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A couple of general screenwriting questions!

L

lalyil

Hi guys (any women here bytheway?),

I just reached page 20 of my screenplay.
Now I have to say I seem to dislike 'going by the book' (i.e McKee) and it seems to be a lot easier for me to just "flow" with the writing.. also a lot more enjoyable.

I haven't done any sort of outline, treatment, synopsis.. nada. And when I try to gather myself to write one, I find it extremely difficult. Mainly because I'm aweful at summarizing but then also because I don't know myself what's about to happen. I only have the present and the ending.. the rest I just write as I go, knowing exactly where I'm going to end up.

However, having read a lot of screenwriting tips and the likes, I have to ask...


1. For better character developement and story telling, would it be better if I STOP and write a proper summary before continuing?

2. If someone in the industry wishes to see my work so far, should I include the 20 pages or just the first 10 pages as some suggested before? And in my email to him should I include the ending (a twist)? (although all events from now until the ending are still very vague)


And last
I just noticed my first 10 pages have about.. 20 scenes :lol: I realise it's a lot, but it's quite crucial to the story... thought? I might try to rewrite some of it.


Thanks in advance guys!
 
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lalyil said:
I need to send just the first 10 pages to someone in the industry at his request but before doing so I'm looking for someone to read them.. JUST THE FIRST 10 PAGES...only people who can send constructive feedback.
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What sort of feedback are you looking for exactly? The first ten pages is all setup and introduction of main characters, depending on the final length of your script, very little will have happened to let us know what the story is....all we would know is the ordinary world and the hero in his dissatisfied state (wether he knows it or not).....
Are you looking for format feedback? Structure feedback? Dialogue feedback?
And also, be careful of your feedback, as most times, people are not saying what is "the right thing to do" but only what they feel they would do according to what their own experiences are..

but sure, shoot it on through, will be happy to have a look
Q
 
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I haven't read all of the responces yet, so I might be repeating what someone else has said (i'll read over the replies shortly)....anyway...I'm on my second screenplay right now (which will hopefully be going into pre-production soon after it's finished) and though I haven't written a ton of scripts, so I don't have years of script writing experience, my advice is....just write! get your first draft down on paper in whatever way works best for you, then you can go back and clean up your formatting errors while you're making changes.

If writing an outline works for you, then write one...if you find it hard to write an outline, then don't...you might hit a point later when you want to, and if not then it's not a big deal...if you want to write a few paragraphs then do, but you don't have to....

you should know your characters even if you just know them in your head (do that you can be true to that characters personality, etc), you should try and get your basic format so that your dialogue is going onto the right section of the page and stuff, but so much of the other stuff can be fixed durring rewrites....now, that being said...you don't want to go crazy, you want to try and get as much of the little things (caped names when they first appear, caped props or sounds, try and think about if what you're typing in your actions are something that can actually be expressed without dialogue) the rest will mostly depend on your talent and your dedication, and lots of time for rewrites and cleaning up all the rough edges.


anyway, just my two cents.

btw, I'm female. :)
 
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Ah, Q, you're too kind :)
Emailed you now.

I sent you all 23 pages I wrote so far, you don't have to read the whole thing.. and well, any sort of feedback would be greatly appreciated. I want to know anything that bugs you about it!

Thanks again!
 
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LittleEarthquakes said:
I haven't read all of the responces yet, so I might be repeating what someone else has said (i'll read over the replies shortly)....anyway...I'm on my second screenplay right now (which will hopefully be going into pre-production soon after it's finished) and though I haven't written a ton of scripts, so I don't have years of script writing experience, my advice is....just write! get your first draft down on paper in whatever way works best for you, then you can go back and clean up your formatting errors while you're making changes.

If writing an outline works for you, then write one...if you find it hard to write an outline, then don't...you might hit a point later when you want to, and if not then it's not a big deal...if you want to write a few paragraphs then do, but you don't have to....

you should know your characters even if you just know them in your head (do that you can be true to that characters personality, etc), you should try and get your basic format so that your dialogue is going onto the right section of the page and stuff, but so much of the other stuff can be fixed durring rewrites....now, that being said...you don't want to go crazy, you want to try and get as much of the little things (caped names when they first appear, caped props or sounds, try and think about if what you're typing in your actions are something that can actually be expressed without dialogue) the rest will mostly depend on your talent and your dedication, and lots of time for rewrites and cleaning up all the rough edges.


anyway, just my two cents.

btw, I'm female. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you! Well, it has been said lol but glad to see more people think I should 'go with the flow' lol

And very glad to see more females here! :lol:
 
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lalyil said:
Hi guys (any women here bytheway?),

I just reached page 20 of my screenplay.
Now I have to say I seem to dislike 'going by the book' (i.e McKee) and it seems to be a lot easier for me to just "flow" with the writing.. also a lot more enjoyable.

I haven't done any sort of outline, treatment, synopsis.. nada. And when I try to gather myself to write one, I find it extremely difficult. Mainly because I'm aweful at summarizing but then also because I don't know myself what's about to happen. I only have the present and the ending.. the rest I just write as I go, knowing exactly where I'm going to end up.

However, having read a lot of screenwriting tips and the likes, I have to ask...


1. For better character developement and story telling, would it be better if I STOP and write a proper summary before continuing?

2. If someone in the industry wishes to see my work so far, should I include the 20 pages or just the first 10 pages as some suggested before? And in my email to him should I include the ending (a twist)? (although all events from now until the ending are still very vague)


And last
I just noticed my first 10 pages have about.. 20 scenes :lol: I realise it's a lot, but it's quite crucial to the story... thought? I might try to rewrite some of it.


