Blog
Developing Ideas For Fiction By Ethan Chatagnier
by Writing Workshops Org Admin
5 years ago
I don’t get any special credit for recognizing that Jurassic Park is a great premise. Two hundred million copies sold. Box office records. Everyone knows it’s a great premise.
It’s one of those books/movies that’s so finely tuned it’s hard to imagine it any other way. Imagine it as the tale of a grad student cloning a pterodactyl in a lab–no theme park–and the majesty and drama disappears. That’s where Crichton began his first draft of this story in 1983. It would be 1990, and several completely drafts later, before the book was published.
The idea of cloning dinosaurs from DNA is a good idea on its own. But it needs more development before it can take flight. What would make it more compelling?
Here are some of the ways Crichton developed it into the Jurassic Park we know and love:
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It’s set in a theme park, a place of wonder and discovery, and with the pretense of control.
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It’s set during a “soft open,” limiting the cast of characters to a handful of experts we can care about, rather than a horde of dinosaur bait.
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The island setting and tropical storm cut off the characters from potential help.
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The corporate espionage of an important employee throws all the park’s control systems into chaos.
There’s more of course, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern not the least of it, but with those four elements you have a seed idea transformed into a magic idea, one with thrills and drama built in.
The right development of an idea can make all the difference in the world.
