I have plenty of different concepts floating around in my head for screenplays I want to develop. I just wanted to know if some of you guys work on mutilple screenplays at once just add to them as ideas come along, or if I should devote all my time to one project until full completion. I have several outlines, character bios, ans synapis's writen for different projects. I've even started writing the actuall screen play for three of them but none of the are past 20 pages. Any advice on work flow guys?
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Mutitasking on more then one screenplay at a time?
- Thread starter odd1out
- Start date
Excellent.
Glad to hear that. Vary glad.
Do you have the locations, cast & crew talent, equipment, and budget resources to produce any one or some of them?
And at twenty pages = twenty minutes these shorts sound plenty long enough.
How much longer did you want your audience sit and listen to your story?
That was rhetorical, BTW.
Can the stories be wrapped up or well enough told in twenty minutes?
Glad to hear that. Vary glad.
Do you have the locations, cast & crew talent, equipment, and budget resources to produce any one or some of them?
And at twenty pages = twenty minutes these shorts sound plenty long enough.
How much longer did you want your audience sit and listen to your story?
That was rhetorical, BTW.
Can the stories be wrapped up or well enough told in twenty minutes?
Ray - I get the impression that odd1out wants to write features, but is only getting to 20 pages, then moving on to the next screenplay.
That about right?
What I would do is try to get a "vomit draft" of the each screenplay down, then put it to one side. It doesn't need to be good. It just needs to be a complete story. It may come in at only 55 pages; that's too short for a feature. But at least you've laid the foundations. Then, once the desire to flesh out that particular story takes hold, you've got the bare bones done. You can then chop and change things, remove scenes, add scenes, create new characters, or, if it's for the best, start the whole thing from scratch.
That about right?
What I would do is try to get a "vomit draft" of the each screenplay down, then put it to one side. It doesn't need to be good. It just needs to be a complete story. It may come in at only 55 pages; that's too short for a feature. But at least you've laid the foundations. Then, once the desire to flesh out that particular story takes hold, you've got the bare bones done. You can then chop and change things, remove scenes, add scenes, create new characters, or, if it's for the best, start the whole thing from scratch.
Ok so right now I dont have any of the pre-porduction work done. Everything I'm working on now is in the fresh idea phase.
Yes hatter I'm mainly focused on writing features. So your saying I should go ahead and by pass witing outlines and fleshing out characters and just write the scrpit. Then after I will add and subtract where I deem necessary.
Yeah, but what I'm getting at is that you're at least writing three different stories that you have the resources to produce, right?
If one of the three stories you're stymied with is something that you can't even direct and produce then that simplifies the math by 1/3 - shelve it, and focus on the other two.
If only one of the three stories is something that A) you do have the resources to direct and produce, and B) you know what you want to do with it (festivals or retail it - that's a whollllle other discussion there) then there's your winner. Shelve the other two and get to work.
If all three are equally viable candidates for production then pick the one most marketable - horror, scifi, comedy. If you can pull a no-budget (<$1,000,000) action/adventure out of a hat then grrrrreat!!!!
MH will answer for himself ('cause he's cool that way!
), but essentially YES!!!!!Quit futzin' around with cute little time wasters like bios. Pfft.
Yes/No: Does the story have a traditional three act structure? Protagonist vs. Antagonist?
What's the conflict?
What's the resolution?
How does it end? Good? Bad? Pyrrhic victory? What?
And who is the audience for this?
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I will often have multiple projects open but will have one that is the focus of my attention. Sometimes, something will inspire an idea so I jot it down while it's still clear in my mind. As for the process, I don't rush into the screenplay.
I often write the idea down as story. Then I go back think about the structure, what are my main anchor points and the desired outcome. As I reflect on that, I also start fleshing out my characters. For an intro, I might have just a paragraph description of these central characters and outline so I can go back and refresh myself. The next step, when I actually focus on the screenplay, is to draft the treatment which is often 8-10 pages for a feature. From a treatment, I can easily expand it into the screenplay format. When I first started, I used notecards or sheets of paper. Sometimes I will still do that for a complex script. Especially with a mystery where the presence or absence of clues/characters is important to track.
So answering you in a roundabout way--I focus on one treatment when creating a screenplay but may have several treatment ideas that I'm working on. For me the screenplay is the next step after having a completed story. Though I know some writers who prefer to write directly in script format and do it successfully.
