Summertime Writing: Modify, Put to Another Use, Eliminate, and Reverse methods in Stories

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.

New ideas created on this page are ©2019 by Ken Wickham. All Rights Reserved.

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.

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.

Summertime Writing: Combine and Adapt Ideas In Stories

In the last innovation post, I tried to use the substitution method for story innovation. In this post, I'd like to try the next SCAMPER methods of innovation and creativity. I will do the second and third of the seven parts of the SCAMPER method in this post—Combine and Adapt.

New ideas created on this page are ©2019 by Ken Wickham

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.

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

Put to another use

Eliminate or elaborate

Reverse

Combine

The method that I will try is to trying to combine a few popular classic story elements into the Frankenstein story. I'll pick three classic popular stories, at least in the US.

To Kill a Mockingbird

A minority is wrongly accused of a crime committed by a prejudice and lazy low life character that only has the benefit of being a member of the majority. The wife of this character dreams of having an affair with the accused character prior to the accused "crime".

Maybe the best way to combine these stories is to use the De Lacey family, the family that adopts the creature and are living in exile from the government for treason, in a similar way that Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell are used in the story. Or I can use the creature in the same way as Boo Radley, the reclusive person next door that is friendly with Scout and Dill and eventually saves them from Bob Ewell.

Victory Frankenstein could either be more like Aticus, the lawyer that defends Tom Robinson, the accuse, or like Tom Robinson himself.

The Grapes of Wrath

Since Tom Joad eventually kills the person that kills his friend Jim Casy in a union violent clash, the creature might work well as Tom, recently released from prison and now a fugitive breaking parole, the main character in the book. Victor Frankenstein might work as Jim Casy, his friend from the town that they left due to bank foreclosure and journeyed to California in search of work. After a flood, they might seek higher ground and find in a barn a boy and starving (blind) father, the De Lacey family

Aladdin
Maybe Victor could play the role of Aladdin, an impoverished youth that is recruited by the creature to recover a wonderful oil lamp from a booby-trapped magic cave. The creature could play the role of the sorcerer from the book. A genie appears after rubbing a magic lamp. With the power of the genie, Victor becomes powerful and marries a high society princess.

The creature that recruited Aladdin might steal the lamp after which Victory must try to get back the magic lamp.

Analysis of combine technique

The Grapes of Wrath would be the most difficult to combine stories. However, To Kill a Mockingbird and Aladdin I felt had much more usable content that might be able to combine with Frankenstein.

Adapt

Adapting is brainstorming with the purpose of trying to adjust, tweak, or change a product into something more appropriate for the current situation.

The most obvious way to adapt Frankenstein, writing in the early 1800s, would be to adapt it to the modern time period. Weird science sort of adapted Frankenstein to the 80s.

How could Frankenstein be adapted to 2019.

Let me brainstorm.

Instead of alchemy, Dr. Victor Frankenstein might use modern DNA splicing and create a creature using different DNA from different people—or even mixed with different species, a hybrid.

The creature escapes and lives with the De Lacey family which might be an off-the-grid or doomsday preppers. The creature learns from these survivalists and learns to speak English. The creature then eventually contacts Victor and threatens to kill his family if he doesn't create a partner for him.

Analysis of Adapt

Adapting might be more fun if mixed with some of the other techniques. I don't like doing a straight adaptation of Frankenstein.

Summertime Writing: Substituion In Stories

In the last innovation post, I tried to use the association method for story innovation. In this post, I'd like to try the SCAMPER method of innovation and creativity. I will do the first of the seven parts of the SCAMPER method in this post—Substitution.

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.

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
Adapt
Modify, minimize, or maximize
Put to another use
Eliminate or elaborate
Reverse

Substitute

• Genre

A common type of replacement is genre. Maybe instead of horror, replace it with a modern setting. What if this happened in the stone age. Or maybe Frankenstein happened in ancient Egypt.

• Characters

Characters may be replaced. Maybe Victor Frankenstein is a woman—much like the author Mary Shelley—Victoria Frankenstein. Or maybe he is an artist that brings to life a painting instead of a alchemy creature. A singer might bring to life a creature or being from a song.

• Setting

Already I mentioned Egypt in the ancient genre which would be a different location. What about in China if a alchemist were trying to make a kung-fu soldier. Maybe on Easter Island, those faces were their attempt at a rock golem.

• Plot

Maybe Dr. Frankenstein was trying to create his own bride instead of for the monster, more like the movie Weird Science. Maybe instead of the creature trying to kill him, the creature is constantly trying to save Dr. Frankenstein from foolish dangerous endeavors.

