Useful Sites:
Raindance film festival is a famous festival for independent film. Here are some tips from the festival on how to write a short film:
http://www.raindance.org/7-rules-for-writing-short-films/
Here are some more tips from a screenwriting magazine:
http://www.scriptmag.com/features/7-simple-secrets-making-a-short-film
Tips on writing a plot:
A how-to guide on creating a horror film:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Horror-Film
A plot generation tool:
http://writingexercises.co.uk/plotgenerator.php
A wide range of story ideas:
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/short-story-ideas.html
Writing Techniques/Idea generators:
- Brainstorm- write down on a piece of paper as many ideas as you can- these might be one line descriptions for a story which you can then add more bits too.
- Free-writing- pick one of your ideas and write out a story quickly and in an unplanned way to see what you come up with.
Free writing is a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps writers overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism.
- Compiling influences- jot down lots of elements (characters, plots, props, twists, locations, lines, paste images) from existing films and other sources (adverts, TV shows, music videos, photos etc)
- Adapting- take an existing story and adapt it to your location and your characters and put your own spin on it. After all there are only 7 plots in the history of storytelling which have been adapted to new times and situations, do you agree? Here they are:
The 7 plots of Storytelling:
Overcoming the Monster: Hero learns of a great evil threatening the land, and sets out to destroy it.
Rags to Riches: Surrounded by dark forces who suppress and ridicule him, the Hero slowly blossoms into a mature figure who ultimately gets riches, a kingdom, and the perfect mate.
The Quest: Hero learns of a great MacGuffin that he desperately wants or needs to find, and sets out to find it, often with companions.
Voyage and Return: Hero heads off into a magic land with crazy rules, ultimately triumphs over the madness and returns home far more mature than when he set out.
Comedy: Hero and Heroine are destined to get together, but a dark force is preventing them from doing so; the story conspires to make the dark force repent, and suddenly the Hero and Heroine are free to get together. This is part of a cascade of effects that shows everyone for who they really are, and allows two or more other relationships to correctly form.
Tragedy: The flip side of the Overcoming the Monster plot. Our protagonist character is the Villain, but we get to watch him slowly spiral down into darkness before he’s finally defeated, freeing the land from his evil influence.
Rebirth: As with the Tragedy plot, but our protagonist manages to realize his error before it’s too late, and does a Heel-Face Turn to avoid inevitable defeat.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheSevenBasicPlots?from=Main.TheSevenBasicPlots
Media Studies 