I often write the idea down as story. Then I go back think about the structure, what are my main anchor points and the desired outcome. As I reflect on that, I also start fleshing out my characters. For an intro, I might have just a paragraph description of these central characters and outline so I can go back and refresh myself. The next step, when I actually focus on the screenplay, is to draft the treatment which is often 8-10 pages for a feature. From a treatment, I can easily expand it into the screenplay format. When I first started, I used notecards or sheets of paper. Sometimes I will still do that for a complex script. Especially with a mystery where the presence or absence of clues/characters is important to track.
So answering you in a roundabout way--I focus on one treatment when creating a screenplay but may have several treatment ideas that I'm working on. For me the screenplay is the next step after having a completed story. Though I know some writers who prefer to write directly in script format and do it successfully.
Ok periodic mutil tasking isnt bad I just need to build the stucture of my script before I jump to the next idea. I have one main project thats really close to my heart right now but the way Im writing it its immposible for me to complete right now. I keep returning to it after having ideas suddenly pop into my head about it.
I could possibly pull off the other two scripts but it all boils down to how the rest of the story is writen. While writing I think of ways to portay the script in film, but most days Im not sure where to begin. Or where script writing ends and producing begins. Most days I feel as though my ideas are far to advanced for my budget and resources.
I write in many different genres so my target audience could span the entire chart "or at least I want to think that way obviously everyones not going to like everything". I dabble in those cute little time waster to try and acomplish a since of accurateness. I want to maximize my work load and still be thourough with everthing I create. And Yes to all of your questions I usually develop the basic structre of the script before ever putting pen to paper, including the antagonist, protagonist, the ending, the conflict, the resolution,... etc. Its all the little tid bits in between there that flesh out the story that I get hung up on.
I could possibly pull off the other two scripts but it all boils down to how the rest of the story is writen. While writing I think of ways to portay the script in film, but most days Im not sure where to begin. Or where script writing ends and producing begins. Most days I feel as though my ideas are far to advanced for my budget and resources.
I write in many different genres so my target audience could span the entire chart "or at least I want to think that way obviously everyones not going to like everything". I dabble in those cute little time waster to try and acomplish a since of accurateness. I want to maximize my work load and still be thourough with everthing I create. And Yes to all of your questions I usually develop the basic structre of the script before ever putting pen to paper, including the antagonist, protagonist, the ending, the conflict, the resolution,... etc. Its all the little tid bits in between there that flesh out the story that I get hung up on.
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I understand where you're coming from with this.
They probably are beyond your budget and resources.
Stop thinking about you can please everyone. You're only going to disappoint everyone. You don't have access to that kind of budget. Specialize, otherwise you'll disappear into obscurity. Learn to differentiate.
Ok, after reading the thread, I get the impression you're asking someone "What's best for me.". I'm going to assume you haven't completed a script yet, and if you have, it wasn't a decent script. I suspect you really need to knuckle down and focus on completing a project, otherwise, you'll always have heaps of projects in limbo.
Good luck.
You sound like me at the moment. Although I'm sticking by shorts at the moment (a couple are feature ideas, but I'm going to base a few shorts of them first).
But I have a heeaap of ideas, and am developing different stuff with a lot of people. My approach is to kind of flit between all of these, and see which gathers momentum first. I have a busy uni schedule this year, so it's just something that happens in my spare time, and I don't plan on shooting till the end of the year - by which point I want to have at least three scripts close to finished, and then I'll decide which to produce first.
Sometimes I do wonder if I'll ever finish these great ideas properly, though. I think a better approach would be to bang out some messy drafts of each, and then see which one (that you can realistically make) takes your fancy/inspires you the most.
But I have a heeaap of ideas, and am developing different stuff with a lot of people. My approach is to kind of flit between all of these, and see which gathers momentum first. I have a busy uni schedule this year, so it's just something that happens in my spare time, and I don't plan on shooting till the end of the year - by which point I want to have at least three scripts close to finished, and then I'll decide which to produce first.
Sometimes I do wonder if I'll ever finish these great ideas properly, though. I think a better approach would be to bang out some messy drafts of each, and then see which one (that you can realistically make) takes your fancy/inspires you the most.
Absolutely. And especially if you're struggling to focus on a single piece. Just get it down and put it to one side. Forget about it. Come back to it in a few months time with fresh eyes and fresh ideas. It might just make things that much easier.
Well no I haven't completed any solid work of my own yet but Im not looking for anyone to tell me how to do anything just seeking advice and different ideas on how different people work. Then Ill develop my own work flow from what I learn hear
And thanks for all the input guys.