Thanks for all the replys, theres so many good ideas...I agree to a certain exent with the idea of "life is a movie"..I went out to an old country town the other day and its atmosphere just created a whole host of ideas in my mind which I wouldnt have come up with otherwise. Itd probably be useful to take a pen and notebook when travelling for that reason. As it turned out, i wasnt alone in my idea..the tiny towns famous moment was when they shot a film with Sam Neil there.

I find that the quirkier ideas stem from those "flashes"..but I find it hard to connect the dots and make it into something meaty. I imagine those "chicago-style" classes would be helpful with this..but I live in Australia (ive never even heard of "Harold"!), and I dont think those courses exist here ...are there articles/books/videos about it?

As for the DV challenges, Id like to give them a go..its all just a matter of having the free time and getting ones act together.

for me its tough once I have a general idea is to come up with an all encompassing movie. Just generalized ideas, locations, scenarios, stuff like that. But one thing i do about that so i dont forget the idea is write it down so i can come back to it at a later time when my brain is "racing" and try and put some kinda story together with that idea.

I think it is true that many people have ideas that telling stories is just about coming up with an idea and then stringing a series of events together that carries it to some kind of conclusion.

When you think about story and it building blocks, what follows that inspirational idea is the formulation of a theme and concept.

If you understand what it is that you would like to address and say (what your story is about -- theme) then creating ideas -- (situation) that reflect and show these is not so difficult. Wee all experience hundreds of situation every day that have many of the ingredients (with a little editing and massaging) that can display and emote the very idea we want to express.

When you talk about beating your head against the wall looking for that cool spark you just might be looking in the wrong place, or at least putting the carriage before the horse.

Try to think about social situation that draw out response and evoke reactions from you, then try to transpose them into a fictional scenario. If you know a scene or story is about a guy trying to break up with his girlfriend, most people will have a hundred ideas and ways to show this. The cool ideas as to how to show a guy breaking up with his girlfriend will follow once you have a firm grip on concept.

This type of process/way of thinking might bring far better results then trying to milk a single idea into something substantial.

Try the Improv Resource Center or Twisted Melon in Australia. There's also the Improv Encyclopedia but reading about it is light years away from actually doing it.

1) Get outside - see the world
2) Engage with people - ask them questions, ask them to tell you stories
3) Add an element of randomness to your life - buy a magazine you'd usually ignore, go to an event you'd usually avoid, be awake at a time when you'd normally sleep, etc.
4) Document - ALWAYS carry around a notebook and pen, and jot down what you encounter
5) Connect the dots - go through your notebook every few days, and explore interesting threads/combinations between what you've noted