How to Evaluate a Story Idea: The Archive

These posts formed a lot of the backbone of the book, but it’s interesting to check out their original form, and there’s a lot here that didn’t make it into the book’s slimmed-down narrative.

• The Big Idea, Part 1: Are Ideas Cheap or Valuable?
• The Big Idea, Part 2: Does It Matter What Else Is Out There?
• The Big Idea, Part 3: What is "High Concept" Anyway?
• The Big Idea, Part 4: Are There Too Few Good Ideas or Too Many?
• The Big Idea, Part 5: Do You Start With Plot or Character?
• The Big Idea, Part 6: Story Happens When Character Collides With Plot
• The Big Idea, Part 7: Every Main Character Must Be Volatile
• The Big Idea, Part 8: Won't Somebody Think of the Trailer?
• The Big Idea, Part 9: The Twist is Not the Concept
• The Big Idea, Part 10: The Concept Has to Survive Past the Twist
• The Big Idea, Part 11: All Good Stories Are Ironic
• The Big Idea, Part 12: Keep the Dilemma Alive
• The Big Idea, Finale: Unique Characters are Overrated, Unique Relationships are Better
• Rulebook Casefile: Milking the Unique Relationship in The Apartment
• Storyteller's Rulebook #110: Conflicts Are Better Than Obstacles
• Storyteller's Rulebook #112: Throw in a Left Turn
• Storyteller's Rulebook #121: Don’t Presume Your Premise
• Storyteller's Rulebook #131: Write Down Your Bad Ideas
• The Big Idea, Addendum: What Urges Are You Satisfying?