Not that BS again!

Last night as I laid in bed thinking of a cool story to write, nothing came to mind. Nothing so spectacular or awe inspiring came into my conscious mind. Not that I didn't have an idea or two, but they drew a picture of blaise indifference to my own imagination. If they did that to me, then I'm sure to any reader it would be like eating dry toast on a hot summer's day.
Many of my 'stories' have come from neat ideas that I've had. One of the basic tools a writer uses is the 'what if' questions they ask themselves. "What if a man can heal people gets convicted for killing two young girls." You get the Green Mile. The game is easy enough to play. The hard part is convincing yourself that not only is the idea good, but who is going to play the role of the people you are projecting. That is where I stumble.

Characters are the story. No matter what media, the characters make or break the story. How many times has a premise sounded great about a movie, you watch it and it falls flat because you couldn't identify with the characters. (I'm not counting bad acting here. Only poorly developed characters).

Last week on Battlestar Galactica they showed a boxing sequence that fell flat on its face. The premise wasn't very good and the 'drama' they sought to include from backstory sucked. It did little to advance the characters, but played on the ability to create bad tension between friends and family. It turned into a soap opera. This is one of two or three shows I will watch on TV. Hell I own the first two seasons on DVD. It is a show I like, it brought me back to the days of watching Star Trek. But the characters fell flat.

Now instead of scenes I'd like to see, I need to audition characters for a good story. Maybe I can discover someone never used before and he or she can become a star. Maybe not in the sense of Hollywood, but a star of my own making.

cya laterz