or WIP, for that matter.
for me (and this is one story i need to get back to), it's most likely a story called, 'the golden rules,' based on alchemy in more of a scientific sense rather than its dual philosophical meanings. it's doubtlessly my most rounded story idea, equal parts alchemy, suspense, humour, romance, etc.. being a very visual person (a fact confirmed with practically every critique anyone's ever done on a story of mine), it's also the most visually appealing (with the possible exception of a bullfighting story, but that ain't SF or F), being set in a nameless 17th century european country. the premise is based on a real story where the alchemist, a fraud, is imprisoned by the king for twenty years, always on the verge of execution but conning his way out of it all the time. if you're like me, you see the obvious appeal in that.
basically, johann is an alchemist who is mistaken for a great alchemist. the gold-crazy king, like the real life story, imprisons him and threatens execution, which over the years he manages to scam his way out of. of course, he's not the only alchemist imprisoned in the tower/lab, he's got twelve other alchemists to keep him company... and show him how to con the king. they're all old men who bicker, fight and snap at one another more than anything else when they're not working to devise a new con job to spare their lives, playing chess, discussing philosophy or otherwise goofing off.
it's cliche, but johann falls in love with the princess. having the opportunity to escape, he turns it down-- he will do so only with the princess at his side. his big competition, however, is an arab prince who shows up with an endless gold supply to help support the king's wars. all the prince wants is, of course, the princess.
i throw in some appearances by noted real-life conmen like cogliostro (sp -- i'd have to look his name back up just to be sure my memory hasn't failed yet again) and work in some real-life story details based on alchemy lore. for instance, there's one story based around a man who supposedly discovered the philosopher's stone (i forget his name off-hand, but he's mentioned as the one in the second harry potter book), which i'd probably try to work in loosely just for fun. (one facet of alchemy is trying to discover the philosopher's stone, or create an elixir of life. some viewed alchemy purely as a philosophic ideal, while others thought of only creating gold. some viewed it in any combination of those. it's really an interesting subject. for the record, scientists indeed created gold in 20th century (in the thirties or forties, afair), but the power, technology and resources that went into it prove its inviability. but, it *can* be done from a technical perspective.)
were i to write all my story ideas out, i see this one as being the best for a big-screener. a high-budget big-screener, but....
for me (and this is one story i need to get back to), it's most likely a story called, 'the golden rules,' based on alchemy in more of a scientific sense rather than its dual philosophical meanings. it's doubtlessly my most rounded story idea, equal parts alchemy, suspense, humour, romance, etc.. being a very visual person (a fact confirmed with practically every critique anyone's ever done on a story of mine), it's also the most visually appealing (with the possible exception of a bullfighting story, but that ain't SF or F), being set in a nameless 17th century european country. the premise is based on a real story where the alchemist, a fraud, is imprisoned by the king for twenty years, always on the verge of execution but conning his way out of it all the time. if you're like me, you see the obvious appeal in that.
basically, johann is an alchemist who is mistaken for a great alchemist. the gold-crazy king, like the real life story, imprisons him and threatens execution, which over the years he manages to scam his way out of. of course, he's not the only alchemist imprisoned in the tower/lab, he's got twelve other alchemists to keep him company... and show him how to con the king. they're all old men who bicker, fight and snap at one another more than anything else when they're not working to devise a new con job to spare their lives, playing chess, discussing philosophy or otherwise goofing off.
it's cliche, but johann falls in love with the princess. having the opportunity to escape, he turns it down-- he will do so only with the princess at his side. his big competition, however, is an arab prince who shows up with an endless gold supply to help support the king's wars. all the prince wants is, of course, the princess.
i throw in some appearances by noted real-life conmen like cogliostro (sp -- i'd have to look his name back up just to be sure my memory hasn't failed yet again) and work in some real-life story details based on alchemy lore. for instance, there's one story based around a man who supposedly discovered the philosopher's stone (i forget his name off-hand, but he's mentioned as the one in the second harry potter book), which i'd probably try to work in loosely just for fun. (one facet of alchemy is trying to discover the philosopher's stone, or create an elixir of life. some viewed alchemy purely as a philosophic ideal, while others thought of only creating gold. some viewed it in any combination of those. it's really an interesting subject. for the record, scientists indeed created gold in 20th century (in the thirties or forties, afair), but the power, technology and resources that went into it prove its inviability. but, it *can* be done from a technical perspective.)
were i to write all my story ideas out, i see this one as being the best for a big-screener. a high-budget big-screener, but....