The Creative Process?
Was just ruminating on Twitter about my recent creative process. I use a lot of recycled plots in my adventure design--example is Crossing the Millers is built from the basic plot of Miller's Crossing, and the next project for Sword Noir is based off The City of Violence.
That's basically what Shakespeare did, so I think I'm in good company. 
For me, getting the plot is the hardest part. Fleshing it out--the writing--is much easier. I have a notebook with a bunch of plots I've developed, so right now, I have a lot of projects planned because I have these (adapted) plots.
Right now, I am overwhelmingly an adventure developer rather than a game designer, so this might be an issue that others aren't facing as much.
Just wondering how others "find" their plots?
Comments
Great question, I don't think I've ever been conscious of directly copying a particular source material, although I am sure I do.*
Pretty much all of my adventures design start with a basic question of: who is the villain/foe(s)?
The first 3e D&D adventure I wrote was predicated on their being bearded devils in it -- it was for 6d6fireball who had just made some bearded devil miniatures.
A lot of the things I've designed for cons and am currently writing are Superheroes, and I think the "who is the villain, what can they do, and what do they want?" are more critical there. Most typically, I start with what's a set of powers that I can create with the Simple Superheroes engine?
SS#1 core is a enemy who got "stuck" in fast-time and can turn it back on to act like speedster, and his vengeance bent gravity controlling girlfriend.
SS#2 is primarily about a geneticist who can give people powers.
I sometimes work on things that are more about locations - what's a cool place - a cloud castle, a magically propelled iceberg, but they don't really feel real until I've added the arctic shuahagin and the frost mummies who guard control the gate of the four winds.
*When I am running say an Amber game I am drawing a lot of content from those books. Also I have contemplated a "The Godkiller Prophecy" using the Palanquin engine, and heavy inspired by David Edding's various books.
I really like that character-centric approach: who is the motivator and what do they want. That is much closer to what I do in fiction, though it can also be an item--the MacGuffin--and then wondering who else wants it and why.