On Writing : The Spark Behind the Story by Kat Spencer

A walk through the forest...

Stephen Folker Those always spark things for me, too. Thanks for sharing!

The desire for an epic Pacific vacation. I can't afford one to save my life, so I'm giving one to two characters. And since I am a bit of an a**hole, I'm giving them pirates to deal with.

I thought what if two completely different movies were combined, Kat Spencer.

Great question! My current project is a genre I'm not used to so wanting to push myself to learn something new is exactly what got me started on this one. What about you?

What if a talk radio host gets chronic laryngitis and permanently loses his voice ...

For me, Finding Elpis’s spark was it being about a band who didn’t make it after years of trying… only to find out that they’re much more successful than they thought. It’s of course speaking to my own situation, what with how impossible it feels sometimes chasing my big break. So of course when I’m writing I fulfill my own wish because that’s what I do lol, mainly to tell myself not to give up.

My mother took out a large loan to help her daughter develop an online store. But my sister went broke, the bank wrote off all our money for debts and we ended up in a debt hole. We had no money for food, the power engineers cut off our electricity a couple of times. Then I decided to write a script to solve our family's financial problem.

But nothing came of it. I wasted 6 years. I didn't know that the film business in Russia exists only for the rich. I didn't know that creative and smart people are not appreciated in Russia. More precisely, the film business does not exist in Russia. Rich people and government officials make films with budget money. This is a form of theft and corruption, not a business.

Oh, yeah, I digress. The question was different. I started working on my current project, Death Goddess, because I want to offer Margot Robbie a character that suits her and that will showcase her talents to the fullest. I'm sure she'll look really cool as a Death Goddess who's lost her powers and is forced to hide from another evil deity while raising four unruly demon children.

What if I (introvert! bookworm!) had to coach my son's baseball team?

Michael Dzurak Hahaha, love it!

Maurice Vaughan That's a cool idea. Are you pursuing this idea?

Erik Gagnon That would be interesting and problematic....

Combining Lauren Hackney and Banafsheh Esmailzadeh - for my own, I would say my novel The Light of the Blue Pearl started out with me doing exactly what the character is doing in the first paragraph. Little did I know that that first thought would take me (and my characters) on such a journey.

For my current project, the spark came from a simple but haunting “what if.”

I asked myself: What if someone who has lost everything still found the courage to fight for something bigger than themselves?

That question wouldn’t leave me alone. It grew into characters who carry their wounds like shadows, yet still reach for the light. Writing this story became a way to explore resilience and hope in the face of despair.

That was the seed—and once planted, it kept growing until I had no choice but to follow it.

Thanks, Kat Spencer. I'm outlining the script. I like the title The Light of the Blue Pearl.

Yes! I call this "cracking the story".

I love this question Kat Spencer ! For my latest (“Homeless”), it was a dream. The short played out in its entirety in one night and I woke up the next day and outlined it. I fleshed out the short in a few days. Some weeks later, it became a feature script called, “The Book of Jon: A Blade of Saints & Angels”.

Kat Spencer

"I think the question is incomplete. Okay, it’s not (what if), the trigger might be (what for).

Kat Spencer that’s an interesting question. If you live along the coast, where hurricanes are common, you can imagine what it would mean for a Category 5 storm like Irma scheduled to hit your town in hours — but the weatherman is asleep somewhere and nowhere to be found. As a result, everyone just carries on with daily life as usual.

Right now, we’re standing on the verge of something similar if not worse than a Category 5, and it’s astonishing how many people are paying no attention to it.

Scalpel.exe — one of several projects I’m currently working on — aims to shed light on what’s about to unfold: likely an extinction-level event that could wipe out nearly everything as we know it.

5 years ago I went on a short guided tour of two European countries and a few of the interactions created a lasting impression. Two years ago I wrote an outline and shelved it because the story, IMO, wasn't going anywhere. I bounced this idea off a writer friend and she made some recommendations and I wrote the pilot last month. Now expanding it into a feature.

For me, the spark behind my current sci-fi concept Two Faces of the Moon came from a simple but persistent “what if.”

What if the Moon wasn’t the same on both sides? What if the bright side had gravity while the dark side was weightless — and humanity only discovered this once we tried to colonize it?

