In the last two innovation post, I tried to use the substitution, combine, and adapt methods for story innovation. In this post, I'd like to try the next SCAMPER methods of innovation and creativity. I will do the fourth and fifth of the seven parts of the SCAMPER method in this post—Modify and Put to Another Use.
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1. State the original idea, problem, or question (source).
For this case, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Synopsis found at Wikipedia. I cut together pieces of the larger synopsis.
tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment...the Creature tall, about 8 feet (2.4 m) in height and proportionally large. Despite Victor's selecting its features as beautiful, upon animation the creature is instead hideous, with watery white eyes and yellow skin that barely conceals the muscles and blood vessels underneath. Repulsed by his work, Victor flees when it awakens. While wandering the streets, he meets his childhood friend, Henry Clerval, and takes Henry back to his apartment, fearful of Henry's reaction if he sees the monster. However, the Creature has escaped.
Intelligent and articulate, the Creature relates his first days of life, living alone in the wilderness and finding that people were afraid of and hated him due to his appearance, which led him to fear and hide from them. While living in an abandoned structure connected to a cottage, he grew fond of the poor family living there, and discreetly collected firewood for them. Secretly living among the family for months, the Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books in the woods. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous, and it terrified him as it terrifies normal humans. Nevertheless, he approached the family in hopes of becoming their friend. Initially he was able to befriend the blind father figure of the family, but the rest of them were frightened and they all fled their home, resulting in the Creature leaving, disappointed. He traveled to Victor's family estate using details from Victor's journal, murdered William, and framed Justine.
The Creature demands that Victor create a female companion like himself. He argues that as a living being, he has a right to happiness. The Creature promises that he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Should Victor refuse his request, The Creature also threatens to kill Victor's remaining friends and loved ones and not stop until he completely ruins him.
Intelligent and articulate, the Creature relates his first days of life, living alone in the wilderness and finding that people were afraid of and hated him due to his appearance, which led him to fear and hide from them. While living in an abandoned structure connected to a cottage, he grew fond of the poor family living there, and discreetly collected firewood for them. Secretly living among the family for months, the Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books in the woods. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous, and it terrified him as it terrifies normal humans. Nevertheless, he approached the family in hopes of becoming their friend. Initially he was able to befriend the blind father figure of the family, but the rest of them were frightened and they all fled their home, resulting in the Creature leaving, disappointed. He traveled to Victor's family estate using details from Victor's journal, murdered William, and framed Justine.
The Creature demands that Victor create a female companion like himself. He argues that as a living being, he has a right to happiness. The Creature promises that he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Should Victor refuse his request, The Creature also threatens to kill Victor's remaining friends and loved ones and not stop until he completely ruins him.
Fearing for his family, Victor reluctantly agrees. The Creature says he will watch over Victor's progress.
2. SCAMPER
Substitute is about replacing parts of the story. Characters, description, setting, plots, or conflicts may be replaced with alternatives.
Combine is about merging two or more ideas, processes, or products into one.
Adapt is adjusting, changing, and tweaking to make more suited for the current situation.
Modify, minimize, or maximize is reducing, changing perspective, changing look, changing feel, adding to, increasing
Put to another use is using this story for another product, another segment, another use, replacing a process.
Eliminate or elaborate eliminate parts of the story.
Reverse is reversing roles, plots, characters, settings, events, or rearranging elements of the story.
Modify
What happens if the Creature learned to create life?
What happens if the Creature ends up murdering more innocent people?
Put to another use
What else can this Frankenstein movie be used for? A videogame, a roleplaying game.
Eliminate or elaborate
Maybe eliminate some of the more boring background information at the beginning of the story.
Reverse
What happens if Victor is the threat chasing the Creature.
Analysis of SCAMPERS
I think that the SCAMPERS method asks good fundamental questions about a product that forces a person to reevaluate anything from different viewpoints. Like the random word association that I did in the Innovation In Stories post earlier this month,
Quick word study: re-evaluate
Re-evaluate, reassess, reappraise, rethink, alter, change, look at again
Next Series
I want to do at least a small series on grammar, mainly for my own reference and practice.
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