How to know if your story idea is good enough?

So when it comes to your story ideas for a screenplay, how do you know as a writer if the idea that you're having is good enough? Is there a way to know if it has potential and is something that could be turned into a screenplay?

After all, considering that writing is hard work and takes serious effort, you don't want to take on a task that you won't be able to pull off well. It's not fun to spend months working on a project that doesn't have enough potential to become something solid.

So below I decided to list some things that you should keep in mind when it comes to your story ideas. You should take these things into consideration when you're thinking about your ideas and whether they might be strong / practical enough. 

1) Did you come up with the idea yourself? 

First of all, even though this might sound a bit silly, you should ask yourself whether it was you who came up with the idea for the story. Did you come up with it, or did someone else perhaps come up with the idea and make a movie out if it? 

The reason that I bring up this is that a lot of times people decide to write a screenplay after they have seen the latest 'hit' movie that they found to be cool. They think that copying the idea of the film (or something about it) needs to be done.

The problem here is that in the vast majority of cases the scripts that come up after the hit movies are absolutely terrible. There are so many examples that you can't really even mention them all (good examples, 'Lethal Weapon', 'Superbad' copycats).

2) Is the story idea organic enough? 

You should think about is whether you think your idea actually makes sense and 'feels' organic. Is there something about the premise, the setting or the characters that makes you feel that there's some potential there (subconscious mind speaking)?

After all, let's not forget that you're not just supposed to write a script unless, there's at least some sort of an semi-'objective' reason to write it. There should be some actual value and meaning behind your story idea that you're thinking of taking further. 

In reality, there's no doubt that the more natural and the more organic the premise feels, the easier it is to start building on it. (good example: 'Amelie', neutral example 'biopic films', questionable example 'Spies in Disguise' (agent transforms into a pigeon).

3) Do you have an overarching storyline figured out already? 

So when it comes to your story idea, it would help if you'd have some sort of an 'end game goal' for your character. It would help tremendously if you already know what the basic things that your protagonist wants to achieve.

After all, in a good screenplay a character will go through some sort of an transformation that will change his life (or the life of others). At the end of the movie something has happened that makes the experience meaningful (you can figure it out later too).

Indeed, if you don't eventually have an overarching plot in your script, the screenplay will simply wander aimlessly for 120 pages. There isn't any proper theme or anything other meaningful stuff in it, and it's impossible to market and to sell it.

4) How much research is needed for the project?

When it comes to the execution part of the story, do you need to do any research to be able to tell your story? Is this a story that requires a lot of extra studying so that you could make it seems believable for the reader / expert?

After all, there are certainly movie genres where you absolutely have to be able to master some things that you don't know yet. Even I had to do minor research for my children's story that I thought wouldn't need any studying whatsoever.

As a whole, this is important because if your story idea requires tons of research that you haven't already made, it's definitely going to make the project more difficult. The less you have to study and the more you get to concentrate on your story beats, the better.

5) Is there an actual market for your story idea?

Also, even though this isn't a question that shouldn't be necessarily always asked, it's still something that you should keep in mind. Do you think that there's a potential market for the story idea if you decide to go through with it.

After all, if you're coming up with a story that is full of idealism, kindness and humour, then it might be something to pursue. It's obvious that people want to experience something that more than likely would put them on a better mood.

On the other hand, even though your 'idea' might somehow make 'sense', if it's too dark, I'm not so sure about it. If it's not something that a movie goer or a book reader might want to experience (and yes I mean way too dark), you should probably think again.

6) Overall, do you feel excited about writing the story?

Finally, it cannot be overstated how important it is that you're actually motivated and excited about tackling your potential task. Do you feel like that this is a journey that you're willing to take yourself on and that it will be worth the effort?

After all, if you think that your idea as whole might be something that is fresh, something that can you actually pull off and is perhaps marketable too, that is something to consider. You should feel at least cautiously optimistic about the project.

On the other hand, if your answer to this question is a no, then you should not give it a shot. You shouldn't do it, because even though writing is a good thing and everyone should try it, there are already too many scripts on the market that are absolutely awful.

Update on writing projects & other stuff.

So when it comes to the things that have happened lately to me as a writer, I have to say that - as unfortunate as it is - things haven't gone exactly as planned. I haven't been able to achieve all the things that I have wanted lately.

Indeed, even though I have worked pretty hard and diligently on different projects, things haven't gone my way. It hasn't been easy to get things to the point where would I be able to get some sort of a reward for my efforts.

So when it comes to these setbacks and disappointments that I've experienced, by far the biggest disappointment has had to do with my book project. I had no idea that it could be this difficult to get your book published as a writer.

By that I mean that once I got my children's book more or less completed late last year, I thought that at least one of the publishers would take the bait. I felt confident and optimistic that the quality of the story would be high enough.

However, after having now gotten rejection letters from six different publishers, I've had to accept that it might be that things won't go my way. There's a good chance that the book won't be published (although I still have notable publishers left). 

The really disappointing thing here is that what I managed to write is way better than what usually gets published. Every single person who has read the book says that it's well written (some have said it's a superbly well written & a beautiful book). 

