Hard Graft

For the past few days I’ve been challenging myself to come up with a script idea a day. The outline is as follows:

So I thought I’d try and get up to speed and stretch myself a bit so I set myself a challenge to write an idea a day.The criteria is as follows:

1. The idea must be vaguely unique to ones you have created before.
2. The idea must be in the form of an elevator pitch of one to two paragraphs of three lines each minimum and five lines each maximum.
3. The idea must fit one of three genres that you have pre-chosen.
4. It must have a name.

For some reason I was stuck on a National Express coach from hell going to Liverpool on Monday and in the end my 4th script idea was a bit late.

Traitors Den

Rajesh* is enjoying life as a Police officer for the police in Nottingham when he gets a shocking and chilling phonecall that his wife of fifteen years has been brutally murdered in Northern Ireland. He takes the trip to Belfast to identify the body and recover her personal effects when he finds out what she had been investigating: people trafficking and complicity by a range of terrorist groups.

Rajesh immediately sets out to find his wife’s killers and blow open the lid on one of Ireland’s biggest ever corruption cases in a land where the rules and people can easily be disposed of.

Some thoughts as I’ll be less scathing about my own ideas from now on:

• A bit of a State of Play theme going on here mixed with Red Riding (which if you haven’t read the book or watched the superb drama series you have simply been missing out) but this kind of gritty crime-meets-political-conspiracy kind of thriller is in vogue.
• Northern Ireland, like the North of England or Scotland has that kind of mystique for those not familiar with the territory which means basically anyone born south of Watford or most Americans. Again going back to Red Riding but the opening slogan “To the North: where we do what we want!” with all the seedy backstabbing and corrupt double dealing that goes with it I want to replicate with Traitors Den.
• The added racial element with Rajesh going into a world that barely accepts cross-sectarian marriage let alone such revolutionary 20th century ideas as basic immigration within Europe adds extra spice and fire to the storyline. Looking forward to dyed in the wool Protestant PSNI officers who wear the badge on weekdays and the orange sash on weekends treating our hero roughly.
• To date probably my bravest idea yet.

Anyway if you like it or not please comment and say why! Thanks to those who have commented (hat tip Brian Black).

As mentioned yesterday I’ve decided to try to think up a new comic idea a day, every day for the foreseeable future. The criteria is as follows:

1. The idea must be vaguely unique to ones you have created before.
2. The idea must be in the form of an elevator pitch of one to two paragraphs of three lines each minimum and five lines each maximum.
3. The idea must fit one of three genres that you have pre-chosen.
4. It must have a name.

So with that in mind here is idea number two:

Student Body

At Northcairn University somewhere in the UK, Student Union elections are underway and no other student wants the position of President more than 3rd year architecture undergrad Isabella “Izzy” Livingstone. An excellent student with top marks, friends with most people and committed to charity work through her Raise And Give (RAG) society she thinks its almost her destiny to be President.

Enter 1st year fresher and general layabout Andy Stow. Studying Computer Science and not much else he spies Izzy from afar and immediately has a crush on her leading him to rashly enter the Student Elections so he can be close to her. Surprisingly his campaign run by his gang of oddball mates proves so successful that it could threaten to derail Izzy’s entire plan! Fun, frolics and casual insanity reign in this Student romcom.

This is an interesting departure from what I usually write and to be honest while I do read a lot of RomComs like this I don’t have experience in writing them. The inspiration for this was a British comedy in the 1950s where two election candidates vie for votes and in the end fall in love which was a very heartening film. There are downsides though:

• Is Izzy really likable as a main character or does her single minded drive and potentially uptight ways make her..well..a bitch and thus not very likable? There are examples out there in webcomics of this being the case. I’d like to think I could show the audience the tsundere side of Izzy but I guess it could be difficult.
• On the other side of the coin, unless Andy has a total transformation what scope is there for Izzy to fall in love with him?
• The University will be fictional. Should be based in an annonymous city in the UK & Northern Ireland?