Your process...

[SJV]

Hello all,

Recently I have been thinking about writing a small screen play. I have had a few ideas that I would really like to write down and get them together. My problem is I don't know where to start. I feel like I should fire up celtx and start typing, but I find myself coming up with new ideas for the script as I go on. Which makes me want to go back and redo these parts.

So I am here to ask: What is your process? Do you setup a basic outline? Do you jump right in and start writing?

 

[barnaclelapse]

My process isn't all that exciting or complicated.

I just type it out...work through to the end...and edit the thing only when the first draft is completely done.

If there's something I really want to revisit, a line or scene, whatver, I write it down somewhere else and hold onto it until it's time for the editing process.

I dunno. I've just always felt like the most important thing is to just get through that first draft, that basic idea start to finish. I find that once you have that, it's a lot easier to look it over, figure out what's going to work, what won't, where you want to take the idea.

I've learned to apply this to all my writing over the years. It may not work for everyone, but I've done okay with it.

As for software, I dunno. I've yet to use it.

I've been thinking about looking into it though, because I know there's some aspects of my screenplay that aren't, in terms of the technical side, correct.

 

[Shawn]

I try to plot it out first, basically figure out what I want to happen in each scene. For my first movie I decided I was going to have 40 scenes, so I thought about what I wanted to happen in the first scene, then I wrote it down, just 3 or 4 sentences. Then I moved on to the 2nd scene, and so on. This tends to take a long time, but when you're finished it's very satisfying, because you just have to fill in the blanks. You know what needs to happen. It took me about as long to figure out what the story was as it took to actually write the first draft. I'm sure you could also just sit down and start typing, but for me personally when I do that I tend to write myself into corners, which can be really frustrating, (especially if you realize that entire chunks of your brilliant witty dialogue are basically useless!). I found that 40 scenes gave me a movie that was about an hour and 6 minutes long (which was shorter than I'd hoped). If you want to be feature length, I would advise writing at least 50-55 scenes. Anyway, I'm still learning writing myself, but that's my two cents.

 

[clive]

Good Question... because process is very important in screenwriting.

This is mine:

1) Logline development (playing with ideas)

I start by taking my idea and turning it into a logline like: "A suicidal assassin hires five of the world's most ruthless killers to help him die, all they have to do is beat his highly trained survival instincts" I'd then write between ten to twenty versions of that idea, changing key points to create new movie ideas. I then look at the loglines and usually one of them leaps out as being the best.

2) Research

I read everything I can find about the realities of the world I'm going to create.

3) Character Development

For this I use an Excel spreadsheet, where I answer questions to help me understand how the characters tick.
You can download it and an explanation of the questions from my site

Character Development Sheet

4) Plotting

Whether it's a short or a feature film... I then break the film down into a beat sheet

A beat sheet is a list which tells me the order in which things happen:

The assassin arrives at a job, discovers there are four bodyguards, puts only five bullets in his gun.

Assassin kills three of the body guards with four bullets, kills the mark... the final body guard tries to kill the assassin, but the assassin kills him with a chair

etc, etc

Plotting is actually a very complex subject, not so much in short films.... but in features plot structure is very, very important. The good news is there is lots of information about structure on the web and in books.

5) Writing

So, once I know all the characters, know exactly what my idea is about and what's going to happen, then I open up my screenwriting software and I write the script.

6) Development

With the script finished it goes out to my script editor to read... I get notes back about what works and what doesn't... then I rewrite

That's pretty much it... hope it helps

 

[wcmartell]

I do pretty much what Clive does.

One thing I'd add is that I spend a lot of time on my beat sheet (outline) - and I make sure it works before going to script. I would rather tear apart an outline and put it back together again a dozen times, then tear apart a full length screenplay and do a page one rewrite on it a dozen times.

This doesn't mean my script probably doesn't need a serious rewrite or two when I finish it, just that it's much much closer to where it's supposed to be if I make sure the big problems are solved in outline form.

Here's an article that may help:
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/articles/zombie.htm

- Bill

 

[rodneymerten]

For my first three I had a real clear idea of the script as a whole. The first pretty ran true to my idea, and it will be staged and filmed this summer. The next two just took off on their own and I was along for the ride. The fourth one I didn't really want to write but it wants to be written so I'm writing. Just started the fifth and it is leading me in a funny direction.