A Quick Way To Create A Story

Hack a Premise

There is no theme that has not been explored in the world of storytelling. But while there is no unique theme, the same old theme can lead to countless fresh new stories.

I call it hacking a premise to create your own unique story. You're not hacking the story, you're hacking the theme of that story and finding your own original story to wrap it in.

I once saw an episode of the television show Everybody Loves Raymond where the husband and wife came back from a trip and left a suitcase on the stairs. Each one thought it should be the other one who should carry it up the stairs, so each one ignored it. They tripped over it. It stayed there for days. It had cheese in it that spoiled and stunk up the house. Each got angrier and angrier. Still they refused to acknowledge the suitcase. It was hilarious. And so relatable. Great story idea. So I hacked the premise of a husband and wife fighting over something trivial to the point of the ridiculous. I found a time in my own marriage when this happened. Wasn't hard to find it. And boom. Story written.

The other day I saw a story that was being passed around Facebook about a teacher who delighted in giving the disheveled student F's, only to find out his back story and realize he was really teaching her to look deeper into a human being before casting judgment. It was heartwarming. And it was being shared a LOT. So I decided to hack that theme. But I took it out of the classroom, and set it in a work environment. I made the teacher a manager, and the student an employee. I created a scenario in which this same premise could apply, but in a different setting. I used the same theme of the student becoming the teacher.

Next time you need an idea for a story, find one that already exists - a sitcom, a social media story, a comedy bit - or rip it out of the news. All you need is a good premise, and you can create endless stories of your own.

Note: Do not take a story someone else wrote, and just change a few lines. Be more creative than that.