Stuff I Wrote But Left Behind — Open to Ideas
Thursday, September 18, 2025

Stuff I Wrote But Left Behind — Open to Ideas

Four abandoned WIPs from the vault. If something here sparks you, tell me how you’d want it to continue.

Papergirl

1950s–60s newsroom drama: Beverly Huston writes the town’s stories—until her editor tries to make them his novel.

Read excerpt

Chapter One
Whatever Bev said, Bev meant. Whatever Bev wrote, Bev’s boss meant. Beverly Huston was a writer for the most read newspaper in all of Westbury, Virginia…

“I quit! I’ve had just about enough of you, Mr. Butcher.” Bev roared.
“You can’t quit, Beverly, we have an agreement!” Arnie snapped…

“You’ve been exploiting young Beverly? This writing isn’t your own, is it? You’ve stolen Bev’s articles and rewritten them in their entirety, haven’t you?”

Abandoned WIP · Ideas welcome: union subplot? rival paper? Bev’s byline court fight?

barrie’s boys (TV series concept)

Present-day London dramedy: J.M. Barrie as a modern guardian to the Llewelyn-Davies brothers, balancing theatre, found family, and growing up.

Character bible
  • james barrie: playwright, father figure, shares custody with emma dumaurier; Peter Pan is a West End hit in this AU.
  • emma dumaurier: child at heart, compulsive organizer, wine appreciator.
  • charles frohman: Barrie’s upbeat producer; elliot his distractible assistant.
  • george (15): charismatic, flirty, science-club pyromaniac.
  • jack (13.5): overlooked middle, history buff, drama club.
  • peter (11): sensitive writer; denies being “Peter Pan.”
  • michael (8): idolizes George; teddy bear; hyper in the best/worst ways.

Abandoned WIP · Ideas welcome: episode arcs, a “Neverland” theatre-within-the-show, custody/legal stakes?

Script: “Robot Wars”

Siblings + science fair chaos: Marty (14) and James (11) race to build a household-chores robot… with zero idea what they’re doing.

Read snippet 
INT. ROBOT WARS SET
MARTY: If you're going to be in robotics class, you need to know how to build a robot.
JAMES: Do you have any idea what you’re doing?
MARTY: Not a clue. Come on, we’ve got work to do.
—
DAD: It seems like you guys are getting a little too old for the science fair.
MARTY: But I want to show off my robot!

Abandoned WIP · Ideas welcome: school rivalry? robot accidentally goes viral? “chores mode” vs “battle mode” mishaps?

Theatre Kid

Two-act coming-of-age: Henry Gill Jr.—from sixth-grade star to closeted college actor—fights for stage dreams and a truer self.

World & cast
  • Henry Jr.: creative kid → resentful sophomore; closeted.
  • Hank Sr.: stubborn single dad; disapproves of theatre.
  • Johnny & Georgia Olsen: best friend / twin; Georgia crushes on Henry.
  • Ms. Nancy O’Neil: teacher-turned-dad’s love interest.
  • Eddie Wilkinson: aspiring director; Henry’s college love.
  • Prof. Harding: mentor.

Quotes to weave: “Yeah! I’ve always wanted to be a dentist.” · “People trust me with their secrets. They shouldn’t.” · “June Cleaver is my muse.” · “Not that kind of plot, you dummy!”

Act One, Scene One — Woods Point, MA (1977):
Henry: Last night I dreamt I was on Broadway again.
Johnny: Yeah? Well last night I dreamt my folks were gettin’ along. Then I woke up.

Scene Two — Ms. O’Neil’s classroom:
Nancy: We will be learning about another extraordinary man; William Shakespeare.

Abandoned WIP · Ideas welcome: time jumps via school productions, father–son reconciliation, a campus staging of Romeo & Juliet that mirrors Henry/Eddie.

Pitch me your “revive this!” ideas

Which one would you like to see continued, and how would you take it forward? Drop thoughts in the comments or send a note:

  • 📌 Comment below with: title + your hook (1–3 sentences) + one scene you’d want.
  • 📧 Prefer private? Use the contact form—subject: Abandoned WIPs.
  • 🗳️ Want a poll? Say so and I’ll add one to the post.

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Bymolly
at3:55 PM

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