This is my first post here and I've been looking around online for some good creative advice to help with my writer's block. With the holidays over, I've been trying to come up with an idea for my next short film but my mind is so chaotic and zapped of creativity that my ideas are like butterflies and I'm swatting at them with my net trying to put them into even the most basic concept. I know what issues I'd like to explore and showcase but I've got no story. So far, I've got my protagonists: MARTY (14 -16) - lonely, a bookish type and THE GREAT PROF. HAROLDZINI - An curmudgeonly old Magician An Inciting Incident: Upon the passing of his grandfather, MARTY (14, bookish, cautious) receives an old cigar box containing all kinds of curios. Marty is particularly intrigued by an old-fashioned skeleton key. During examination, he discovers an engraving that reads, "Prop. of Har. Cartw't." Also in the box, Marty finds an old photograph of his grandfather as a young man smiling standing on a the deck of a ship. The photo, which had clearly been torn in half years ago, shows someone's arm around his shoulder. Is there a connection between the key and the photograph? It is discovered that "Har. Cartw't" is semi-retired, past-his-prime magician Prof. Haroldzini and when Marty meets him to inquire about the key and his grandfather the story moves into high gear, I just can't figure out what the characters are supposed to...do. What is their quest? What is their goal? I'd like to make this a coming-of-age story that deals with themes of identity, regret, and righting past wrongs. I'd like to involve elements of science-fiction, fantasy, and magical realism. I what know it sounds incredibly vague but like I said, my creativity has been shot by the all the hours working my regular job. Please help. If anyone has any plot suggestions I would really appreciate it. Sincerely, Dangerboy
What is the conflict? Was his grandfather murdered, maybe? Could the perpetrator's identity be linked to the box of cigarettes and the old professor somehow?
