When is an idea worth writing about?

Where do writers go for inspiration? And how do you know when an idea is worth writing about?

The inspiration for Augustina came from what could perhaps be described as an unlikely source – an app for women that tracks periods. (An even more unlikely source perhaps if you are a man reading this!) Playing around on the app revealed a social message board where women of all ages could support each other for all things female related, be that health symptoms through to career and relationship advice.

A message pinged up from the teen section written by a young girl who was really upset at having to give back to her school an educational baby she had borrowed. She had been given the baby as part of a sex education drive, had taken the baby home for a weekend; cared for it as if it were a real baby and during this time she had become extremely attached to it. What was interesting was the kind of responses that this girl’s cry for help had gathered from the other app users. Most of her peers it seemed couldn’t wait to hand the baby back, finding the attention it needed too much to handle. (The babies are made up of sophisticated software; they cry when sad, coo when happy and remember everything that happens to them.) Some of the older women were a bit more understanding and a few suggested that she speak to her mother about it or replace the baby simulation with a normal doll. The girl’s distress was so heartfelt and genuine over this one particular baby that her upset stuck with me. Her story kept popping in to my head to the point where I went back and read some of her previous posts to find out more about her…

Previous posts revealed that her parents argued - a lot. She didn’t feel she could talk to them and she felt they didn’t understand her or that they really wanted to understand her. One post mentioned how she would hide when they fought and her father could shout really loudly until her mum cried. Everyone can relate to being a child and witnessing their parents fall out but this felt more extreme and there was nothing any of us could really do to help her other than post some encouraging advice about perhaps talking to a teacher, advice that we had to hope she would action. It started to paint a rather sad picture of a girl who had to witness her parent’s abusive relationship because she had no other choice but to witness it. It made emotional sense that she became attached to a baby-doll who responded to her.

Her sense of loneliness struck me and gradually the story of Augustina started to form in my mind. The story of a young girl, from a broken family who goes on a journey to discover the meaning of love through the unusual bond she forms with an educational baby.

It is a bitter-sweet story, with moments of light complimenting the darker progressive elements. It’s a story that matters, that explores families behind closed doors.

I knew the idea was worth writing about because it struck me emotionally and it felt important, something that needed to be spoken about. And if it could do that to me, it could perhaps do that for others too. Inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, but knowing whether an idea is worth writing about for me is whether it sticks emotionally. If trying to write something that I don’t feel anything towards then it tends to feel like more of a slog and is an idea I am more likely to give up on sooner – unless I can find the heart of the matter.

@AugustinaFilm

Augustina has been funded by Film London for London Calling 2014. To find out how you can get involved please visit; http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/augustina

Should we be fortunate enough to hit our target amount of £3200 we will be donating 25% of any extra funds raised to the NSPCC.

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