Creative Ideas - Grab Bag!

clark · 2005-07-21 06:08:40

This thread is intended to be a general and all purpose repository for ideas. One of the challenges of writing, or developing a creative idea into something unique, is often finding that initial seed to germinate into a blooming story, or poem, or song, or painting.

Here we will list general ideas that others may use and try to develop further. We will also occasionally put up challenges to the group to develop specific ideas related to certain themes here: http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3674. (The Challenge!)

Examples would include writing or developing a scene about the first step on Mars, a horror story or murder on a space ship, a Christmas or Halloween themed idea relevant to space, a mutiny, a love story involving Olympus Mons, and of course, a Prophet of Doom with a penchant for rabbits.

Anything is fair game, and while the idea may not necessarily be centered around space or Mars, we should strive to develop the ideas to be relevant towards this theme.

clark · 2005-07-21 06:12:31

A scientist on Mars conducting strange experiments that get out of hand.

clark · 2005-07-21 06:18:33

Due to a malfunction, human error, or bad luck, two or more people must make a choice on who will be sacrificed.

clark · 2005-07-21 06:19:56

An astronaut ends up adrift in space from their spaceship and/or friends.

clark · 2005-07-21 06:24:31

A profound discovery is made and lost, or hidden to protect it.

Cobra Commander · 2005-07-21 06:25:31

A rape occurs on a Mars ship. Crew of six. The victim is the mission commander.

Feel free to run with it, I doubt I'll ever develop the idea.

clark · 2005-07-21 06:25:45

A secret or special place is threatened.

Cobra Commander · 2005-07-21 06:33:54

Quadruple-redundant systems can and do fail and scientists projections are often grossly off.

Palomar · 2005-07-22 12:05:03

*I do have a suggestion. How about round robins? You all probably know what they are, but just in case:

A theme is created with specific characters/situation. Everyone takes a turn at writing the next scene.

Do I have a suggestion for a round robin? Not at this time (personal stress/unpleasant financial issue), sorry.

It'd work similar to You're a First Martian Settler but everyone agrees to build on the work of the previous writer...or at least to continue it. No running off in an entirely different direction.

I'm not sure how beneficial I will be to this Usergroup, considering the gender difference factor among other things. For instance, a creative urge might hit me but it's nothing anyone else would be interested in or it's private. I can write on demand...it just depends. Right now I'm running on low and am preoccupied with serious real-life stuff.

Anyway, thought I'd recommend the "round robin" thing. It's interactive, fun, surprising...some fan fic groups utilize it.

I'll try to think up something, though...

--Cindy

clark · 2005-07-22 17:38:56

Round Robins are great!

I think Cindy has given a good description, but another way to think about Round Robins is as the writing equivalent of musical "jam" sessions. The goal is not so much as what you are writing, but more of trying to harmonize your sound and style with that of others.

Round Robins are truly a great way to develop collaborative work where we all contribute to a final goal. In my experience, individuals can get the most out of this style by following the stated ground rules of the exercise.

Of course, Round Robins can be "free-form", and the contributions of others only tangentially related to the overall setting. You see a mix of this in the "Martian Settlers" thread that has been so entertaining.

People bring their individual perspective and style into an overall setting, with the end result being a world that comes alive with the separate voices of each contribution.

I think, and please correct me if I am mistaken, that Cindy is suggesting that we have a more structured attempt at Round Robins.

To really do that successfully, we should define where the story starts (such as a space station, a Mars base, first colonists, etc.) and where we would like the Round Robin to end (such as the final terra-forming of Mars, landing on the Moon, solving the reactor core breach, etc.)

For a "structured" Round Robin, I think those who suggest a certain storyline should try and describe the roles that contributors should bring to the story line(such as a member of an exploration team, Martian natives, space tourists, etc.). They should also define the start point, and where they think the story should finally end.

The general rule of a structured Round Robin is that contributors have leeway within the beginning and end state of the story goals, they may not kill off other characters not of their own creation, and they may not create a situation that closes off further contribution.

An example of a no-no would be, "Then I summoned God, and he undid all the wrongs, and smote my enemies."

