How do you get your ideas on to paper?

[Semiazas]

I'm wondering, how is it you actually get the concepts in your to words in a screenplay?
I mean, I write horror fiction (I used to write a lot before school got so stressful) and I could never do dialouge well so, you can imagine, doing screenplays is quite a daunting task.
I'm aware of something I read online that was 'one page of a screenplay is a minute on screen' and even for my shorts I have ideas for, which will vary in length probably from 10 to however many minutes, that's only like 10 pages of screenplay but.. I have no idea how to really do it =\
Tips?

 

[Flicker Pictures]

This system helps me out when I'm in a jam ; )

Give it a whirl!

 

[Murdock]

Tip one. Start writing, and figure it out as you go along. Just write the stroy. You can worry about format later.

 

[Semiazas]

Tip one. Start writing, and figure it out as you go along. Just write the stroy. You can worry about format later.

This might sound arrogant or pretentious or something I dunno but hey.
The thing is, the shorts I have ideas for will be very difficult to write screenplays for.
One's silent (ruling dialouge out entierley duh)

One is a man arguing with his reflection as he delves into the dark part of his psyche (This one could end up being formatted like a large monolouge so.. I'm really not sure how to write that)

One is about a biploar pianist who takes a singer hostage and so the dialouge there will be very awkawrd, strained and bitter, so that'll be a tricky one.

I guess the easiest one to write for is my Faustian short I have an idea for.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

The one minute = one page rule is just a guideline as well. Over an entire screenplay it may be pretty close, but even then it's only ballpark estimation.

The most famous (true or not) example people throw around is supposedly in the screenplay for Gone With the Wind, one of the scenes is "Atlanta burns". That's two words in the screenplay that could translate to several minutes on screen.

 

[Columbus]

I'm new at writing scripts (only have written two) but so far my biggest help to tackling the wall that is writer's block is booze. Lots of booze. My biggest issue is I have two scenes I know that need to follow each other. I just don't know how to transition from one scene to the next. So I write complete and utter trash just to get me to the scene then go back and revise it later when I am more coherent.

 

[Murdock]

For the 1st one: You will still have a story right? So tell it. Write it down. Just leave out the dialogue. "he did this. And then he did this" It will be up to you and the actor to interpret this into something that can be fiolmed.

2nd- Same as above. Only now the guy in the mirror gets to say something. He has an argument. Why? What starts the argument? There will need to be some exposition in the monologue.

3rd-You have a premise now you need to fill it out. Details. We, as the audience, want a story. So, if you don't have a story nothing else will matter.

Story story story. Write a story. Just like you did in school. Make it up. Write it all out really quick. Then, go back and correct detail errors that might have occured. That's how I write anyway. Others like to be deliberate and do all kinds of character research, but even then, all that research is geared toward doing what????....Writing a story.

And like Columbus said: Whiskey helps sometimes.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

In a nod to what Columbus is saying, I HEAVILY use the rewrite process. The object at first is just get it written, if there are issues, plot holes, bad dialogue, whatever, who cares, plow ahead, don't rewrite anything. THEN in the process of rewriting the entire script 5 or 6 times you clean all that stuff up.

Then when you consult with your producer (or look at the numbers yourself) you rewrite it for budget. Then when you have a table read you rewrite it for dialogue. I think I did 8 or 9 rewrites on the screenplay for my last short.

 

[Semiazas]

For the 1st one: You will still have a story right? So tell it. Write it down. Just leave out the dialogue. "he did this. And then he did this" It will be up to you and the actor to interpret this into something that can be fiolmed.

2nd- Same as above. Only now the guy in the mirror gets to say something. He has an argument. Why? What starts the argument? There will need to be some exposition in the monologue.

3rd-You have a premise now you need to fill it out. Details. We, as the audience, want a story. So, if you don't have a story nothing else will matter.

Story story story. Write a story. Just like you did in school. Make it up. Write it all out really quick. Then, go back and correct detail errors that might have occured. That's how I write anyway. Others like to be deliberate and do all kinds of character research, but even then, all that research is geared toward doing what????....Writing a story.

And like Columbus said: Whiskey helps sometimes.

1st - there is still a story, yeah. So it becomes like a series of stage directions?

2nd - The argument starts because the reflection is sick of the man on the other end of the mirror

3rd - Probably will just be difficult to write because of the mental state of the characters.

The whiskey thing: I'm sixteen and don't drink

 

[Papertwinproductions]

1st - there is still a story, yeah. So it becomes like a series of stage directions?

