In filmmaking, directors employ a variety of different types of shots.  One of them is called the Two Shot.  As writers, we don’t really get anything cool or fancy to do with lenses.  We have our imaginations and minds to work with, which arguably is much better and less limiting than a camera with a set of lenses.

Even the best of us gets stuck sometimes.  We want to write, but what?  Where is the story we want to tell?

It can get downright frustrating at times.  However, there’s lots of different things out there to try to get the juices flowing.  I’m going to present one idea that you can put in your toolbox, based on the concept of the Two Shot:  The Two Clip Mashup.  It’s something I’ve put out in my classes for the frustrated writer trying to put together a story concept.

It’s real easy.  Take two totally unrelated newspaper articles, and connect them together no matter how crazy or strange it seems.   Don’t limit yourself to just the local newspapers, or print for that matter.  Take two completely random articles online if you want, from different countries or periods of time.  Then try to shape a story that uses both of them as the central plot.

You don’t have to limit yourself to just two articles either, but any more than that and you’ll end up stacking the deck against yourself in most cases.  The important thing is to do this going in “blind”, i.e., without any kind of pretext of articles to pick.  To make it more interesting, you can get someone else to pick them for you.

From there, you’ll have to construct characters in this mashed-up world.  How would they act, talk, operate, under those conditions?

If you’re looking for a quick way to put together a story, try it once and see what happens.  Although I can’t guarantee the outcome.  That’s entirely up to you.  So get writing!