The idea is to work together in the game, not compete with one another. Success is measured by how well you play your own role just as much as how well you help others to play theirs.

But of course, if you want to pursue a free form, no holds barred Round Robin, you are more than welcome. But even in this situation, one should strive to try to include others, and create situations within your own story lines that leave room for others to carry on.

I think Round Robins can be an excellent Challenge for the group, and be something we might consider presenting to the NewMars board. I encourage you all to suggest, and contribute to any Round Robins that come up in the future.

It may make the most sense to create a separate thread for each unique Round Robin, since it will allow people to more easily follow particular story lines.

Echus_Chasma · 2005-07-25 03:31:34

One thing that we do in another http://www.ibdof.com/]forum which I regular (which is a book forum, hehe) is something called Volleyball. Each person has a score and at the end of the week, the person with the highest score wins a "sherlock" (which is just a little scoring system in place to give things a little friendly competition.

The basic outline is here. It could be changed a bit for purposes here, but just as a reference...

1. GENRE HOPPING: Just to make things interesting, each new post must switch to a different genre style (i.e, Sci Fi, Horror, Gumshoe Mystery, Romance, Fantasy, Juvenile, Comedy, Anime/Cartoon, Superheroes, etc.). You must announce that genre at the top of your post, before actually beginning.
2. CONTINUITY: A given post must end abruptly, in mid-story, with an elipsis (...) and the next person to post MUST pick up immediately where the previous post left off, using their new genre style - after that, all bets are off. You can steer the story wherever you wish, being as conservative, or as crazy as you desire.
3. TURNS: Participants are not allowed to respond to their own posts - after you post, you must wait for at least 1 other person to post before posting again. To avoid crossing posts, we'll use a 'token key' system - if the thread appears open, and waiting for a response, post "OK, MY TURN" ... after that, you have up to TWO HOURS to make your post. If more than one hour goes by, it's thrown open to all comers who wish to declare it's THEIR turn. However, if nobody else has claimed the turn by the time your delayed post is ready, then go ahead and post it.
n.b. - once you have grabbed your turn - for your post simply "edit" your turn lock. Dropped tokens will at some stage be edited out...
4. EFFORT: Dont trivialize - put a little effort into making your post interesting & entertaining, otherwise there's no point in playing. Be as funny, or as serious as you like. The whole point is to have a little mutual fun bouncing around a constantly evolving plot - like a crowd with a beach ball.
5. LENGTH: There is no minimum or maximum length for any given post - provided you can write it in less than 1 hour.
6. RATING: The forum is essentially PG13 - we will exercise some lattitude in this area - but if you wish to cross the line you do so at the risk of censorship!

Scoring Rules:
1] Post count [This is more for keeping an easy eye on active participants]
2] Originality [has this material been used before on this thread]
3] Continuity [Did this post successfully close on the preceding post]
4] Rule Breakers [should be obious... ]
5] Bonus Points [WOTD, answer to other game (MQG, etc...) etc....]
Each post is eligable for 1 point in each category - The idea with category 4] of course is to keep your score low

Additionally, while the Volleyball round is running, there is a commentry section so that people can talk about how the game is running, possible storylines, scoring etc etc. At the end of the year, the thread is closed and compiled into one big file called Volleyball *Year* for future reference.

That's how things are run over in the ibdof.com; can be changed etc to fit our purposes.

srmeaney · 2005-07-25 06:29:13

When writing, dont be afraid to let the villain win. Sure, that doesnt realy wash with the propaganda people, but this world was built by Bandits, Raiders, Pirates, Warlords, Thieves, and Killers. They went on to become kings, Popes, corporate directors, and shapers of Civilization.

Recommended reading: Power without Glory by Frank Hardy
Despite what the Author said during the trial in which he was charged by a promentent Australian family with defamation, The story was infact a true story...

clark · 2005-07-25 17:14:09

You bring up a very good point srmeaney, "the villain" as hero!

Generally, there are two aspects working against an author who wishes to focus on the villain as a protagonist instead of as a traditional antagonist.

