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Starting a Script?
- Thread starter Elwood27
- Start date
Ask ten writers "how" and you'll get seven different methods.
I come up with an ending. Then I go to the beginning and try
to reach that end. I never outline, I never write a treatment,
I just write until the first draft until it's done.
Now about this "I have a million ideas" thing.
No you don't. I'm not saying you don't have a lot of idea, I'm
saying you don't have a million ideas that would make a good
movie. So think only of the five of the million that you would
pay to see in the cinema. Write the one sentence "log line" on
a scrap of paper and pick one. Write that one first.
All five ideas are great, are they not? All five will make excellent
movies, right? So any ONE you pick will be a great start. Write
two a year and by the end of 2013 you will have five excellent
scripts finished.
I come up with an ending. Then I go to the beginning and try
to reach that end. I never outline, I never write a treatment,
I just write until the first draft until it's done.
Now about this "I have a million ideas" thing.
No you don't. I'm not saying you don't have a lot of idea, I'm
saying you don't have a million ideas that would make a good
movie. So think only of the five of the million that you would
pay to see in the cinema. Write the one sentence "log line" on
a scrap of paper and pick one. Write that one first.
All five ideas are great, are they not? All five will make excellent
movies, right? So any ONE you pick will be a great start. Write
two a year and by the end of 2013 you will have five excellent
scripts finished.
I agree with D, ideas ten penny BUT it's the one which grabs you the most - excites, you just have to write it!
Baring in mind that it will probably take six months of your life to write; re-write; re-write; re-write; polish; tweak...
Hence pick the right one for this moment - and hope you don't change your mind half way through - lol!
The only other piece of advice I'd give is "Ass in Chair!" - no one's gonna do the work but you.
All the very best, Jim.
Baring in mind that it will probably take six months of your life to write; re-write; re-write; re-write; polish; tweak...
Hence pick the right one for this moment - and hope you don't change your mind half way through - lol!
The only other piece of advice I'd give is "Ass in Chair!" - no one's gonna do the work but you.
All the very best, Jim.
Starting a script is easy! It's finishing it that's the hard part. 
What folks above posted is true. There are as many answers to this question as there are screenwriters -- and screenplays. Everyone works in their own style, at their own pace. Sometimes you can just jump into a script, hit the ground running from page 1 and make it all come together. This is rare, but it can happen.
I have found, for me, the best process is making pages and pages of notes, which eventually does become a form of prose, which is kinda like a treatment (everything that happens, but very little dialog if any), then after you have a stack of pages that almost reads like a short novel you can start in on the actual screenwriting part. It's kinda like felling a giant tree to chop up and whittle down into a chair. Expand, refine, rewrite, repeat... but first you need to grow the tree.
All this depends on doing the appropriate amount of research before starting since knowing your story and characters inside and out is what turns a good idea into a great script. This is where the adage "write what you know" comes in. If you happen to be working as a fisherman in Ireland, chances are you can craft a story about being a fisherman that rings true. But if you're writing about a single mom with kids in Brazil, one of which being autistic, that's where research needs to happen.
Good luck and good writing!
What folks above posted is true. There are as many answers to this question as there are screenwriters -- and screenplays. Everyone works in their own style, at their own pace. Sometimes you can just jump into a script, hit the ground running from page 1 and make it all come together. This is rare, but it can happen.
I have found, for me, the best process is making pages and pages of notes, which eventually does become a form of prose, which is kinda like a treatment (everything that happens, but very little dialog if any), then after you have a stack of pages that almost reads like a short novel you can start in on the actual screenwriting part. It's kinda like felling a giant tree to chop up and whittle down into a chair. Expand, refine, rewrite, repeat... but first you need to grow the tree.
All this depends on doing the appropriate amount of research before starting since knowing your story and characters inside and out is what turns a good idea into a great script. This is where the adage "write what you know" comes in. If you happen to be working as a fisherman in Ireland, chances are you can craft a story about being a fisherman that rings true. But if you're writing about a single mom with kids in Brazil, one of which being autistic, that's where research needs to happen.
Good luck and good writing!
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Pick one of your ideas, Imagine it's already a movie. Are there people standing in line ready to pay twenty bucks to see it? Or is it just kind of an OK idea? Pitch the idea to friends and family, ask if they would pay to see it. They'll probably be nice and lie, but you'll know by their reaction if you have a good idea or not. Don't start until you have a big, good idea. And make sure it has a beginning, middle and end. Pick one of your favorite movies, break it down into beginning, middle and end. Then make your idea fit that pattern.
Next, write the logline before you EVER start writing your script. If you can't say your movie in a line or two, you don't know what it's about. Go find the logline for "The Gladiator," "The Sixth Sense," etc .... Make your logline only hint at your story and peak interest like those loglines do. Then use your logline as a compass to make sure your script stays on track while you write it.
Now the fun part ....
Write out ALL the great scenes that you imagine your movie having. Ya know, the reason you love your idea in the first place. Hopefully you've got at least ten.
-Luke Skywalker meets R2D2 and C3PO
-Obi Won gives Luke his father's light saber.
-Luke proves he's more than a farm boy in his first aerial battle
-etc ....
Once you have these, start thinking about what order they should come in. Arrange them then start filling in the blanks, tying those main ideas together. And don't forget to make sure it still matches your logline. If it's better, re-write your logline. I say this because your logline might sound like a comedy but your actual story comes off like a bloody Tarantino movie. Not that that's bad, just make 'em fit.
Once you have that, you more than half way done. Let's say you do have ten great ideas, all arranged in the most satisfying order. All you would need at that point is nine pages for each idea - that's your script, 90 pages.
Then, once you've written it (hold onto your butt) re-write, from scratch. Make it better, make the dialogue better, more realistic, then write it again. After doing that about five to ten times, you might just be a screenwriter.
Next, write the logline before you EVER start writing your script. If you can't say your movie in a line or two, you don't know what it's about. Go find the logline for "The Gladiator," "The Sixth Sense," etc .... Make your logline only hint at your story and peak interest like those loglines do. Then use your logline as a compass to make sure your script stays on track while you write it.
Now the fun part ....
Write out ALL the great scenes that you imagine your movie having. Ya know, the reason you love your idea in the first place. Hopefully you've got at least ten.
-Luke Skywalker meets R2D2 and C3PO
-Obi Won gives Luke his father's light saber.
-Luke proves he's more than a farm boy in his first aerial battle
-etc ....
Once you have these, start thinking about what order they should come in. Arrange them then start filling in the blanks, tying those main ideas together. And don't forget to make sure it still matches your logline. If it's better, re-write your logline. I say this because your logline might sound like a comedy but your actual story comes off like a bloody Tarantino movie. Not that that's bad, just make 'em fit.
Once you have that, you more than half way done. Let's say you do have ten great ideas, all arranged in the most satisfying order. All you would need at that point is nine pages for each idea - that's your script, 90 pages.
Then, once you've written it (hold onto your butt) re-write, from scratch. Make it better, make the dialogue better, more realistic, then write it again. After doing that about five to ten times, you might just be a screenwriter.