When I first started writing plots for roleplaying games, the internet was in it's infancy, and the amount of online resources was minimal at best. I was inspired from a number of famous writers as I poured through anthologies of short stories, and my evenings were often filled with watching classic horror movies, which devolved into B-rated flicks that rode the airwaves after hours.
There is a skill in being a mad scientist and cobbling together these thoughts and ideas. Some simply do not mesh together, and others don't work within the genre. A few bastard creations sound amazing on paper, but don't quite work in a game. Others are spectacular with a tabletop group, but utterly fail in a Live Action setting. There is an Art to knowing what will work, and what needs to be cast aside in it's infancy, left like a deformed Spartan child for the wolves.
Real World News
Unfortunate as it may be, the real world is often a dark and gritty place, filled with atrocities that our species inflicts upon one another. One of the sites I check on a regular basis is dailyrotten.com, which has a list of some of the most horrific things that hits the news.
I feel I must warn you about using the news, as you may inadvertently use something that has some sort of relation to one of your players. Thus, it is imperative that you change the names and locations around, and you should probably also alter a few of the particulars of the article. I also suggest that you don't pull from anything too recent, give yourself a good six month buffer and you shouldn't have a problem with something that is immediately recognizable by someone that stays abreast of the news.
Short Stories
With things like Kindles and iPads being readily available (to those with cash), it's easy to pick up an anthology without needing to find a physical place to store it when you're done.
Additionally, there are thousands if not millions of blossoming writers out there, publishing their works for free on the internet in hopes of grabbing the right attention. Even if someone isn't all that talented at actual writing, they may have an interesting idea or three.
Comics and Graphic Novels
The comics industry has a decent amount of material to draw from, especially because they have to publish another part of an ongoing story about once a month. The contents of a single monthly comic sometimes equates to roughly the same amount of action that you might see in a single Live Action game.
I'm not terribly acquainted with the comic or graphic novel scene, however, I do know of a few series which fits well with the World of Darkness:
"Transmetropolitan"
A tale of political corruption, and how one man makes sense of it all and fights injustice.
"Preacher"
A man finds himself set upon a mission, after being blessed/cursed with a dangerous power.
"Hellblazer"
The setting is very similar to the World of Darkness.
Movies
I'm a pretty big fan of movies, I probably watch something new a couple times a week. With the advent of services that stream movies directly over the internet for relatively cheap, I have a wide variety to choose from.
When I notice a particular aspect of a movie that I enjoy, I write it down as a brief synopsis and file it away. I later go through my collection, and figure out how to use any of this information. Quite often, elements are determined to only work within the realm of the film, and thus I discard them. Occasionally, I get things that will work in one particular genre but doesn't translate well into others.
I also peruse sites like IMDB and pour through the synopsis of movies. If it's a movie I've seen before, I often recall various elements, or if my memory is a little hazy, I watch it again, taking notes as I go.
Television Series
There are quite a few series out there that have a very "World of Darkness" feel to them, even though they may not have a supernatural angle. Over the years I've incorporated bits and pieces from many into the games that I've run. As with movies, I often go through and write down parts that were interesting, and plots which might work for me later on.
I've gone ahead and compiled a list of some of the better ones, and I know that there are others I am completely unaware of (feel free to add those in the comments).
"Breaking Bad"
A tale of a man faced with his own end seeks to leave something for his family to survive on. What begins as an altruistic act slowly devolves into a morality tale as you can see how Walter White slowly becomes a villain.
"Game of Thrones"
The political manuevering alone is worth watching it, and it gets players into the mindset that bad things can happen to the protagonists.
"Deadwood"
This emphasizes the rough characters of the Old West, and shows what happens when a bunch of predatory individuals are thrown into a situation in which there is very little law beyond the rule of might.
"The Shield"
A morality tale of a man who begins with the best of intentions, who is corrupted by the very thing he fights against, and he slowly loses his friends, his family, and barely manages to survive it all... but at the cost of everything. The gang interactions and the police brutality and tactics inspired countless plots and characters to populate the setting.
"The Borgias"
Byzantine politics, Machiavellian manuevers, and abuse of power... this series screams out to be the inspiration for many a Requiem character's motivations and schemes.
"The Wire"
Often heralded as one of the closest depictions to real police work, as well as the criminal and gang side of things, I've used this series as a primer on many aspects of the seedier plots and police capabilities.
"Sons of Anarchy"
A biker crew seeking freedom and to protect their own, this series also has a complex web of inter personal relations. The writing and plots of the series are superb, and many of them have inspired me to my own creations.
"Justified"
Showcasing the dirty underworld of the South, as well as a rough lawman, this is very much a 'modern day Western'.
"Supernatural"
I enjoyed the first season of the show, when it was entirely episodic, however the later seasons started to feel a little epic for my tastes.
"Suits"
So far only a single season has inspired me quite a bit, giving me a new vantage point on how the more well off Kindred might operate among and against one another.
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