One is the predisposition that a villain winning is usually considered an "unhappy" ending. This is less of an issue in works outside of the United States, but inside, generally, the audience prefers for the good guys to win, and the bad guys to lose. One of the theories of the difference in appreciation between the audience is thought to be the historical experience of say, Europe, versus that of America. Europe, as an example, has experienced quite bit more range in terms of destruction and unhappy endings. This has an affect on the perception of the writers too, and influences a great many of their works to express their experience.

Only relatively recently has the American audience been more receptive to a reversal of the standard happy ending tale, and of course, different people have different tastes (I am of course speaking in generalities to give a basic background on the matter). Now this is relevant because many people are not so disposed to create "unhappy" endings for their creative work, but it can be rewarding as an artistic challenge, or yet another way to approach your story. The advantage to a writer in working on something like this is that it better prepares you when you wish to work on character creation, allowing you to feel more comfortable in creating a believable villain. How so?

Well this takes me to point number two, to write a villain piece effectively, you need to engage the reader so as they become attached to the villain. Examples include Darth Vader, Dr. Stragelove, the Vampire Lestat, and just about any memorable villain from James Bond. Now these are examples, and there are many others, and there are slight differences in how to successfully attach your audience to a villain.

In the case of Darth Vader, there is redemption. In the case of Strangelove, there is sheer and utter comical madness that is engaging. Or in the case of Lestat, you have an amoral character that wanders in and out of redemption, drawing the reader along to see what happens. The trick really is to write the villain in such a way that the audience doesn't mind that the villain winning is the cause of the unhappy ending.

An interesting read if any are predisposed is, "The Stranger," by Albert Camus. The story deals with amoral ambivalence and the fall of the main protagonist within a farce of circumstance. The reader is drawn in to the story of Meursault, a character with few redeeming qualities, and somehow by the end, feels empathy towards someone who really deserves none.

Our own resident Prophet (C.C.) in the Martian Settler threads is something of a villain, but he successfully portrays the villain by creating an atmosphere where you secretly want the character to succeed just to see what he will do next.

If any are interested, I might suggest that we consider developing villain pieces for a challenge. I think there is a great deal to lean by approaching your own work in non-traditional ways (as in ways you don't necessarily think about). It allows you to stretch, and tends to teach you something in the process.

Palomar · 2005-07-25 18:26:08

*Something (an industrial chemical/gas inhaled -- perhaps otherwise odorless and tasteless, and mysteriously leaked) renders a small group of colonists or astronauts on an 18-month mission blind and mute for 3 days, and tied in with a serious life-support issue. How do they communicate with one another? How do they attempt to resolve the problem and get out of the situation alive?

--Cindy

Echus_Chasma · 2005-07-25 22:36:54

Building on the thought of a villian winning; to move away from the good guys vs bad guys sorta thing, give the protagonist some kind of negative trait which impacts largely on how he relates to people (but not enough so that we aren't turned off the story), and also have the antagonist have some endearing traits as well. For example, a 'goody' who is a compulsive theif versus a 'baddy' who champions animal rights, or something like that.

You can go further, and make your otherwise moral character put in a situation where they have to make a very hard choice (eg in L.E. Modesitt, Jr's Ethos Effect), or make us see the antagonist's point of view, and make that point of view just in their eyes (For example a kind and moral tyrant, who is forced by whatever forces to be harsh on his/her kingdom).

Goody vs Baddy stories suck! It is the amount of grayness in between the extremes that makes a storyline interesting.

Palomar · 2005-07-26 10:55:19

Building on the thought of a villian winning; to move away from the good guys vs bad guys sorta thing, give the protagonist some kind of negative trait which impacts largely on how he relates to people (but not enough so that we aren't turned off the story), and also have the antagonist have some endearing traits as well. For example, a 'goody' who is a compulsive theif versus a 'baddy' who champions animal rights, or something like that.
You can go further, and make your otherwise moral character put in a situation where they have to make a very hard choice (eg in L.E. Modesitt, Jr's Ethos Effect), or make us see the antagonist's point of view, and make that point of view just in their eyes (For example a kind and moral tyrant, who is forced by whatever forces to be harsh on his/her kingdom).
Goody vs Baddy stories suck! It is the amount of grayness in between the extremes that makes a storyline interesting.

