Gretchen Rubin shared 6 Quick Story Exercises to Spark Your Creativity. Here’s the gist of it:
- Funny _____Pick a drama, thriller, or horror film and turn it into a comedy.
- Serious _____Likewise, pick a comedy and make it into a drama. SeriousAnimal House – Drama about cheating scandal at a small university ends in A Few Good Men-like showdown.
- FBI out of water.This works for comedy or drama. Name five places that a FBI agent in the movies has never been sent to solve a crime. Example: Slob FI agent is sent undercover to a Provence Cooking School.
- _____ SchoolWorks for both drama and comedy. Name five examples of an unusual type of school, camp, or classroom. Example: “Wife School.”
- Versus!Drama or comedy. Name several pairs of people to be on opposite sides of a burning issue.
- My ______ Is a Serial KillerDrama or comedy. Name an unusual person, animal, or thing that a paranoid can suspect of being a murderer.
These exercises are originally taken from Blake Snyder’s book Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need