Lately, I've been reading "_Manuale di Sceneggiatura Cinematografica_" (Manual of Film Screenwriting) by Luca Aimeri (UTET, 2021). No, I don't feel like writing a screenplay; I'm simply intrigued by this narrative form. The second chapter is titled "_Metamorfosi di un'idea_ <span class="maiuscoletto">Stadi del processo creativo</span>" (Metamorphosis of an Idea: Stages of the Creative Process) and it tries to answer the question: **what is an idea?** Trying to explain it in my own words: an idea is a hypothesis about reality. **It's a question** we pose to reality itself. We often translate it into _what if..._, and it's closely tied to our ability – or more frequently, our need – to fantasize about an image, a situation, a person, or any element derived and abstracted from the world around us. But how can we tell if an idea is _good_? Well, an idea proves to be good if its answer is the embryo of a story. Furthermore, for an idea to be effective, it must contain, more or less explicitly, a **conflict**. It will be this very conflict that gives life to a dramaturgy, to a compelling narrative. There is no story without conflict, just as there is no conflict without a story within it. Among the various adjectives we can use to define a "good" idea[^1], I particularly appreciate its underlying suggestion of a critical attitude. We can say that **an idea arises from the ability to observe reality with a critical eye, to uncover its most unusual and stimulating aspects.** Finally, we could say that an idea is all the more valuable the more potential implicit connections to other ideas it holds within itself. It is a seed that has the potential to sprout an entire garden of thoughts. See you around. 👋 [^1]: An idea, to be considered as such, should be something alive, new, original, fresh, bursting, stimulating, decisive, even transgressive.