Coming Up With Plots

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by MarchOfMephisto, Dec 7, 2008.

  1. Scarecrow28

    Scarecrow28 New Member

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    A lot of the time, they come to me while reading articles or browsing the internet. Most of my stories are based around historical events looked at from a "what-if" perspective. A lot of the time, I'll get the historical background to my stories while reading articles or even browsing sites like wikipedia. After that, I'll do research using more accurate recourses and the plot just begins to form around that initial research.
     
  2. S-wo

    S-wo Active Member

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    Well with me I had the ideas for my plots in my head for roughly five years before I write them, but for future projects that I've been thinking about recently I just sort of sit there and think of something or sometimes watching a good movie will spark some ideas.
     
  3. Hetroclite

    Hetroclite New Member

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    Most of my plots come from reading & watching TV & thinking "I would have done that differently." So as my father said, "Before you can write, read."

    Also I keep a notepad & pen at my bedside to record my dreams.

    Two years ago, I got a copy of Miscellaneous Writings by HP Lovecraft. One chapter is Commonplace Book, in which he lists 222 plots he bequeathed to future writers.
     
  4. Shrimpbot

    Shrimpbot New Member

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    I get most inspired when I'm bored and half asleep in class and the teacher is speaking in a monotone voice. Because I know if I can't keep myself occupied, those last 20 minutes of class could turn into a much more daunting task than it seems. my #2 choice for plot creations is WoW/rpgs. Those things are interactive books!! But this may also lead to why I like writing fantasy and fiction stories.
     
  5. Tailx22

    Tailx22 New Member

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    I seem to get the most inspiration from other books, especially from the same genre of my own story. It's not that I'm taking the ideas, it's like developing existing ones into fresh, new, unique ones. Take "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" for example. Tom has to do work when he plays hooky or does something wrong. You can develop that into your story, such as your main character has to do chores every...Wednesday, or something. It's not the same idea, but "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" gave you inspiration.

    This is how I come up with a lot of my ideas. Read a bunch of books, and take small fragments of ideas from each one and combine all of them to make a wonderful story.
     
  6. Enki

    Enki New Member

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    well heres a version of plot that i have come up with, does this sound ok?...

    Plot 1

    Many years later the U.S has reopened the space program because of increasing earth changes that can greatly devastate the entire planet, already have sickness and great calamities out stretched among the whole planet, leaving parts of the earth uninhabitable, adequate resources failing to provide for human life, because of this the birth of factions, and governmental military agency have begun to intervene in world affairs more abroad, classify it as, top secret and confidential only, what ever necessary actions must be taken will be actuated upon orders of preserving the common wealth and good of the people, meaning retrieving any necessary data or artifacts serving important value in research.

    The devious plot was to decrease the earth population by 75% to balance insufficient resources in the planet, but there was another organization which were the ones to reopen the space program to disclose life beyond reach of our solar system, which estimated in the research of Worm Holes.

    Which is considered risky
     
  7. Aristocrazy

    Aristocrazy New Member

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    I'm also a storyline type, plots then grow from that
     
  8. iMazed

    iMazed New Member

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    Ok, so you can laugh at me for telling you this, and think I'm weird. But I swear it's true.

    I come up with my plots when I'm on the toilet.

    There is nothing in my toilet (other than toiletpaper, obviously, there is nothing to read, look at or keep yourself busy with) and so I find myself staring at the wall and daydreaming. Sometimes I stay there for fifteen minutes, and not even because I had to use the toilet so badly.

    Weird eh?
     
  9. hysteria

    hysteria New Member

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    Whatever works I guess... sitting on the Toilet. :) thats the most individual one I have read! Love it, made me laugh!
    Mines just boring. I generally forget my dreams :( So When I feel inspired from music, movies, nature, even just silence.. I get inspired and think about a story and write whatever pops into my head.
     
  10. Cyfer

    Cyfer New Member

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    My inspiration is music.I just listen to music and come up with different ideas ^^.
    Music is my freedom >_>
     
  11. Ani Lark

    Ani Lark New Member

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    Usually, I see a photo or drawing or I wake up in the middle of the night having just dreamt something strange and I think "What the--?"

    After a while, I begin to mull over ideas, just thinking "who are these people? where are they?" I start to develop characters and setting and bits of scenes. Usually, I get to a point where I can't think of anything anymore and I chuck it all in the bin until a bit later when I come up with another idea that's just as rubbish by itself, but once I mash it with the old idea it becomes something new and interesting.
     

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