What kinds of movies help you with short stories?

That's an interesting point you make. In my case, I reckon it's crucial to know which audience you're trying to reach. There's a staggering number of readers who are simply crying out for new stories; they're quite fed up with all the remakes, sequels, and prequels. They want fresh characters with a backstory that truly resonates with them.</br></br>Perhaps if you're aiming for a more mature audience—say, from 35 upwards—a story or narrative that delves into existentialism or introspection would work better: discovering what exactly makes us human and how we fit into society, the planet, and how we can be certain we're here for something worthwhile.</br></br>For a teenage audience, romance stories might prove more effective. At that age, their hormones are highly active, and youngsters are eager to get their heads around relationships, understand their bodies, their feelings—in short, they want to figure out how interactions work between two people who have 'chemistry'.</br></br>And I know that's perhaps a bit rudimentary, and it's certainly a topic that warrants a much deeper discussion, but I do think it's a jolly good place to start.

When I'm looking for inspiration, I tend to gravitate towards movies that make me feel like I don't know why they work, but I still like and can't stop thinking about them</br>And then I don't try to do a full breakdown, but I get one or two elements and try to come up with something similar, except with a different intention, to see if I'm able to make the same tool/aspect work too

Arrival, and most specifically the soundtrack for it: "Nature of Daylight" by Max Richter

For me, recently, I pick Wicked! I love it!

I’ve also written short stories, although I haven’t published them anywhere for the time being. They’re usually fanfictions from one of the many fandoms I’m part of. I enjoy reading others’ work more, but if I feel like it and want to get inspired, for instance, to write something about Alien: Earth, I’d rewatch the series, or watch a video edit of it on TikTok. The latter honestly helps me a lot when it comes to writing, whatever it may be.</br></br>If it’s a original short story (I’ve got quite a few eternally stored in Google Docs), I don’t necessarily watch a film, unless I’m really stuck. I just let things flow: I talk to myself, imagine the settings, and everything starts building up on its own.</br></br>Alien is such a great saga. I’ve actually thought about writing for that fandom for quite some time now.</br></br>I’ve also read the Inglourious Basterds script quite a few times. Tarantino’s a genius. He doesn’t go round and round endlessly. Reading him is a blessing!