Sticky, Sticky Ideas

I found a brilliant quote by UCLA screenwriting professor Richard Walter on Facebook (because quotes are about all that Facebook is good for nowadays). It was long, but the end sums it up well:

"Writing, like banging your head against the wall, feels terrific, mainly when you stop." -Richard Walter

So brilliantly true.

All that to say: I am stuck.  

It isn't for lack of ideas (another use for Facebook. People should turn their drama into stories. And that should be on a t-shirt).

My problem is that I have too many ideas! I start one, then the next hit calls to me. It tickles me softly (what a pity that I'm ticklish), then wraps me up in itself like the warmest blanket ever made, and I just have to ink out what that is like!

That is, until yet another idea grabs my mind and runs away with it.

But you know, that is no excuse. I know enough to know that I will never be seen as a writer if I never actually publish anything. And that will not happen unless I finish a story.

So here's what is going to happen, dear reader: I am going to share some of my short story ideas with you and you are going to tell me which one tickles you the most. Then I will write that one.

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Idea A.  "Friendship's Noose"

Two life-long loyal friends risk forever being divided by the cold, steel wedge of depression.

Zoe never did well on stage, or even with people. She was always the extra piece of a  puzzle, not quite fitting in anywhere.

Except with her one true friend, David.

Zoe and David have held a sacred unbroken friendship for most all their lives. The kindling of this loyalty began with David standing up for Zoe in third grade, ultimately absorbing the  blow of a ruthless bully. For her. Their friendship flourished like a flower in the warm spring.

Zoe and David were inseparable through high school, David always having Zoe's back, taking the sting of her enemies' relentless bullying. But by their senior year in high school, the wear and tear of these stings began to show through David in the clear form of depression. David's soul became cold as his self worth fell and shattered. Zoe watched helplessly as her friend's own loyalty to her slowly destroyed him.

The tipping point comes when Zoe receives a call from David, informing her that he is snuffing out his life's flame. Zoe hears him do while still on the phone and races to David in a desperate attempt to save him.

At this point in the story, we find Zoe on stage relating David's tale to a group of students. As Zoe wraps up her story and leaves the stage, enveloped in students' applauds, we meet Zoe again in a psychiatrist's office. With... (I won't reveal the end).

Idea B.  "Refraction"

The journey to find the person who looks back out of your reflection...when it's not you.

No choice but to stay.   Four people. A mobster, a lawyer, a catering chef, and a mother all wake up one fatal morning  to find not themselves, but a completely different person gazing through the mirror at  them. Who is this person? What are they here for? But most importantly, what happened  to themselves? These answers will only come once they find who they all really  are...and who their real reflection is.

Idea C.  "Changing Views"

An artist's story of redeeming the human soul.

James Martin arrived in the creative world with his creation of a masterpiece described by critics as "a perfect interpretation of the human soul". But when creativity leaves him abandoned for two years, James begins to think his masterpiece was wrong. A remake of his work ensues, but this time, with a darker portrayal of the human soul. The public hates the new work, spurring James on a desperate mission to redeem his career. However, if he saves his career, will it really change his new view on the human soul?

Idea D.  "Kristen's Crime"

A young girl's world burns around her when information is uncovered about her parents.

Kristen's world is left in ashes when she unearths the truth that, the parents she thought she never had, are on death row.

The facts are unmistakable: Kristen's parents were some of the darkest criminals, and now on the week of their execution, her parents' crimes begin to weigh on her. Is this who she is? Or does every person get to decide their own identity?

Who is the real Kristen? No one (least of all her) is willing to find out...except for the one person who distrusts her the most. Mark was the victim of one of Kristen's parents' killings. However, when the judge who condemned Kristen's parents is murdered, Mark is the only one who believes her story.

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Vote A, B, C, or D by leaving comments.

Until next week,

.Lily