Everyone, it's Justin Trevor winners and welcome back to 60 seconds script school. I hope you've been finding your inspiration that you've been writing down your ideas in your idea notebook, and that you've been listening to your muse. All of this will help you on your storytelling journey. Today we're going to be talking about your story and your passion. And I'm going to give you a little writing exercise on how to generate your own unique original story ideas. Okay, 60 seconds on the clock.
Hit it. Pat passion. I want you to write something that you're passionate about, right from the heart. The creative executive is buying you just as much as they're buying your concept. You should be able to answer the following question Why were you and only you born to tell this story. I also want you to write what you know.
It doesn't have to be your life story, but some of the best stories come from personal experiences. Most producers would rather read a unique story premise from an inexperienced writer than a boring story premise from an experienced writer. So now's your chance, right? Something you can get excited about, be adventurous, take risks. There's nothing more boring than a safe writer. If it's not a great idea.
All the rewrites in the world will not save it, trust me. All right, stop the clock. Now I've got a little exercise for you on how to generate an original idea. These are not rules. They're simply brainstorming techniques. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible.
So take out a piece of paper and divide it into thirds. On the left hand side, right column one in the middle, right column two, and on the right hand side, right column three. In column one, I want you to list your 10 favorite TV Shows of All Time and turn off your inner critic. The shows do not have to be classy, or Emmy Award winning list the ones that you truly like, the more guilty pleasures, the better. Now in column two, I want you to list the elements. That's why you like these TV shows and be as specific as possible.
It could be the hero, or the villain, or the love story. It could be the jokes, or the dark premise, or the fact that it makes you cry. It could be the special effects, the costumes, or the social and political commentary. It's anything and everything that you like. Finally, in column three, I want you to write my original story idea, and I want you to combine a bunch of the elements from column two. This exercise is not meant to be some sort of rip off machine.
It's meant to be an idea generator, creative executives will ask you to give them the same but different How can you combine these elements from a successful TV show that exists and create your own new original concept. It's Jurassic Parks and Recreation. It's Abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter. It's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Give yourself at least 24 hours to come up with an idea marinate on it. Talk about it with as many people as possible, collaborate and see if people are responding.
If they get excited and you get excited. Chances are you're onto something special. So good luck and happy creating