Thanks in advance guys!
Click to expand...

Please, I beg you, write a thorough outline before you continue with the rest of the script. Whether it's now at page 20 or later on, at some point you will get stuck and/or you will make some illogical connections between point A -> B.

I think most if not all writers start out just writing (I know I did). But I think you'll regret it and you'll spend MUCH more time writing it if you don't have an outline first. The more detailed the better. As you write, you can always change it a bit but at least you know where you are going and what you are wanting to do.

My advice is that once you have an idea, just think and brainstorm until you understand your story and the characters. Then start to do research and understand everything more. At some point, you'll want to do a very rough outline. Then do more research.

Finally, tough it up and sit down and do a hard-core outline, get everything fleshed out. Then you're ready to write.
 
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Also if we can't summarize everything into a clear outline, how can we write a concise screenplay? More than any other writing form, screenwriting requires discipline and brevity. Think of writing a crisp outline as practice for the real game.

When I sat down to write my first screenplay, I had the same problem as you. I knew the beginning and the end and various scenes in between after I brainstormed a bit, and then I started writing to see where things would wind up. I didn't want to do an outline because I can free associate in my mind easily, and because I wanted to crank out the script as fast as possible (yeah, that adrenaline that hits you when you know you have a great story).

Well, so I wrote the beginning, but then you think "ok what happens next?"...and then you write that, and then again, what happens next? And so on. Almost guaranteed that at some point you will get STUCK.

And even if you don't get stuck, your story is just a series of random events. It's not really a story even. It's just "first this happened, and then this thing happened, and then this really cool thing happened, and then everything got bad, and then things got good again" etc. etc.

That's why I HIGHLY suggest writing an outline because, in that form, with a lot less work you can shape events so they relate to each other and effect comes naturally from causality.

Best of luck.
 
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LOL. If you end up writing a series of random events, then you're not writing a story. You're just writing a series of random events.

If you know your characters well enough -- simple cause and effect will get you through the story without an outline.

Don't get me wrong... I create an outline but I use it more as a launching point for my characters and then a compass for getting them back to the story at hand.

If you know your characters well enough and you tap into the theme of your story, then FLOW HAPPENS and you might as well ride out that flow and see where it takes you since you say it is in fact, FLOW.

Where my outline really comes into play however, is in the REWRITING. I find that it's much more important in that it helps me forge that first draft that's sitting at 185 pages down into 110 yet, I still get to keep the organic character development and structure because I let my characters run fast and loose during the first draft with only a simple launching point and compass.

Screenwriting is NOT hammering a square peg into a round hole. You can try it but chances are it's just not going to work. Rather, you let your characters make decisions based on WHO they are and assuming you created them to be good characters from the beginning along with a concept that is going to make me want to know more...

You're probably going to write more than a series of random events.

A lot of first screenplays are the result of years and years of pondering the story... It works if you've actually pondered the ENTIRE story. LOL.

But if you've not done that, then it's very possible that the flow is going to end... But even so, there's nothing wrong or incorrect with riding that flow until it peters out.

Then go back and create an outline if you like... Maybe creating an outline that is nothing more than organizing what you've already written will work for you... Maybe not. But that's what you're going to find out at some point.

It's all a learning experience and whatever you learn from this script -- some you'll abandon -- some you'll improve -- some you'll clone.

It all works as long as you're learning from it.

filmy
 
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As for the twenty scenes in ten pages, I believe it's acceptible if crucial to the plot developement. I mean, when you thinks about it, Eraserhead only had a twenty-some page screenplay for the entire film!!! And look how great that flick was!
 
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Im a woman too!

I wonder how the OP has come along with his screenplay?

Personally, while Im still very new to the screenwriting bizz (though am trying my hardest), I think the best way for me to do it is to first write a synopsis/summary of whats going to happen from the start all the way to the finish.

But, I do not want it to be so detailed. Thats limiting IMO. Its great to have direction, yes. But if you're too rigid and map out every detail, you're characters have no room to wiggle around and do their own thing along the way.

I think if you start from A and know where B is (and what'll happen by the time the characters get there), then it's okay for the characters and the story to get off the beaten path momentarily.

I suppose Im a bit of a realist but I think when there's more sponteneous moments, attitudes and opinions, it makes my characters seem more 3dimensional and someone that audiences can really identify with.
 
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I am a butch lesbian trapped in a man's body. Does that count? :)

Seriously, though, I agree with filmy. Go with the FLOW. Much of what you end up writing may get trashed, but some wonderful gems could surface. Scoop up a healthy dose of riverbed and sift through the black sand to find the gold.

I am on my second script project also. I got bogged down recently in too many disjointed notes and random musings, so I picked up a copy of Movie Outline. It is helping to keep my thoughts organized. It is also forcing me to take an analytical approach to the story and characters to balance out the creative aspects. I will still use Final Draft for the final draft, of course. But Movie Outline was a necessary evil to help satisfy my left brain.

Good luck on your project. It sucks to write, but it's euphoric to have written.
 
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If it's any help, I watched a video recently where George Lucas once said;

"Francis Coppola, who is my mentor, said 'The only way you're ever gunna write is to simply go through it, write it as fast as you can and never go back and look at what you've done until you've finished.' And so that's the way I write. So I ended up with lots and lots of rewrites. But it's the only way to do it. You just go through it and uh... in a few weeks, you write a whole draft and it's horrible and then you start fixing it."
 
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