The Birth Of A Plotline

Last night I watched a movie that involved a female college student who paid her way through school by operating a pornographic “live webcam” website. Part of the plot involved the necessity for her to time her classes and events so that she had free time to “work” during her live performances. It was a campy and fun movie, with no death or dismemberment involved.

Yet, as the story unfolded, I thought to myself:

College girl makes money by operating pornographic live webcam website.
During a live performance, a masked killer enters her dorm room and proceeds to murder her on camera.
The killer enjoys the activity and decides to create his own “live murder” website.
The serial killer brutally murders college co-eds in real-time for all the world to see.

Now, this is not a story I will ever write. I lack the technical knowledge to explain how the killer’s website is never traced back to him. These types of murders might also involve federal law enforcement since they’re being shown for anyone’s viewing on the Internet, and I prefer to set my books in a small town. And it’s possible that someone else has already done something similar (I haven’t bothered to check since the plot doesn’t interest me). In addition, I just don’t love the story. It strikes me as unbelievable.

But I believe this type of brainstorming is imperative for any author. And most writers find that this process happens naturally. All it takes is a hint of an idea–an image, a word, a phrase–and suddenly our minds have twisted it into something completely different.