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Failure at writing a screenplay, whats the reason?

Ok, i know it's a very broad thing to ask. No one can answer it without knowing me. Let me try, so it becomes more specific.
I am 19 years old, i became a film buff after 15 and decided that i wanted to make films (write and direct).
And.. after that for last 4 years i have been watching films, talking and reading about films. I have read and watched so much about the craft of making it that i now i feel maybe i have LOST MY INNOCENCE.
Reading all those: 10 tips for writing screenplay and shit. Every fucking article and interviews of my favourite filmmakers. I feel i know so much that even before writing something proper i have lost my flow. Because i know so much.
I have written few handful of synopsis for screenplays but not a proper one.
I am lazy, thats for sure.
There is a inner critic who won't allow me to writer without any preconcieved notion in head..
What should i do, recommend me anything, so that i can stand out of this rubble and do something, rather than just talking about writing. i would write.
Any tips, any kind of .. and please don't judge maybe i am fool to ask something so basic. but tell me simply WHAT WORKED FOR U? .
 
I just gave you the solution. Stop procrastinating and just do it. Your mind is a powerful thing when you have doubts. Ignore the psychology aspect, and get to writing.
 
Any tips, any kind of .. and please don't judge maybe i am fool to ask something so basic. but tell me simply WHAT WORKED FOR U? .

You are not a fool to ask. My advice it exactly the same as Quality's:
Write. Every. Day. That's what worked for me.

You say you are lazy. You can't be. You must write every day. You
have given us many good reasons why you can't write. Do you
have any good reasons why SHOULD write?
 
You must write every day.

That's how it's done. When I was a working musician I practiced almost every day, even when I was gigging five (5) or six (6) days a week. When I got into audio post I found something to do every day, whether it was field recording, doing audio post practice on stuff from Prelinger and other sources, having a "play date" with my effects (reverbs, compressors, time compress/expand, pitch modulation, etc.) and, of course, lots of listening to films, TV, advertising, etc. I still do all of these things when I have down time.

To achieve any proficiency at your craft you need to practice your craft every day. Even though he has over 40 novels to his credit author Orson Scott Card still attends writing classes. When out of inspiration John Varley writes fictional bios for names in the phone book.

Get off your ass (or maybe on your ass to sit in front of your screen :D ) and write for an hour every day. Okay, maybe it's garbage, so think of it as taking a dump and getting rid of all the crap. If you write three (3) pages a day five days a week that's more than 750 pages a year. If even 20% is good that 150 good pages a year; that's a 2.5 hour feature.
 
I'm curious, when you guys say "write everyday", what type of writing are you referring to? Do you start a short film script and continue on it for a few days till it's finished, or do you practice with screenplays/improv writing etc?
 
I'm curious, when you guys say "write everyday", what type of writing are you referring to? Do you start a short film script and continue on it for a few days till it's finished, or do you practice with screenplays/improv writing etc?

It doesn't matter what you write, just write. It's all about the discipline and developing your mental muscles.
 
I kinda think I know how you feel. Once I kept learning and learning, I started taking myself really seriously. And as a result, it took me 10 times longer to write and the end results weren't nearly as good. I found that I shouldn't take it so seriously. Make it fun and use it as a way of expressing yourself. You should be writing so much that no one screenplay has to be the perfect masterpiece. Write 20 screenplays and then pick the best one. Then there's no overwhelming pressure on one screenplay.
 
I'm curious, when you guys say "write everyday", what type of writing are you referring to? Do you start a short film script and continue on it for a few days till it's finished, or do you practice with screenplays/improv writing etc?
Both.

Start a script - short or feature - and write a page or two (or more) every
day until it's finished. Practice some improve writing, etc. Even if you don't
FEEL like writing, write. Once one script is done go on to another one. Make
writing a habit. Good writing is learned. And the best way to get good is to
practice. Every day. That's the only way I know to (as Usmanhere said) "stand
out of this rubble and do something".
 
It's all about discipline. I grew up romanticizing writers and thinking how glamorous it must be to be able to just write all day. And constantly saying "I want to be a writer." But never putting in the work.

It's work. There's no getting around that. And work is sometimes painful and dull as hell and tedious. But that's how you write your screenplay. By working on it. Every day.

I don't do this for a living and have a day job and family that keep me quite busy, but I finally managed to discipline myself to have at least one to two hours every day where I shut everything else off and work. And that's the only way I was ever able to get rolling as a writer. By doing it every day. Some days I'd spend the hour crafting one sentence. Some days I'd get on a roll and manage three pages or more. But the trick is disciplining yourself to do it every day.

Highly recommend the books Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey. The Lamott book is kind of a writer's bible on how to discipline yourself to put in the time every day, and the Currey book is an anthology of different artists, many of them writers, who talk about what they do every day to get the work done. A common thread among the writers profiled in the Currey book is that very few of them get much joy out of the daily work, which I found very reassuring, curiously.

Now decide when your writing time is going to be each day and get to work!
 
"You know nothing, John Snow"

You can't be creative when you are judgemental.
You need to create time and space to be creative. Allow yourself to write stupid things. Rewrite later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMpdPrm6Ul4

Reading theory about how it's done is never the same as doing it.
It can block you if you always 'wonder you are doing it right'.
 
I am not a natural writer, but I'm disciplined. I started with 20min/day, and just kept going. I soon found that I could maintain my concentration longer and longer. Eventually, I could put in a sold eight+ hours a day.
 
I have written few handful of synopsis for screenplays but not a proper one.
I am lazy, thats for sure.

That's one reason.


There is a inner critic who won't allow me to writer without any preconcieved notion in head..
What should i do, recommend me anything, so that i can stand out of this rubble and do something, rather than just talking about writing. i would write.
Any tips, any kind of .. and please don't judge maybe i am fool to ask something so basic. but tell me simply WHAT WORKED FOR U? .

First of all, if you're a writer, you must be familiar with the tools of your trade, which means knowing the basics of grammar and spelling. But you're only 19, and you're only starting out in life, so you have time to learn. I would suggest going to film school.
 
Aspiring Mogul. I agree that i am starting out. I am already at film school, and my first year just ended, three more to go. I really hated the academic treatment of films. Something as basic as three act structure being taught. And i find it irritating because i already knew almost all of it and for everyone else it's revelation.
Only thing that i found helpful, is the exposure i got to theater. Analyzing Harold Pinter, Brecht and people like Tony Kushner has really helped me develop a better eye for material.
 
........ I really hated the academic treatment of films. Something as basic as three act structure being taught. And i find it irritating because i already knew almost all of it and for everyone else it's revelation.
...................

But did you already successfully apply it?
Just knowing some theory before your peers doesn't make you more advances if you don't put knowledge into action :)
 
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