That single thought kept me awake at night, and it grew into an idea about survival, politics, and how humanity reflects its own duality in the face of the unknown.

Asia Almerico Sounds like my life. What is the status of your project now?

That's awesome Leonardo Ramirez 2!

That's really cool David Horton - and shows us that you never know where an idea might take you (or how long it could take to see the light of day).

Quang Nguyễn I love this concept and what it grew into for you. What are your plans for it?

Thank you, Kat — I really appreciate that! My plan is to continue developing Two Faces of the Moon into a feature script with the help of other writers here on Stage 32. I’d love for it to be a collaborative project where we refine the concept together, and eventually pitch it to producers as a unique sci-fi feature.

My what if question for my current project?

"What if the world was filtered through the sleazy male gaze?" The most basic concept is s "perception becomes reality" where a small town con artist finds his perception codified as the rules of the universe. His life starts to fall apart and the woman who can change his perception hates him.

It's a fun write so far.

Kat Spencer thank you for asking! The screenplay for Ordinary is completed, and I’ve also worked on refining the story through different courses and feedback. Right now, I’m focused on finding the right collaborators and opportunities to move it toward production. I also have other scripts in development, but Ordinary is the one I feel most ready to share.

Quang Nguyễn That sounds fantastic — I love that you’re shaping it into a feature script. A collaborative approach seems like such a great way to expand and refine a concept with that much scope. I’ll be excited to see where it goes!

That's awesome Asia Almerico - Keep us posted and keep making connections!

Kat Spencer The Spark Behind the Story

For me, the spark was a song. I wrote What the Mack? back in April of this year, and that goofy little tune unlocked something bigger than I could have imagined — it became the seed for the What the Mack? animated series, which is now my main project.

That one song also opened a door inside me. I realized I sit on the far end of creative synesthesia, where sounds, words, and images collide in ways I can’t shut off. Since then, it feels like a whole new world has been pouring out — characters, storylines, and even other shows branching off from this one spark.

What started as a playful tune has turned into a universe of comedy, music, and heart. And to think… it all began just a few months ago.

The spark behind Safe Place, a supernatural horror story, was real-life events which I wanted to capture and expand upon in a story. I originally had "Based on true events" on the cover, but changed that to "Inspired by".

Hi David, that’s really interesting! I think changing “Based on a true story” to “Inspired by” is a smart move — it gives you creative freedom while still keeping the emotional impact of real events. I’d love to hear more about how Safe Place developed from your experiences.

I love this question, Kat Spencer! The initial spark for my fantasy series actually came from the most difficult time in my life, losing my mom three years ago. I spent 10 surreal days at the ICU with my husband, sister, and family, and those days were… everything. Heartbreaking, yes, but also awkward, absurd, overwhelming, and somehow hilarious. Grief has this strange way of letting absurdity and laughter creep in, even when your world is crumbling.

That experience stayed with me. The emotional whiplash of it all planted a seed I didn’t even realize was growing. Over the next year, it slowly evolved into the story I’m now writing. A fantasy world born from grief, but shaped by love, resilience, and those bizarre, unforgettable moments in between.

I have a short film script based on a dead woman banging on my shower door. Now, that didn't happen, but I imagined it happening. An entire scene played out between that cadaver and a second character being trapped in the shower. I wrote my script, "Making Up" based on that imagined experience. All of my stories are like that. 24/7

My apologies, my "current" project was sparked by a drink going down the wrong pipe and coughing - a lot of coughing. I'm writing a sci-fi dramedy based on it. the first pilot draft is almost finished. Very exciting.

A friend suggested the opening for the current book, then left it up to me to explain how an autonomous vehicle ended up in front of Ginny's house with a skeleton behind the wheel. I like a challenge.

That's very cool Wyman Brent!

That's amazing Ashley Renee Smith - I'm also sorry for YOUR loss! Grief and loss do have a way of sparking some amazing things in us. Sometimes people ask me if I've composed anything lately, and my reply, NOPE! I'm happy right now hahahaha :)

Kat Spencer, I have a big fridge next to where I work. That way I can store all my ideas so that they stay cool.

Wyman Brent Hahaha

I completely get that, Kat Spencer!