“Unlock the Writer’s Vault: Discover the Intriguing Tale That Sparks a Month of Creativity!”
Have you ever wondered how some screenwriters seem to have an endless stream of story ideas, while others struggle to come up with even one? It’s like having a secret superpower in a world where creativity can sometimes feel like a scarce commodity. This April marks the 15th year of my daily story idea series, and let me tell you—it’s not just about filling a calendar with creative prompts. No, it’s about building a muscle that every aspiring screenwriter needs to develop. As you wade through the fast-paced waters of Hollywood, you better believe that producers will want to know, “What else have ya’ got?” So why not let the drama of real life inspire your next big script? Today’s idea revolves around a juicy family feud in the luxury home-staging business, where ambition and betrayal clash. Ready to dive in? LEARN MORE.
This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work through during this series of posts. For today, the most basic one:
If you have aspirations of becoming a professional screenwriter, you should be in the habit of generating story concepts.
Let’s say you write and sell a spec script. Congratulations. You’re the “flavor-of-the-week.” Your agent and manager set up meetings across Hollywood with producers and studio execs. The first words out of their mouths will likely be some variation of “Love your script ” (even if they haven’t really read it). The second thing they say will almost assuredly be, “What else have ya’ got?” If you haven’t been developing other stories, that is likely to be a very short meeting.
By the way, I give away these story ideas. They’re yours to use however you like. In fact, several writers have gone off and written spec scripts from story concepts presented in this annual series, one script making the Nicholl semifinals.
There are many ways to generate story ideas. This month, I focus on one: Looking for ideas in news sources. Each of the items I’ll be posting for the next 30 days comes from a news site.
Today’s story idea: Family Feud Erupts Among L.A.’s Top Home Stagers.
Over the past two decades, Meridith Baer, with her firm Meridith Baer Home, established herself as the gold standard for luxury home staging, servicing the homes of such clients as Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, among many others. Baer is locked in a nasty legal feud with her nephew and niece — Brett Baer and Jaime Morse — who once worked for her. After being fired, Brett and Jaime — along with the latter’s husband, Caleb Morse (also named in the litigation) — regrouped 16 months ago to launch Vesta Home, which quickly emerged as a rival to their aunt’s firm. Vesta Home, which has staged houses for Chris Pratt and Kanye West, recently worked on a Pacific Palisades home that was bought by Ben Affleck.
A fundamental truism about writing: You can’t have drama without conflict. Rival real estate agents? You got your conflict.
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