*I can think of one storyline where Good vs Bad (and each very markedly delineated) worked marvelously. But yeah...usually a "mix" is more believable and interesting. Give your "Bathless Bart" a daisy: Give an otherwise mostly odious character one admirable trait; give a "good guy/gal" an unpleasant habit or personality flaw.

My only gripe is when the lines of distinction become too blurred and skids off on some totally grayed-out amoral situation. That's not believable, is boring and etc.

In Dark Shadows, the main protagonist was Anqelique; an extremely cruel and merciless witch obssessed with Barnabas Collins. She will stop at literally nothing to win his heart and soul; an obssessive psycho if ever there were one (a genuine stalker by today's terms). Some fans of the show love Angelique. Besides disliking her methods and actions (reprehensible, IMO), the show's writers made her too negative. She has no redeeming qualities; none. That was a mistake, IMO -- basically because they painted her into a corner; she's a rigid, inflexible character who is oh-so predictable (will always do someone else as much harm as she possibly can); 1-dimensional. If she'd been giving one redeeming quality or a few glimmers of same, she'd have been multi-dimensional and therefore more interesting IMO.

Goody-two-shoes characters can be b-o-r-i-n-g, but so can entirely evil characters. Making characters at least somewhat UNpredictable is important, IMO. Of course there'd be variations in unpredictability, according to the character's personality and temperament, etc. And now I'm rambling...

--Cindy

srmeaney · 2005-07-26 18:53:30

Actually, I was talking more about this:

It was midnight when Cassie got to the Fannie Bay address. She had seen it in the paper. This was the Chief Minister’s house.
Stephan stepped out from behind a tree. He was wearing white overalls, gloves, and a mask.
“Quick. Put these on.” Stephan tossed her a bag. Cassie pulled her skirt off and slipped into the overalls. Stephan felt her up.
“Stop that. You’re distracting me.” Stephan smiled.
“That’s the point.”
“What are we doing here?” Cassie looked about with concern.
“There’s a curfew on with that boat that hit that mine.”
Stephan stared into her eyes.
“I know. We are just here to do some spray painting.” Stephan handed her a spray pack.
Stephan sprayed fluorescent yellow on the brick wall of the house.
“Go that way and I’ll meet you on the patio.” Cassie smiled and headed along the front of the house.
Stephan moved for the patio.
Cassie took a while before she reached the patio.
Stephan timed it just right as he emerged onto the patio with the wine. Cassie watched as he exited the sliding door.
“What the hell are you doing?” Stephan licked his lips.
“Keep your voice down. You’ll wake the neighbors.” Cassie was horrified.
“Are you fucking insane?”
“Just getting us some drinks.” Stephan shook his head.
“Put them back.”
“You put them back.”
“Bastard.” Cassie was scared for the first time in her life.
“Fridge, Left hand side or they will know you were in the house.” Cassie clenched her teeth and swore inwardly.
“When you get done, I will be heading for the beach for a swim.” Stephan walked off.
This guy was a total bastard. She needed to ditch him as soon as possible. Cassie entered the house and moved slowly through the lounge. It had beautiful furniture. Certainly none of that cheap shit the rest lived with.
Cassie circled the small dining table and moved towards the open-plan kitchen. The fridge was a double door monster with stainless steel shell. Cassie opened the left door. The light was out. She saw the gun on the fridge shelf. There was light.
The explosion shredded the house. Brickwork tore through adjacent houses and rained roof tile across the suburb.

Is a wedge from a short story I did...Its not all that good but you get the drift. The Primary (Stephan) is a Terrorist. it isnt a 'good vs evil' tale, its more a 'wake of chaos' kind of tale. The villain blows through town , does what he does and leaves. You are left with a sense of horror at how easy it was for him to use and destroy others.

