I've been writing quite a few shorts. I started writing one out recently but it came out to 30 pages. Way too long! I decided to expand upon it and turn it into a feature. I am having the most difficult time outlining it and planning it out. Anyone have any good tips that work well for you?
Thanks!
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"Screenwriters Bible" by David Trottier, might have some answers. After helping me with that link to my screenwriting contest thread I wanted to return the favor. I am told this book has EVERYTHING!! Good Luck. Binghamton huh? My friend lives in Delhi in Delaware County which I think is about an hour south of you. Good luck!!
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My humble advice is to write the ending scene, then a really strong opening and then connect the dots. Shorts are a great way to start but learn to be very concise - condense your 30 pages to under 20 and still tell your story. It's hard but very good exercise. If you need some help, let me know.
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Every story has a natural length. If you are having difficulty, it may be you have reached close to that, and the story doesn't want to be longer.
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With all due respect, David.... I don't believe stories have natural lengths. Stories are as long as the writer chooses to make them. I can take ANY 91 page story and make it 90 without missing a beat. We build stories, stories don't build us. ... Desiree, I would focus on the opening and closing images of your lead. I believe those are the two most important beats of your story. Whatever you chose to do, good luck!
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A short can be around 30 pages as long as it has a beginning middle and end. You might run into bigger problems if you try to stretch a story to 90 pages that is not mean to be.
Thanks so much everyone. Really great advice!
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Desiree: Well....Spike Jonze beautiful short film - I'm Here - clocks in at 32 minutes....you'd be in good company. Some of his stuff is also three minutes.
I know that people say short film scripts should be like 10-12 pages...but crikey.....in reality....they go from 2 pages - 40 pages. If you're producing it, or have access to the full production/marketing/distribution package....the sky is the limit.
Good luck and Happy Writing, Desiree!
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I've generally found it easier to cut than to add. But you might consider how many stories you're telling. There's the A story that's the focus of the work, but you can have B and C stories also. Often the A or B story is romantic--unless you're writing a romantic A story. The other thing you might consider is the size of the story. Blow up your story and see what happens.
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I had a similar script. What I did was ask why every action in the short happened. This gave me all the story I needed.
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John - the more you water it down, the thinner it gets. Stories depicted in script format may be complete in a few (7 - 10 pages), some need a little more and some need 100pages or more. It depends on the story.
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Personally I like to use STC beat sheet if I want to use an outline. Sometimes I just sit down and start writing. Here is something used years ago when writing screenplays in the crime genre.
If you are writing a mystery or a thriller here are a few tips that may help but maybe could be used for different genres.
Thrillers and mysteries should be full of reversals. Settings up a character then have action reverse what is expected of that character.
There should be tension throughout the entire story. Tension is sometimes maintained when knowing violence could erupt anytime.
Act I is setting the tone of the story. Open with a lot of questions for the audience and then later on provide answers that aren't the true answers to the questions.
Act II is uncovering your characters. The audience finds out information that affects the characters, and letting the characters find out information that is affecting s them.
The story should develop as layer after layer is stripped away and the true story is revealed even if some of the revelations suggest answers that may not be the truth. This sets up the reversal.
Act III should answer all the questions posed in your story. You should hold back answers as long as possible, but when the answers are revealed they need to seem logical. One approach to doing this is to make one of your characters the logical solution to your story and then reverse that expectation.
Again this is just a something I use to write thrillers so use it as a guide if you think it will help.
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I use Blake's beat sheet points after I've written the first draft - don't worry about the page position and not all points are included in every script all the time. I generally have at least an "A" & "B" story lines - often more. So different beats occur in different places within the various storys. I don't think that genre matters all that much - the basic story rhythm and flow is similar. The beat sheet is an excellent guide that I use more during the long rewrite process
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My outline is more of a work in process. I start with the end, then try to write a killer intro hook. After 'most every scene, I pause to consider what comes next and jot down the next scene - based on the story rhythm and flow - keeping in mind that far off ending. Some days I pound out several pages, other days I'm lucky to get out a line or two. It's during the rewrite process that I make notes (Dull -cut it, More conflict, Expand, More action, Slow down...) So in a sense, I'm actually outlining even during the rewriting.
Thanks everyone. A lot of good points for me to consider. I've been working on the outline for a few hours now. I think I'm getting somewhere