May 15, 2004
Bad storylines

I didn't check the unproduced scripts for comparisons, but the sci-fi magazine Strange Horizons maintains lists of bad story ideas they see too often in story submissions. There's one for science fiction and a separate one for horror stories. You've seen films of all of these unfortunately. Among the better items is this one:


Protagonist is a bad person. (We don't object to this in a story; we merely object to it being the main point of the plot.)

  • Bad person is told they'll get the reward that they deserve, which ends up being something bad.

  • Terrorists (especially Osama bin Laden) discover that horrible things happen to them in the afterlife (or otherwise get their comeuppance).

  • Protagonist is portrayed as really awful, but that portrayal is merely a setup for the ending, in which they see the error of their ways and are redeemed.


Posted by Claus at May 15, 2004 07:42 PM | TrackBack (0)
Comments (post your own)

Heh, that is funny. I've always wanted to write a book (even though I realise that I have no talent as an author). At least now I know which plots not to pick :-).

Posted by: Fafner on May 17, 2004 3:58 PM
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