walk alone in the streets, they have to be accompanied by their “homies.”

However, the future savior of mankind hates rap in every way. He is a defiant lad who lives and breathes country music. Naturally, he is hunted by the aliens but in five years they never caught him. Fed up, the aliens pose a challenge to our hero: beat us in Battle Raps and we will leave the Earth. Be defeated, and you will be forced to learn rap. Not sensing the irony, our hero agrees.

The Hanger:

Can a hardened Country musician learn enough wicked rhymes to defeat the overlords? Can a rap version of Billy Cyrus's "Achy, Braky Heart" defeat the Aliens' wicked rhymes? No, probably not.

Writing Tip: How to Make a Story Character

Most people don’t read a story because they find the plot intriguing, or because the twists just don’t end. Most people read because they can relate to a character. They see themselves, which is why they want the character to succeed, which leads them to keep turning the page to see what happens next.

For example, if you have a character that is going through a divorce and the story is about him finding his inner peace and moving on, wouldn’t a reader who is undergoing the same thing want him to succeed because he can see himself in the character? The reader would feel a sense of peace when the character feels a sense of peace, the reader will feel hope when the character feels hope. The reader will think, “If this person can get through it, then maybe I can, too.”

This is why the Twilight series is so successful, Stephanie Meyer has found a nice niche with young girls who are in-love with seemingly perfect boys but sees no hope in them ever being together. First, she makes Bella’s description as vague as possible so that many readers will see themselves as Bella, and then she makes Edward fall madly in love with her. Therefore, if readers see that Bella, who they have already associated themselves with, can make Edward, a hunk by any standards, fall in love with him, then maybe there is hope for them of finding the same love.

So, how do you create a story character? Here’s one way: 

Step 1: Observe the People around You

There are a lot of people you can base your story from. Look at your siblings and friends, even pets or inanimate objects. Look at the world from their point of view. Give them new lives in your own created universe. Give them goals and rivals. Give them conflict. Share their joys and pains. Make them real.

Step 2: Observe Yourself

Often, we have conflicting characters within ourselves. As proof, let’s say you have a decision to make: to pull the life support plug off of your friend or not. Ask yourself: why don’t you want to pull the plug? Because you still hope that your friend will wake up? You can create a character that holds on to hope, even against insurmountable odds. 

On the other hand, why do you want to pull the plug, because the cost of hospital bills is getting out of hand? You can make a character that is not afraid to do the difficult decisions when he has to.

We are faced with many decisions every day, and many times there are many different voices in our head that tells us what to do. Give these voices bodies, and make them the basis of your characters.

Step 3: Write Them Down

Once you have your characters, write them down. Write their names, their families, their hobbies, favorite colors, etc. on your journal. When you need a character for your story, you can simply look at your journal and decide which one to use best.

Red Bitter

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

High School never brings good memories to Red. For one, High School was where his most embarrassing failures happened. Two, it was also where things he wanted to forget happened, such as the death of his father, thus the resulting domino of being broke, being forced to work while studying in the university, and working an unsatisfying job. Three, and perhaps the biggest reason, this was where he met the girl that broke his heart and left him disillusioned in himself, resulting in a belief that he will never be happy.

Today, 15 years later, he is a Graphic Designer and working hard towards being rich. One day, he receives a text message from a former classmate inviting him to a High School reunion.  He learns that the girl who broke his heart will also be there after studying and working abroad. He goes to the reunion and meets the person who made him bitter all this time.

The Hanger:

From here, you can take the story and steer it anyway you want. One option is to give Red closure, not in the reunion necessarily, but in the subsequent events after re-meeting the girl. You can also make Red fall in love all over again, and be rejected again, the same way. If you go this route, maybe you can make Red realize that some things never change, except that this time, he had learned not to let rejection make him bitter. He lets go of the past and moves on with his life. The girl returns abroad, and everybody is happy.

The Twist:

But the most ambitious route might be to give the girl a disease that would kill her in less than a year, and one of the reasons she came back from working abroad is to make amends with Red, knowing that she was one of the reasons he could not move on. Of course, Red does not know this at first, and finds the girl’s sudden affection as a sign that she is falling for her.

When he learns of the girl’s disease, he has mixed emotions and reflects for a bit, but finally gives in to the good intention of the girl. Here, the girl could explain why she rejected him in the past and Red learns to move on.

In the final scene, perhaps they would be under a tree on a hill overlooking the City, while Red holds the girl’s hands as she takes her last breath.

Writing Tip: Recognize Stories around You

You can’t look to your left and say there isn’t something going on right now. You can’t look at your right and say it either. In fact, everywhere you look, there’s almost something going on. 

Look at your ceiling, what do you see? Do you see a fluorescent light? Who do you think oversaw the production of that particular light? On that day, was he/she having problems at home? Did he/she want to stay at home and sleep instead of going to work? Did he/she made her workmates laugh, or was she hated in his/her office?

Look below you, do you see a cigarette butt someone carelessly threw away? What kind of person do you think threw it? Does it have a lipstick mark?

Of course you won’t know the exact answers to the questions posed, but you can make something up.  Remember, you are the author of the story, so invent stories and be relentless in doing so. Make your characters ridiculous if you want to.

You can make the fluorescent light-maker above a lady, who had just lost a son but needs to go to work because her cruel boss demands that she report that day. From there you can make the lady insane with rage and grief, leading to the boss’s murder and a subsequent trial.

You can make the person who threw the cigarette butt a hired killer who was being chased by the police after the last assassination attempt caught the attention of the authorities. It’s up to you. The ball is in your hands!

The world is full of stories and everything has a story behind them. Uncover them and tell it to the world. Or make something up.

Hunt

Note: This blog serves to help you in coming up with ideas to write as a short story/novel/script/whatever. Please note that some of the ideas in the blog are downright silly and not meant to be taken as is. You can get the gist of the entry and alter it any way you want, for any purpose whatsoever.

The Plot:

Miguel Riviera is infected with a deadly disease, for which there is no cure, that could potentially infect and kill the entire population. However, only he knows the secret codes to stop nuclear missiles from being launched in North Korea (the other people who knows were assassinated). He was kept in a secluded place to protect him from the North Korean assassins and at the same time, protect the world from him.

The Hanger:

When the Government finally learns the Secret Codes, do they kill Miguel or let him be killed by the North Koreans?

The Twist:

In the end, the nuclear bombs weren't North Korea's greatest weapons, rather, it was the disease that Miguel had.