A classic crutch

For a few years, I've had this one story idea bouncing around in my head. The trouble I've had with it is the ending. Everything I've come up with has been horribly cliche.

About a year ago, I was telling a friend about the story, and she told me that the basic plotline sounded like The Count of Monte Cristo. After veiwing the film version that was made a couple years ago, it made sense.

So, as my birthday present for myself, I picked up a copy of the book from Barnes & Noble, where it was on sale for three bucks. If you want a cheap book brand new, you gotta love the public domain ones...no inflated price to kick back to the author.

So, I've set my notes and drafts aside for now, and I'm going chapter by chapter from the book and I'm writing a fresh draft based on Dumas' work. When I'm done, I'll compare my first version with this new version and see what works and rewrite it from there.

The trouble I'm having now is I'm about twenty chapters in and the plot is getting a little complicated to translate. Napoleonic politics have a hard time updating to modern day corporate office cattiness. I'm figuring it all out as I go along, and I'm finding myself writing broad notes and falling back on the excuse of "Well, this is just for one draft. I'll flesh it all out later."

Now, before anyone out there starts screaming plaigarism, let me explain. I'm merely using it as a guide; an homage if you will. My goal is to have a finished story to tweak and distort that may only have a few direct similarities to the original text.

The strange thing is, as I read on in the book, I now see how many different films have been influenced by The Count of Monte Cristo. V for Vendetta and Shawshank Redemption and Batman Begins are great examples. Lesser examples include The Scret of My Success, Whoppi Goldberg's The Associate and pretty much any of countless movies where the main character assumes a made-up identity to achieve the goals they couldn't on their own.

That's what happens when you read a classic. You see the influences everywhere, no matter how sly the authors and filmmakers try to be. If you've read Moby Dick, Jaws doesn't pack the same wallop. Same with the Odyssey and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?. Romeo & Juliet and West Side Story. La Boheme and Rent. The Hound of the Baskervilles and Britney Spears' Crossroads...okay, I'm making that last one up.

I'm trying to learn from a master and make it my own. I'm not using the Mona Lisa as a paint by number, but then again I'm not turning Kurisawa into a space opera and calling it an original idea (good job, Mr. Lucas, but the quick and easy path is the way of the Dark Side).

We'll see how it turns out after a few drafts. I have a good feeling so far.