The Weird Idea Prompt Game

[VBoheme]

I've done similar things to this before to get over writers' block and drag myself kicking and screaming from my comfort zone. Always a good thing. Here's the idea - Post one of the weirdest ideas you've ever had (loglines, yo) and come up with something to make the one above work.

Ex:

ForumGuy88 - "In Soviet Russia, the survivors eat the zombies."

ROFLCOPTER4EVER - "In the height of the Cold War, a sudden freak accident unleashes the Zombie Apocalypse upon Russian Sibera. Stranded and alone, the survivors must find a new way of staying alive...by hunting the very zombies that destroyed them."

Yeah, that's about the best I could come up with, but that was quick a dirty thanks to a random logline generator.



Weird Idea:

A burnt out accountant and his hippie college roommate decide to start a hockey team based on the roof of a local video store.

Note: Kudos if you know what inspired that one.

 

[victortiti89]

I had one, it was called the " Crazy Living Room Adventure". It was about a living room who took people back in time, and they had to escape. Another one was about two kids who had to escape from hell...
PS: Your idea isn't weird, it's in fact very interesting!

 

[VBoheme]

I had one, it was called the " Crazy Living Room Adventure". It was about a living room who took people back in time, and they had to escape. Another one was about two kids who had to escape from hell...
PS: Your idea isn't weird, it's in fact very interesting!

Haha my hockey one I had a waaaay long time ago, back when I first watched...Clerks.

It's funny you should bring up the time-travel room thing, because I had a similar idea the other day, but with a motel room. Thought about putting this Hitchcock-esque spin on it. The idea was that each door led to a different moment or place in time, etc. But I see crazy comedic possibility for the living room. Devoured by shag carpeting. I think that's honestly a pretty decent idea.

 

[Jack Lynt]

At first I didn't understand what you meant. Now I think I get it? Uchh, I probably suck at this. But I'll risk sucking for the fun and for the exercise.

Weird Idea:

A burnt out accountant and his hippie college roommate decide to start a hockey team based on the roof of a local video store.

Attempt:

Jim, the slacker manager of Video Cosmos, helps his suicidal former college roommate, Nandan the accountant, find a new lease on life by together starting a minor league hockey team, the Akron Steel Pistons, on the rooftop of the video store.



Weird Idea:

An aging Madame and a disgraced cop must save Christmas in a dying post-industrial [or mining or fishing] town.



(Is that how it's played? Now the next person has to turn that into an interesting, more refined logline? Or do I still not get it?)


Edit:

Ack. After some more thought, I don't think I do get it. After all, aren't 'A burnt out accountant and his hippie college roommate decide to start a hockey team based on the roof of a local video store.' and 'An aging Madame and a disgraced cop must save Christmas in a dying post-industrial [or mining or fishing] town.' both already loglines? Isn't that also true of 'In Soviet Russia, the survivors eat the zombies.' ?

Or is the game for people to simply post more weird ideas?

 

[VBoheme]

(Is that how it's played? Now the next person has to turn that into an interesting, more refined logline? Or do I still not get it?)


Edit:

Ack. After some more thought, I don't think I do get it. After all, aren't 'A burnt out accountant and his hippie college roommate decide to start a hockey team based on the roof of a local video store.' and 'An aging Madame and a disgraced cop must save Christmas in a dying post-industrial [or mining or fishing] town.' both already loglines? Isn't that also true of 'In Soviet Russia, the survivors eat the zombies.' ?

Or is the game for people to simply post more weird ideas?

The short version - Basically, it's posting a short, one sentence description (or...logline..oops. I blame the sleep deprivation..) of a weird idea. Then, it's followed by extending the idea to make it make sense in a story form. It's really not an uber serious thing. Some of the times I've done this, the stories are weirder than the ideas, but the beautiful thing? They work. All about being creative.


Idea: "A small town is devastated by a toilet paper shortage."

Making It Work: "A lonely frontier town forgets to order its yearly supply of toilet paper, and must send a messenger to procure some more from a distant rival town." This would work because it extends the idea, and creates characters/plot points/conflict from it.


Does that make more sense?

 

[Jack Lynt]

Yeah I think so.

So. Weird idea:

An aging Madame and a disgraced cop must save Christmas in a dying post-industrial [or mining or fishing] town.

=)