Screenwriting : Just Start by Maurice Vaughan

Maurice Vaughan

Just Start

I think the greatest barrier I’ve always faced as a writer is just starting. Like all of us, I can just procrastinate and find some excuse for not actually getting started.” — John August

"I'll do it later" turns into "I'll do it tomorrow," then "I'll do it next week" and so on. Just get started. You'll be glad you did.

But sometimes it’s not about procrastination. Writers have things to do just like everyone else (spend time with family, jobs, school, etc.). If you’re having trouble finding time to write, check out this blog: www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-find-time-to-write-a-screenplay-even-with-a-...

CJ Walley

This is why a good process is essential. With a good process, you can break the task of developing a story down into manageable blocks. Each day you chip away.

The mistake is facing big ideas with blank pages. That's like facing a huge pile of bricks and an empty plot of land. It's not the fact you're laying bricks that you'll hate, it's the fact you have no idea what you're actually building.

Maurice Vaughan

You're right, CJ Walley. I've tried to write big ideas without outlining, and I always wrote myself into corners or ran out of steam. And I've noticed that if I ignore a story problem or character problem in the outline, it'll show up when I write the script. It happens every single time. It saves me time and headaches if I go ahead and figure out the problem in the outline.

Mike Childress

If you are procrastinating maybe you don't really want to write in general?... I mean (free) time is the enemy of us all, but I think drive/motivation issues differ heavily from time management ones. "Just get started" resonates with me because I don't do outlines, or "beat boards" or summon the Oracle at Mount Scriptus. I get an idea, then I open Final Draft and let my brain and fingers "do the walking". I know the creative process is not the same for any two people, but if someone really wants to free those idea gremlins from their noggin they will find a way to do so. Just 'sit at the keyboard and bleed'.

Maurice Vaughan

Not wanting to write/wanting to do something else instead is definitely why some writers don't start projects, Mike Childress. Watching a sports game, hanging out, etc. are just more fun sometimes.

Mike Childress

Maurice Vaughan I've seen some people scoff at suggestions of writing "fun scripts" just for oneself, and that kind of thinking is a bit alien to me because I enjoy writing so even if I never sell something I wrote I will be able to take solace in the fact that I enjoyed engaging one of my hobbies (until they're/it's not)... Also "practice makes perfect".

Maurice Vaughan

Writing scripts for fun is great practice, Mike Childress. And you never know. It could turn into a script you sell, get a writing job with, or get a manager/agent with. I write fan fiction short scripts for fun and practice, and I post them on social media to showcase my writing to producers, directors, etc.

Mark Deuce

Spot-On!!

CJ Walley

Mike Childress, there's a lot of people who turn the joy of creating into work. They try to suck every artistic element out of it in the process. There's a glut of them and they should be avoided at all costs.

Writers have to write. It's a calling and a vocation. Sometimes my dyslexia is so bad it's a struggle to write every word, but I still write, because I have to.

Mike Childress

CJ Walley Honestly if I ever get paid for writing for the screen I will consider myself officially retired because writing to me is not work!

Michael Dzurak

The Pomodoro Technique works for me or people who (all too often) can't sit with one thing for too long. Have work chunks where you do different things. Today I took a self-study language test (in 3 chunks), wrote a scene (in 3 chunks), and edited previous scenes (when not doing the others).

Maurice Vaughan

I think this is my first time hearing about Pomodoro Technique, Michael Dzurak. I'll have to look into it some more. Thanks.

CJ Walley

Mike Childress, when you start combining it with producing and you get to be on set, it's a right hoot. Nothing like it.

Ewan Dunbar

a good one I’ve always liked is “you can always edit a terrible page, but not a blank one”.

Mike Childress

Ewan Dunbar That's a good one. Write every day, even if you only have five minutes of free time.

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