I can understand why you want to put down the newspaper, but what about a reader-supplied S.I.E.D.F.A.M?

Scott,

I presume you've seen this?

http://sivers.org/multiply

It's the first thing I thought of when you started ASIEDFAM. (A side fam?) I tried doing something similar a year or so back, but let it peter out. Maybe I should try again.

Also: as a first time commenter, just wanted to say I love this blog. Keep up the good work!

Hello,
I forced a screenwriter friend to participate in the same exercise with me. I was amazed at all the great ideas that were generated. Probably more than I'll be able to do anything with, but still. It was really fun. Thanks for suggesting it.

I'm a first time commenter and love this blog as well.

Just wanted to chime in that I was slightly horrified when Day 28's idea turned out to be one I've been working on for three years, but then I decided that I really have to thank you for spurring me to get this latest draft finished!

I loved the A.S.I.E.D.F.A.M. series. I try to come up with a story idea every day, but admit that there are many days that I don’t. And then there are the days I come up with three or four ideas in a single day. For me, the biggest problem is simply writing the idea down in enough detail that it will make sense later on. That’s why I enjoyed A.S.I.E.D.F.A.M. so much. I may have only come up with ten or so ideas that I posted, but they were fleshed out enough that I felt actually wanted to post the idea.

I usually look through online news sources: Fox, Drudge Report, CNN, ABC, and the Huffington Post. I also frequent a couple of science news sites and I subscribe to some newsletters on subjects that I’m particularly interested in. Last, I look through the various magazines my wife and I subscribe to.

When I see an article that generates an idea, I copy and paste it to a Word document and then write a few sentences trying to outline my idea. I then file it in an originally titled master file called “My Ideas.” Periodically I’ll go back through the entire file and review my ideas to see if anything really catches fire or if there is additional information I should add.

I know there is synchonicity (I really like that concept) with most ideas and so if I happen to have an idea that is sold by someone else a couple of months later, I know that at least I’m on the right track.

For me, ideas come almost organically: you hear a person's story or you see a situation and ask yourself where did that come from?
My problem is not a dearth of ideas, it's knowing which ones are 'good':
a. suitable for the market
b. structurally sound whether you use McKee or Truby or ?
c. attached to a hook, having parts stars will want for themselves, etc.
THAT'S what I need.
My first real movie idea came to me after an argument with a girlfriend, while I was feeding our cat. The next day, I went into a workshop and laid it out for the group. Nobody breathed until the teacher said, now, THAT'S a movie- and eventually, it was. And it only took ten years! and you can buy it on Ebay once in a while.
THAT'S what I want- a sugar-or-shit detector in the person of people with a stake in the game.

Just want to voice how this was a great series. I probably came away with a handful of ideas I could pursue in the future, so they've been added to the 'ideas bank'.

A great benefit that came with the series was that it would allow me a needed break from my current stories. Just a moment to think about a totally new idea, and possibly spawn new ideas for my current writings.

Thanks again Sensei Scott.

okay I know official the idea of the day is gone.

but I"d love to see what folks could do with this tearjerker

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011740342_electronboy30m.html

Ideas come from all over for me, but a pretty consistent source of ideas for me is non-fiction books. I don't mean a movie based on the book, but something: a line, a paragraph in the book gets my imagination going and suddenly I have a story.

@Viewers...

Argh... now I have to explain to people at work how I got 'something in my eye'. I can totally see that as the ending of tear jerker movie.

Very useful. A reminder that stories are everywhere, if you're willing to look.

My mind is always wandering -- I'm a daydreamer -- so usually don't have a problem coming up with ideas.

I get inspired by everything. It can be something as simple as what someone has said -- someone can be talking to me and something they say will spark my imagination, at which point my eyes must glaze over and my brain goes into hyperdrive, sorting through story possibilities. Then the person will say -- so what do you think? And I go, erm!? This happens a lot in meetings at work.

Other places I gather ideas are from blogs, online paranormal and conspiracy forums (can get some great ideas from there), newspapers, books (fiction and non-fiction), dreams, television adverts and movies.

I would definitely like to see another ASIEDFAM next year.