I showed the entire story to a friend and after she decided that There was something wrong about writing such a story, to the point she totaly freeked out over it. It questioned the reality she was living in to protect herself from what was happening in the real world. She stopped talking to me after that.

clark · 2005-07-27 13:32:13

Well, you do bring up an interesting example of how a writer can approach a particular subject matter, and through presentation, demonstrate the unique characteristics of combining story plot with story style.

In this instance we have Stephan, a terrorist, who randomly destroys on a whim. And just like that, the story ends, in a random act of violence with little explanation. This can be an effective tool when developing “cliff-hanger” scenes within a larger piece, or when your direct interest is in ending a story sharply, and suddenly, to convey a certain feeling to the piece.

It’s like a beautiful symphony that builds slowly to an instantaneous crashing crescendo! The effect helps contrast your ending against the development of the story. I think you might be more successful if you keep the ending, but provide more context, and a slower development of the scene.

Since everything seems to be tied up to the final dénouement, you might try keeping the ending, but building up the readers investment and interest in the two characters. This way the sudden loss will be sharper, and more vivid. This also helps to provide some more subtext to the piece as you explore the ‘terrorism’ angle and how the female character’s world is turned around by meeting this male character.

srmeaney · 2005-07-27 17:29:06

Ok, Back to the Grab Bag-

Our primary is a young astronaut draging a trolly of oxygen bottles across the bleak red landscape. She (or He) is now the lone survivor of a crashed colonization transport (there were twelve) occasional flashbacks to events on the ship lead you to darker aspects of the history of this individual.

Echus_Chasma · 2005-07-27 22:34:23

I showed the entire story to a friend and after she decided that There was something wrong about writing such a story, to the point she totaly freeked out over it. It questioned the reality she was living in to protect herself from what was happening in the real world. She stopped talking to me after that.

Isn't that interesting?

My favourite author L.E. Modesitt, Jr. writes storys that force you to think about what you would do, for example, would you kill millions of people in order to prevent a twisted regime from murdering billions if you were the only person who could make that decision - and there is a twist, you have been blessed/cursed with an extremely long life, so whatever decision you make, you will have to leave through the consequences.

Thus why he will never get on the Bestsellers list; He forces people to think, which many do their uttermost to avoid. But in saying that, he has many, many extremely dedicated fans.

clark · 2005-07-28 16:48:41

Create a Martian myth that explains part of the natural environment of Mars.

srmeaney · 2005-07-28 18:15:02

The Hammer of Thebadin and Why Mars is Red

I re posted these in their own section. Not realy grab bag stuff-more example type stuff.

srmeaney · 2005-08-06 02:36:04

Another poorly used Story telling Method is the Concept of The Captains Log...Yes I know Startrek... If only.

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2089AD

The Planetary Stores processing facility on Diemos, having issued ten barrels of Brandy be dispatched to this Colony station, for the use of Senior officers, Civil and Millitary, as a bonus beyond current duties paid in resource share, requires in return cargo, a series of core samples taken from sites six through twenty.

It has been decided for moral purposes that the Brandy is to be made available to core sample survey teams on extended runs beyond a week.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2089AD

The Planetary Stores processing facility at Diemos has issued a warning that Colonists have been trading water for Alcohol beyond the control perimeter of Station Six Personnel.

Notice to All Personnel: It is now an offence to conduct unauthorised trade. Any one caught doing so will be subject to a loss of Citizenship.

-an exerpt from the Mars Station Six Mission Commanders Log

John Creighton · 2005-08-08 18:54:55

A Spy movie

The united states take the lead in the development of a mars base and are just testing out some new technologies including solar sails, scram jets and Gas core nuclear reactors. Meanwhile the Russians have been secretly building a massive Orion powered starship underground capable of lifting a city into space. Unknown to the Russians there is an internal military plot to prematurely launch the starship for the pride of Russia and claim Mars as a Russian state.

The united states intelligence gather inside information on this plot but cannot gather enough information without the help of a suspicions and proud Russian KGB. To complicate matters further some of members of the Russian intelligence agency are part of the secrete plot.

clark · 2005-08-10 21:55:37

Two characters are lost in the Martian wilderness and fight with one another, only to find out that one or both are in love with the other.

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