How do you guys give an old idea, a fresh outlook. An example: Zombie outbreak. How do you make that something new and interesting. Not that im writing anything like that. Im just wounderingwhat others do.
Make it your own. That sounds kind of vague and touchy-feely, but yes, it's true. Lots of concepts have been used again and again, and yet people are willing to see them in stories; if you can put an interesting spin, or deepen an already done concept, you can make it your own. I guess.
Write what you want to read. I mean, what is Star Wars other than the rehashed fantasy plot of a farming lad (Luke) whose parents (Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru) get killed by the forces of an evil king (Stormtroopers), goes to the castle (Death Star) to save the princess (Leia), and then rallies with the princess's kingdom (Rebels) to storm the castle and defeat the big bad? George Lucas made it work with convincing presentation and showing people something they hadn't really seen before. Take something old and make it new again by making it your own.
For some time, I've had this idea floating around in my head. I can't disclose it here because it's the main plot for the story I'm writing. But a few times I kept coming back to it to make it interesting and something people would want to read. Well anyway, I started on this new book of mine about a month ago. Really, I didn't have the plot down yet. All I was focused on at that point was creating believable characters. And I did, and what happened was I was able to take that old idea of mine that wasn't that interesting in the least and combined it with my characters who began to pull and tug on it, shaping it into something new. This was the new angle I was able to get. Sometimes you've just got to take a few old ideas and turn them into something new. That's how some writers come up with "new" ideas, even though they are partially "old" ideas.
Tell the story from a perspective usually ignored or unseen. For example, in every zombie apocalypse, there is always a paramedic taking the very first zombie bite victim to the hospital. What happens to him? How and when does he first realize that this isn't rabies or drug induced psychosis? How does he cope with the thousands of bite victims that flood the emergency system over the next few days? What does he do when the dead begin to rise? Does he survive? In every superhero story, the hero battles the villain in the streets or over the skies of the city. What happens to the guy whose car is smashed by falling debris? In every war story, there is a supply sergeant struggling to get ammunition and rations to our hero squad. In every space opera, there is a technician battling to keep the air conditioning on as the space ship takes laser fire and flies to close to an alien sun. In every love story, there is a florist, enviously watching the protagonists send giant bouquets to each other and wondering when it will be her turn. Every story, no matter how repeated, has an unexamined angle. Find it.
Or even just change the cliche. What happens when the zombies are intelligent? Wait, that's World of Warcraft.
How do you guys give an old idea, a fresh outlook. My spin on a 75 year old Broadway tune...The characters grew up making fun of the lyrics when the Grandfather would sing it. His left hand pawed the neck of his weathered stand-up bass. "Picture you upon knee.” Xavier,voiced in show tune pitch. 'What the fugg ? You own only one chair ?" Katrina spoke, eyes rolling for effect. Xavier lifted his fingers off the fret board long enough to flash Katrina his middle finger . "Tea for Two." He continued. “Go figure, dude has only one chair but enough tea for two. “ Katrina spat, hand on hips. "No one near to see or hear." Xavier‘s crooned, he ran his strings like molten lava in pursuit of the key change. ''Who the phuck would wanna eavesdrop on people drinking tea, that's too kinky, too kinky for even Tommy O." Katrina retorted, her diamond sparkled as she spun her hand towards the trance still Tommy O'Malley, his idle guitar slung low at hip. 'We won't let it be known we only a telephone." Xavier continued, his Hendrix haired head bobbed on the down beat. "This mudder phucker must be from Da Parish,” Katrina jeered. “Too cheap for a second chair ,yet he gots a Blackberry but ain't givin' out the number, that do even make a bit of sense " 'Dawn will break - you'll bake a cake ." Xavier sung ,his hands danced the strings. Katrina waved her arms, like an over caffeinated traffic cop.“ Hold up ! Hoe-old the fug up !-- You gots the wrong girl if you think, Katrina Marie Concepion is baking a friggin' cake before she runs a brush cross her teeth.”
Put a new spin on one, several or all of these angles: who; what; where; when; how; why; physical; psychological; emotional; social; spiritual. There are a thousand and one paths in each of these factors. Let's use your zombie out break idea for example: zombies from space; zombies as 'reincarnated' past figures; zombie-ism as the norm and normalcy the disease; the most beautiful only as zombies; zombies as an accepted / important work force in society; zombies as lost children needing guidance; zombies as messengers of God; etc. There are a myriad of twists in each angle. ------------------------------------------------ Be good, wise and strong
Hi, If its zombie weird you want, there was a film put out on dvd a few months ago called Zombie Aaagh - or something like that. I don't rate it very highly, but it told a lot of the story from the perspective of the zombies themselves, who didn't know they were zombies and thought the rest of the town had a plague or something. Truly strange. Cheers.
I saw that last night. It's called Aaah! Zombies!! While it wasn't very good at all, it had a great conceit: why do zombies always move slowly and communicate in a low, long, drawn-out moan? Because the process of zombification causes their metabolisms to slow down, which causes their perception of time to slow down... or something. Anyway, it was a terrific example of a fresh spin on a done-to-death (pardon the pun) concept.
Hi, I know, a poor movie and yet extremely creative and some clever ideas. I mean the guy's sitting on a bar stool nibbling at the brains of a dead man like they're bar snacks and wonders at some point if Mexican brains taste spicy. Picant I think was the answer. And simply the constant shifting of perspective between how the zombies saw themselves and how everyone else did. I still find that funny. Cheers.
Thanks guys. I was just interested on the different methods, other people used. However, I do like the sound of that; Arg Zombies! I might check it out. As for the methods themselves, I tend to take somthing everyone already knows, take somthing out of it and add somthing totally weird and out there. XD