2nd - The argument starts because the reflection is sick of the man on the other end of the mirror

3rd - Probably will just be difficult to write because of the mental state of the characters.

The whiskey thing: I'm sixteen and don't drink

It's a hill that many encounter in the early stages. I would suggest reading Screenplays of some of your favourite movies, this, primarily, will enable you to understand further, not only how the visuals are presented on the page, but how they are adapted to the screen.

Read as many Screenplays as you can.

Then you'll be wanting to download Celtx.

 

[Dreadylocks]

All of the stories you mentioned, Semi, are very possible to put in screenplay format.

My method:

I would start by reading a lot of screenplays so you learn the language and it feels natural to you. It's like (and easier form of) delving in Shakespeare: if you have never read that style of prose, the first time you try is going to be hard, you will miss a lot and you will read slowly. But the more you read, the more fluent you become in the way it's written and you can read read them as naturally as you would any literature.

The next step is to do what Murdock said, try and get them on paper in any form. Don't worry about format. You just want to make sure you remember everything and then maybe you'll begin to see more structure.

Finally (Although this step you will repeat many many times) you will take a program like Celtx and start writing it in screenplay format. Where to begin? Take one of those notebooks with all your notes about a story and it's long synopsis or narrative and sit there thinking about it until you can see the film in your head. Then just write what you see, you will know how it should look on the page from all those screenplays you read and you will know what happens from having written down all your ideas.

Not to say it's an easy thing to do, but it can be as simple as that.

 

[escher]

I generally watch the scene play out in my head and try to write down a description of what happens in as few words as possible.

This reply box is probably going to murder the formatting, but here is a comparison of a dialog-heavy scene and a non-dialog-heavy scene from my sci-fi screenplay. When I watch these in my head there are a ton of little details I've left out of the script -- I've tried to write in only the absolutely necessary elements. Otherwise, the screenplay becomes description-heavy and it becomes very difficult to read and to understand the flow of the story.

INT. NASA SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS FACILITY HALLWAYS -
NIGHT

Mercer and his three companions are walking down the
facility’s hallways at a fast pace while a research assistant
hurries after them.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT​

You can’t just show up here
unannounced and expect to... hey!​

They sharply turns down a hallway, leaving the assistant to
catch up.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT (CONT’D)​

Mr. Radtke is not available right
now, it’s just not possible. The...​

MERCER​

New scope is going live. I know.
​

They push through a large double-door and into...


INT. TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CONTROL - NIGHT

The room is a flurry of activity. Rows of workstations are
manned by various operators and astronomers, some moving
about checking different systems. A huge screen fills the
forward wall, currently blank. EDWARD RADTKE is supervising,
moving from station to station. He is in his early 50’s, fit,
and very on top of things.

The three military officials head to different parts of the
room, noting various pieces of equipment and recording their
observations into their small touchscreen computers.

MERCER​

Mr. Radtke...​

Edward doesn’t even notice Mercer and his companions.

EDWARD​

I want those cells checked and
rechecked the minute we’re live on
the high-gain. Marvin! Get that
secondary antenna running at full
bandwidth, I don’t care how much
interference you’re getting.​

MERCER​

Mr. Radtke, I...​

Marvin, a gangly bright college graduate, is rapidly punching
away at his computer station.

MARVIN​

Not my fault you guys picked the L2
point. We’re not in the umbra, you
know.​

INT. ATHENA BRIDGE (WEIGHTLESSNESS)

Captain Harris sits alone on the bridge. He still wears the
strange and deathly-serious facial expression.
He slowly reaches forward and presses a button. A small
drawer quietly slides open, revealing his copy of “Journey to
the Center of the Earth”. He removes it, letting it float
away. Underneath it is a gun in a holster that is velcroed to
the inside of the drawer.

Captain Harris carefully removes the gun and a loaded clip.
He inserts the clip and loads a round into the barrel, then
attaches the gun and holster to his flight suit.

He presses another button and a picture of the Earth is
displayed on one of the monitors. He stares at it, his face
falling into extreme sadness, then pushes away from his chair
and floats to one of the many control stations lining the
interior of the bridge room.

The intercom crackles to life.

GEORGE (INTERCOM)​

Captain, this is George. I’ve put
together the best reconstruction I
can on Marvin’s movements from
yesterday to t...​

Captain Harris hits a button, silencing the intercom. He
enters some commands into the console, bringing up a list of
security overrides. He begins activating each one in turn.

