New Perspectives

I've found that sometimes, if you're looking for a story to write, the best thing to do is to see a familiar story from a new angle.  This method has worked really well and has gotten a lot of attention and popularity of late.  Look at the Broadway musical "Wicked."  The story retells a very familiar story from the witch's point of view, and it's a new story.  The same is true with Disney's "Maleficent" and the popular teen made-for-tv "Descendants."  Each of these tell a fairy tale or crossover of fairy tales from the villain's point of view.

But you don't have to limit yourself to writing just fairy tales or stories already written and told.  You can write something new but tell it from someone's point of view other than the stereotypical hero's.  Look at "Despicable Me" and its sequels and spin-off and how people love the villain-turned-daddy.  Modern audiences are hungry for a new perspective.

Nor do you have to limit yourself to the villain's perspective.  Read Ender's Game, which was written by Orson Scott Card many years ago and which has since been made into a movie.  A lot of people are familiar with the story of a child groomed to rescue the human race from a big enemy race.  But fewer people have read Ender's Shadow, the same story told all over again from Ender's sidekick, Bean's point of view.  He views the world entirely differently, so through his eyes, the story feels like a different one.

Disney has used this trick as well with "Lion King 1 1/2," which is told from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective.  It features many of the scenes and plot points from the first movie but shows them in an entirely different context.  And Like "Despicable Me," it's hilarious.

Try it.  Tell an old story from a new point of view or try retelling your story from a different point of view.  If your story isn't working as is, make it new.  Tell it from the point of view of the hero's opponent, his dog's point of view, or his girlfriend's.  Maybe what you're doing wrong is telling it the normal way.  Time to get crazy.