Typescript posts a new challenge each Wednesday to encourage creativity and inspire conversation. Feel free to talk about the challenge or share your writing results in the comments section below by leaving an excerpt and/or a link to your own site or blog.

The spark of inspiration can be found anywhere you choose to look. From a title of a song to a sketch found on a napkin to quotes of a movie, these stories are waiting to be discovered and told.

Some of the best movies are similar to a favorite book in that they’re the ones you consistently reach for on the shelf, the ones that stand out in your memory as something special. Maybe this was the first movie you ever saw in a theater. Maybe this movie was one you remember watching over and over as a kid until you could recite every piece of dialogue along with the actors (i.e. Annie, The Karate Kid — I and II). Maybe this movie was one that tugged on heartstrings or had you talking about it the entire ride home. However it became that movie for you, these are the characters you remember as friends, the scenes you recall in vivid detail, and the lines of dialogue that remain with you long after the credits roll.

Movie Quotes
Films have long been a favorite medium for the entertainment industry because they, like books, are a form of escapism that range in genres to suit a variety of tastes and preferences. From psychological thrillers to dramas, from romances to comedies, movies offer something for everyone. However, take away the special effects, the melodic score, and the visual artistry and you still have the essential components of storytelling: There are protagonists and antagonists, places wherein the action takes place, and themes of good vs. evil, life, death, family, and love. Characters, setting, plot.

Pieces of dialogue can not only tell you a bit about the plot of the movie, but also the characters themselves, and so I opened up this challenge to the Twitter community to ask about their favorite movie quotes. The responses were varied and pretty remarkable, and I want to thank everyone who participated.

Just like books — it’s all in the story.

Challenge: Begin with dialogue and see where it takes you. Already know the movie? Put your own spin on the plot with the quote as the starting point. Using one of the movie quotes offered below, create a new short story or poem.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying”
- The Shawshank Redemption (submitted by Sean)

Andrew Largeman: You’ll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it’s gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It’s like you feel homesick for a place that doesn’t even exist. Maybe it’s like this rite of passage, you know. You won’t ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it’s like a cycle or something. I don’t know, but I miss the idea of it, you know. Maybe that’s all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place.
– Garden State (submitted by Allison)

Sam: If you can’t laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a whole lot longer than you’d like.
– Garden State (submitted by Allison)

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- One Week (submitted by Tom )

“They say stars are billions of tons of hot gas. But I think they’re just God’s salt. And He’s just waiting to eat us…”
– Can’t Hardly Wait (submitted by Akirah)

“You’re not going to lose me. You’ve given me a taste for life. I wanna be happy. Sleep in a bed, have roots.”
- Leon/The Professional (submitted by Mike )

Clementine: This is it, Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.
Joel: I know.
Clementine: What do we do?
Joel: Enjoy it.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (submitted by Carlos)

“Oh no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast. ”
- King Kong, 1933 (submitted by Bryan)

“Yo, ya no soy yo. Por lo menos no soy el mismo yo interior.”
– Diarios de motocicleta (submitted by Ryan)
I am no longer me. At least I am not the same inside.
- The Motorcycle Diaries

Have a favorite movie quote you think will spark inspiration? Feel free to add it to the comments below!