• Description

Maybe instead of describing things in letters, as Mary Shelley does, the book is described using text messages. Or maybe I take the original text and change portions of the text. Let me try this now.

From Frankenstein Chapter 1 (after the letters)

I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics, and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation. He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business. He passed his younger days perpetually occupied by the affairs of his country; a variety of circumstances had prevented his marrying early, nor was it until the decline of life that he became a husband and the father of a family.

Paragraph below is based on the above paragraph
Paragraph 1, Chapter 1 Frankenstein, 
©2019 by Ken Wickham, all rights reserved. This is based on Mary Shelley's original text.

I was born into a family, who are famous, originating from the Geneva Republic. My ancestors had been longtime government officials and ambassadors, and my father had held several public offices with honorable and with a great reputation. Everyone that knew him respected him for his integrity and untiring attention to public service. He spent the good amount of time early in his career constantly focused on the needs of his country; many reasons prevented him from getting involved in dating in his youth. It wasn't until he was already near retirement that he married and became a father.

Analysis of Substitution

This exercise was easier for me than some of the last exercise. I even enjoyed rewriting the paragraph of Frankenstein using my own words and description. So far, I really like substitution as a tool for innovation in story writing.

Summertime Writing: Innovation In Stories

This exercise comes from an innovation management technique.

I want to take the basic idea of the story Frankenstein and experiment with story innovation using one specific innovation technique of random word association.

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.

Fearing for his family, Victor reluctantly agrees. The Creature says he will watch over Victor's progress. 

2. Generate 5 to 6 random words (stimuli).

Protuberation
Lantanuric
Censer
Mean
Depolarization

Body

Protuberation - The act of swelling beyond the surrounding surface.

Lantanuric - Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous organic acid of the uric acid group, obtained by the decomposition of allantoin, and usually called {allanturic acid}. Related to urine naturally. Used in lotion, toothpaste, and mouthwash.

Censer - A vessel for perfumes; esp. one in which incense is burned.
Mean - That which is mean, or intermediate, between two extremes of place, time, or number; the middle point or place; middle rate or degree; mediocrity; medium; absence of extremes or excess; moderation; measure.
Depolarization - The act of depriving of polarity, or the result of such action; reduction to an unpolarized condition.
Body - The material organized substance of an animal, whether living or dead, as distinguished from the spirit, or vital principle; the physical person.

3. Create association connections to each word.

Protuberation - The creature may have some sort of growth or swelling on his body.
Lantanuric - Maybe the creature smells like urine or is trying to cover stench or something with beauty products.
Censer - This could be holding perfume to cover the stench of the monster.
Mean - Between two extremes might mean between creature and human or between wild and tame.
Depolarization - Reducing a unipolar condition maybe rage and wild fury.
Body - The creature has a body created by Dr. Frankenstein.

4. Increase your associations

A. Contiguity - nearness or contact.

Protuberation - swelling, tumor, jutting, fangs, tusk, bulge, belly, muscles, chest, breasts, bump

Lantanuric - urine, lotion, waste, break down, metabolize, 

Censer - perfume, incense, freshener, scent, stench

Mean - extremes, middle, balance, reduce

Depolarization - more than one way, two or more opposing forces

Body - form, shape, condition, created, sum of parts

B. Similarity - reminds you of
Protuberation - Inflated, balloon, mountain rock, bubble, muscle, fat, veins
Lantanuric - sweat
Censer - summoning, magic, cemetery, tomb, wake
Mean - average, beyond average, bell curve, probability
Depolarization - opposites, alternatives, paths, flexibility, chaos, change
Body - creature, animal, plant, life, element, water, sea, river

C. Contrast - opposition
Protuberation - sinking, deflating, reducing
Lantanuric - undigested, not broken down, not flushed out
Censer - crud, sickening, vile
Mean - extreme, severe, one-sided, unbalanced, chaotic
Depolarization - polarization, one-sided, one direction
Body - shadow, appearance, illusion, unlife

5. Make more connections automatically

The instructions say that now, after doing this exercise, connections will start to happen automatically. I will see if some further ideas start to appear after a period of time.

Analysis of Innovation technique #1

That was somewhat strange, especially lantanuric. I would have never picked that word. I didn't even know that word. Out of the other words, body and protuberance might be the more obvious words. Censer, mean, and depolarization might be somewhat close, though not as obvious—being more secondarily related words.

I don't know if anything will come of this exercise. I will see. I'll look back at this in a few days and see if I like this technique. I want to try a few more innovation and creativity techniques though between now and then. Maybe I'll compare the techniques in a future post.