I've got to love the idea (obvious, but I've wasted time over the years writing things I thought were commercial rather than things I loved). I've got to feel I understand the world and the central character (if I don't, more research / brainstorming). And it just has to... Feel right, I guess. Be the right time for me to commit to that idea.

At first, somehow the idea has to strike me as having something different about it and I need to be able to see it clearly, especially the end point, the issue at the heart of the premise. I guess my examination goes something like this: 1. Is there a well defined protagonist with purpose? (I need to be able to converse with this character.) 2. What conflict is at the centre of the premise? (I need to know what the forces of antagonism are focussed on.) 3. What change occurs in or to the central character? (Something changes: character, circumstances, circuitry of other characters ...) 4. Does the premise offer up something I can believe in personally? (For me it needs to have some moral or ethical dimension.) 5. Can I 'snapshot' the idea in one or two brief sentences? (If I can't do this, I don't have a concrete idea.) 6. Can I dream about it? (I like story ideas that put me to sleep and are there in the morning with new content.) 7. Can I write 'on' the subject of the story, as in a critical review? (I recently wrote a critical review of a novel that doesn't exist by an author who's never been seen. There's a whole story critiqued, even though it has yet to be brought into existence.) 8. Is there material within the idea that I have to go out and learn? (This is important. An idea based on what I already know offers no new experience for me, which means it's likely to offer no new experience for my readers or audience.)

i pitch my ideas to people i trust and ask, can you see this as a movie? would you watch a story like this? with that said i have to feel the same way about it.

Very relevant to this discussion >> Pixar Story rules From the perspective of finding & developing the idea, I particularly like #4, #7, #14, #22.

The only criteria i use is whether or not I would want to watch it as a movie. When my script gets made, if i can sit down and say "wow this movie is badass" then I write it.

To be honest, the concept has to get me really excited, which generally means two things must occur simultaneously: A The idea has to have some level of uniqueness about it that excites me, and ... B The story that surrounds this unique idea excites me as well. I guess the third unlisted element is that the concept still excites me a few weeks later. As film is a visual story that educes great emotion in it's viewers (or at least it should do), working on a logline that educes a strong positive emotion (such as excitement) in the writer will probably be the best one(s) to work on.

The first script I wrote was a story that I HAD to tell. It was one that was burning in my soul and it had to come out. It is what started me on my own quest into screenwriting. I sat down and started to write, thinking it would be "easy" to write a screenplay. I had watching so many movies that it would be simple to write one of my own. Ha! I soon realized I needed to stop and really learn the craft of screenwriting. I finished that first script and I am proud of the results. That store is MINE. Is it going to be a summer blockbuster? No. Is it going to ever make it on screen? Based on the subject, probably not. Do I care? No. It is the story that burned inside and I had to tell it. Since then I have tried to be very selective about which ideas and concepts to write about and I think of the end result much more than I did before. I think about who the story will appeal to and if a production company would be willing to heavily invest in the idea. I think about the genre and what types of movies are in that genre. I research to make sure the idea is unique. I ask my friends and family if they would like to see a movie about that subject. Even if I love the idea, if it just isn't working I put it down and pick up another. The "business" of screenwriting has to be in the back of your mind as you select which idea you will pursue.