By Jeffrey Hedquist
Run out of ideas for that spot you’re trying to write? Just go to your idea file. You know, the place where you store those discarded concepts, parts of campaigns, spec. spots that never aired, random thoughts, tangents you go off on while writing for other clients. You do have an idea file don’t you?
It’s amazing how fresh those recycled stories can become when you dust them off again. And with your increased experience, and put in a different context, they may be exactly what you’re looking for. Some will be worse for the aging, but some will shine like gems.
Think of your idea file as a compost heap where seeds unexpectedly sprout into healthy plants. Dig around a little and see what you can find.
Once you’ve unearthed a nearly forgotten treasure, don’t just force it into a spot/situation where it doesn’t fit, adapt it. That idea for the conversation between the driver and the mechanic might make a good premise for a computer owner and a software consultant. Morph that exploding goldfish story with the saga of the fast food drive up into a spot about an overstuffed burrito.
Don’t file away this idea about the idea file. Start one.
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© 2000 Hedquist Productions, Inc.