Scripts are developed from whatever might inspire you to express and communicate something in visual and dramatic terms. All the following sources can serve as the basis for a dramatic or documentary project:

• Ideas
• Dreams
• Images
• Real events
• Characters
• Fantasies
• Concepts
• Memories
• Historical events
• Real-life experiences
• Places
• Social issues
• Adaptations from short stories
• News stories
• Magazine articles

You might be inspired by a single event that occurred on a bus or train, an interaction between two people that strikes you as funny or poignant, an uncle who told you wonderful stories as a child, or a favorite teacher who was a memorable character. You might have a compelling need to express something about the social conditions in your neighborhood. The best scripts are written from the heart. They are based on subjects the writer knows on a first-hand basis.

You should always be on the lookout for interesting material. Turn your eyes and ears outward to the world around you and write down the events that you observe in your quest for a good idea or story in a notebook or diary. If you use a computer, you can file incidents in a database under a variety of tags. Moments in life happen at breakneck speed. You might think at the time that you will remember them when you go home at night, but chances are you will have forgotten some significant detail that struck you as funny or compelling. One result of typing and storing material is that you remember it better. Good ideas beget good ideas. The events you write down will stimulate your imagination further.

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