 

[Semiazas]

So it's like writing a play? But with a different format?

 

[escher]

So it's like writing a play? But with a different format?

Exactly! It's a screen play. A play for the screen. It should contain exactly and only the information needed for a director to make a movie from it.

I'd recommend staying away from more stylistic things like CUT TO or FADE OUT or any camera/editing directions. Just write out what is supposed to happen and any dialog that is to occur. It's a blueprint. Omit unnecessary details -- those are handled in pre-production and can change drastically depending on budget, context, and location.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

"I'd recommend staying away from more stylistic things like CUT TO or FADE OUT or any camera/editing directions."

Gets to the am I writing for myself to direct, or writing it to sell,. Writing for myself I put in a lot of detail about shots, transitions, etc... that I would leave out of a script I didn't intend to do myself.

 

[Ernest Worthing]

The whiskey thing: I'm sixteen and don't drink

Well there's your problem right there

 

[escher]

"I'd recommend staying away from more stylistic things like CUT TO or FADE OUT or any camera/editing directions."

Gets to the am I writing for myself to direct, or writing it to sell,. Writing for myself I put in a lot of detail about shots, transitions, etc... that I would leave out of a script I didn't intend to do myself.

I've also found that when it actually comes to shooting and editing I'll change my mind a lot so camera directions in the script never did me much good. Might just be me.

 

[kgasser2]

1st - there is still a story, yeah. So it becomes like a series of stage directions?

2nd - The argument starts because the reflection is sick of the man on the other end of the mirror

3rd - Probably will just be difficult to write because of the mental state of the characters.

The whiskey thing: I'm sixteen and don't drink

i think when he asked you how the argument starts, that was a question for you to ask yourself in order to think about your story.

asking myself questions is the biggest thing that gets me going in a screenplay. I have the idea for each character, and the basic situation, now i ask what does each person want from every other person? from themselves? blah blah. it works.

start drinking.

 

[Semiazas]

"I'd recommend staying away from more stylistic things like CUT TO or FADE OUT or any camera/editing directions."

Gets to the am I writing for myself to direct, or writing it to sell,. Writing for myself I put in a lot of detail about shots, transitions, etc... that I would leave out of a script I didn't intend to do myself.

Well I'm writing for me to direct, I doubt I'll put in technical or camera directions, I'll just keep it simple and work with what the actors are doing tech wise, as opposed to making my actors work around tech restrictions. But that's just me.

 

[Sam K]

I'd like to address the drinking solution on this thread.
But before I do want to precise that I happily party my liver to helm, and that Alcohol does great things. And I'm not addressing this to anyone personally, and I tend to be a rather straightforward guy, so if you get the impression I'm offensive, it's not my goal, I'm really only trying to share my point of view and possibly help out. Also I've never written a screenplay, but I'll go ahead and write a few tonight, or at least start out on a few tonight, or at least one depending on how far away my mind goes.
Having said that, in this case, you drink to write your screenplay. It's like guys who down a few shots before going to speak to the hottie on the other side of the bar. The issue isn't how well they can chat up girls, it's how well they think they can chat up girls.
And I agree Alcohol gives you that don't give a shit feeling, but practice to chat the girls up without the booze.
Because the reason you're drinking before writing screenplays is you double think you don't have confidence in your ability to write a screenplay. You get writers block because you don't believe that you can write a great screenplay. Alcohol will solve the problem for a while, but really it's as if an overweight guy bought this tee shirt:

I could advise you reading Seth Godins latest two books: Linchpin and Tribes. The first is about releasing the inner Artist in you to become indispensable, and the second one is about Leadership. If you had to choose, buy linchpin.

And to quote (well it's along these lines)DV Rebels Guide's Author " If I tell you your tenth screenplay will be great how will you feel about writing the first 9?".
Don't ever buy a book with a step by step guide Do A then B then C for anything. You don't need someone elses map. Make your Own. I don't think I'll ever buy a screenplay book( although never say never).
How do you write a screenplay? You take your idea, you run it through your mind, even mime it out if you need to, then write what your actors do, where they are what they say, and it would seem that you need the bare essential for a director to make a film with from what I read here. So skip the crap. And if you're like oh shit what does my guy say here? Just leave a blank, or write in something that seems crappy, and come back to it an other time.

Like in everything, The key is to GET STUFF DONE.

Hope I helped, And I'll happily drink with any of you guys to celebrate your latest screenplay you wrote.

Sam