Indeed, not only are the characters in the book relatable and interesting, the story makes sense and is well crafted. It has a good structure, there's ton of substance and observations about life and you simply feel better about life once you read the book.

The setback that I've experienced here has been so disappointing that it has also made wary of starting with another project that I have in the works. I haven't started writing that book, even though I have some pretty solid ideas for it already. 

After all, I can't help but to think that if the book that I wrote isn't good enough to be published, then what is then, really. The idea of having to spend another six months or so working on a project that might not get anywhere either doesn't exactly make you feel great.

Still, just because these particular projects haven't been going my way, that doesn't mean that nothing good has happened. I'm not saying that all is lost and that there's no point in me developing my craft and trying to become more versatile as a writer.

By that I mean is that some weeks ago I was contacted by a foundation that does all kinds of creative work (art, music, studio stuff, lyrics) and they asked me for help. They asked whether I would be willing to start a workshop that had to do with creative writing. 

The reason for this request was that there was demand for the class and that they had gotten good references from others. They thought that since I had given lectures elsewhere and stuffs, I would be the guy who would be able to pull this thing off too.

Not surprisingly, since I've tried to turn myself into a 'yes' man lately, I agreed and said that I could do it of course. I agreed and last week we had our first online workshop that (thankfully) went a lot better than I had expected at first.

In that sense, even though (among other things) my speaking tour is still cancelled thanks to the covid-19 restrictions and other stuffs, I try to stay positive. I try to look at silver lining of things and not get too depressed about life. 

After all, even if my book wouldn't eventually be published (and other things), I suppose that's not all there is to life. I shouldn't be thinking that this is a setback that is too severe and that I won't be able to overcome them.

On the contrary, when it all is said and done, even though I feel down on my luck currently, I shouldn't give up. I shouldn't give up, because writing is something that I like doing and is something that gives me hope, even when things don't seem to go my way.

The sexual assault accusations against Joe Biden.

So when it comes to the democratic presidential primaries in the United States, things didn't go the way I wanted. As sad as it is, my favourite candidate Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign a month ago and in all likelihood won't be the nominee.

The biggest reason for this is that the Democratic Nation Committee again went all in against Bernie. After the first primaries, they put all their weight behind Joe Biden, pushed every other 'centrist' candidate out of the race and managed to consolidate the support for him.

At the same time, just because it currently looks like that former vice-president Biden is going to be the nominee, things don't exactly look good for him. There are some real issues that might still force him out of the race if things don't go his way.

Indeed, last week it was revealed in the news that there is a serious sexual assault accusation against him. According to a claim by Tara Reade, a former aide of his, Biden raped her in 1993 (rape with fingers) when she was working in the United States Senate.

So when it comes to the credibility of these claims - based on the reading I've done, it has to be said that her claims seem to be credible. It's very likely that Biden did assault her on the capitol hill and that she's actually telling the truth here.

The reason for this is that even though there's obviously no video of the alleged incident, there's a lot of contemporary corroborating evidence that supports her claim. Reade told multiple people about the incident either right after it happened or later over the years.

Indeed, among other witnesses, the witness list includes her mother (that even called Larry King live about her daughter's 'problem' with Biden) and an aide to late Sen. Ted Kennedy. There are also at least four other people that confirm her story.

Based on the amount of witnesses she has, you might think that her claims would have been accepted in the 'leftist' media. Surely the #metoo- liberals like Alyssa Milano and the rest of the elite democrats would have taken her account seriously.

Unfortunately, that has simply not been the case here at all when it comes to Biden. The hypocrisy and the double standards that they have exhibited in this case has been absolutely mindboggling and really preposterous if we're being honest here.

Indeed, unlike with Christine Ford's claim against Brett Kavanaugh a year ago, they just don't believe Reade. They think that she's lying and is not to be trusted (can't recall some of the tertiary aspects of the case, because she's in debt, or because she has Russian friends).

What is especially egregious about the whole thing is that in reality Reade's claim against Joe Biden is orders of magnitude stronger than Ford's case against Kavanaugh was. There's so much more evidence that something actually happened between these two.

After all, even though Ford was very likely truthful in her claims against Kavanaugh, her case just wasn't that strong. Unlike Reade, she didn't have any witnesses corroborating her story about the events (her main witness said she couldn't remember it happening). 

In that sense, when you consider the importance and the implications of the case as a whole, it's pretty clear that the democratic establishment should get a clue here. They really shuld come to their senses and stop pretending that there's no problem here.

After all, even though the stakes are high here and it's true that it isn't easy to come to grips with the idea that your 'own' democrat candidate might be a rapist, you can't stay in denial forever. You have to be able to come to terms with reality at some point.

In that sense, when it comes to guessing how this case is going to develop in the media, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about how things are going to progress. There's a reason to believe that at some point the dam might break when it comes to Biden's denials.

After all, especially considering that Reade just did a mainstream interview with Megyn Kelly, I'm feeling that something might happen here. I'm feeling optimistic and that at some point the pressure is going to be too much and that Biden has to drop out of the race.