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Narrative Notes
Anatomy of an Idea — When a Question Becomes a Story
Exploring the concept of an ‘idea’ in storytelling: how a simple question can transform into the seed of a compelling story, drawing from reflections on a screenwriting manual.
Lately, I’ve been reading “Manuale di Sceneggiatura Cinematografica” (Manual of Film Screenwriting) by Luca Aimeri (UTET, 2021). No, I don’t feel like writing a screenplay; I’m simply intrigued by this narrative form.
The second chapter is titled “Metamorfosi di un’idea Stadi del processo creativo” (Metamorphosis of an Idea: Stages of the Creative Process) and it tries to answer the question: what is an idea?
Trying to explain it in my own words: an idea is a hypothesis about reality. It’s a question we pose to reality itself. We often translate it into what if…, and it’s closely tied to our ability — or more frequently, our need — to fantasize about an image, a situation, a person, or any element derived and abstracted from the world around us.
But how can we tell if an idea is good? Well, an idea proves to be good if its answer is the embryo of a story.
