Screenwriting : Marking my beginning in screenwriting. by Alexis Medel

First off, fantastic to have you here, Jan. And good on your for stepping out, posting and telling us a little more about your passions and goals. As for the writing, don't let the process overwhelm you. Just take it step by step. And as those ideas play out in your mind, make sure to write them down. Eventually, you'll form those into a narrative that will serve as an outline that you can use to type FADE IN. Keep moving forward!

Thank you so much, RB. I will keep this in mind.

I always start off by writing an outline. After that, my goal is to write one scene a day while referring to said outline. If you need help setting up a script template, google "how to turn Microsoft Word into a screenwriting program" and click on the first article (it should be written by a guy named Jeff). Another tip is to look up scripts from popular movies on imsdb.com to see what a finished script looks like.

Welcome, Jan! It's so exciting being at the start of your journey. As RB said, take it step by step. Adam gave great advice on the outline too. Once you've got your narrative and the outline, just keep practicing and rewriting. You get better with every rewrite. And enjoy it! That's the most important thing :)

Jan. Screenwriting is a pain in the ass but I wish you success.

Jan, I am in a similar situation as you. Sometimes I wake up from dreams and think "wow that's a story to tell" I have bits and pieces and write what I remember. I too have difficulty writing it down as I saw it but take it day by day.

Nice to meet you, Alexis Medel ! Know what you mean about scenes playing in your head. Be sure to write them down, even if you handwrite them on scraps of paper, so you don't forget them. Do learn all you can about the elements of a good screenplay. Stage 32 is a great place to do this. Check out the free webinars, the lounge posts, podcasts, and blogs. There are many excellent Next Level Webinars and Classes that charge a reasonable price. I've taken many of the webinars and find them well worth it. I've just signed up for a screenwriting class that's taught by Doug Atchison, a screenwriter I really admire. Am excited to learn from this pro and be able to ask him questions in the class!

Finally, I highly recommend joining the Writers' Room, for learning and for meeting other Stage 32 writers. You can get a month's free membership by emailing Jason Mirch, Director of Script Services, at J.Mirch@Stage32.com. Then you can participate in his weekly webinars. Each month he does a Breakdown of some element of screenwriting and gives us a writing assignment. At the end of the month, we read what we've written. So enlightening to see what others have written, and to get feedback on what you've written. You can also join in the Pitch Practices each Thursday, the Coverage Reports of members' scripts every other Monday, and a monthly Table Read of a member's script read by Stage 32 actors. Hope to see you in the Writers' Room!

Thank you all so much for backing me up. I know it's not going to be easy, but having a strong support system like this, will surely help me in reaching my goals.

Hi and welcome, Alexis Medel! I recently took a class here on Stage 32 that you can find on-demand called “Outlining Your Script to Find Your Story” with Steve Desmond and it was immensely helpful in trying to get all my thoughts in order. Also, I second all the above comments... such great advice from this amazing community! Happy writing!

Thank you Monica. And I couldn't agree more. This network is the best!

Congratulations. Now start writing!! ;-)

Thanks Bill!:-)

Congratulations and good luck, it will feel amazing when you get it out.

Good luck Jan! You're gonna love every minute of it.

Monica Mansy , I also took that Webinar taught by Steve Desmond. It was indeed excellent. He's such a good teacher that I've taken other webinars by him, as well.

I was the same!!! My first step was just to finish one idea, one story. I have tons of ideas but never finished them. That was my goal during the pandemic. Finish one. And now I have 4 finished and one more that I need to type up!! Best of luck!!! Don't let it overwhelm you.

Thank you so much for all your amazing comments and advice. I'll make sure that it won't go to waste. Gregg McBride I'll own it and finish what I've started.:-)

Hey kabayan :) I'm so glad you're here. This is an amazing group of people and you'll learn a lot here as I have. Welcome to Stage32!

Oh gosh Xaviera! What a small world! Who would have thought that we will ran into each other here! :-D Imagine what Kapitana Liza will say if she'll find out about her 2 queens are into screenwriting. I wish you good luck dear! All the best!

Barry John Terblanche Thanks for this amazing advice. I'm taking it step by step. I write, learn and write. :-)

Hey Alexis, I think it's great you've already got an idea and are giving it a go. I've just finished a writing course and was told frequently 'starting' is the hardest part. The best advice I was given on my course was, 'keep everything', writing can be a long process and sometimes when you're frustrated you ignore or throw away potentially good bits of work that.... may not work on your current script but could work later on a different one. Keep notes and keep working at it. It's a long old slog and just like everyone else above I wish you nothing but the best of luck!

Hi Alexis! Seeing the images is always a great start. It's the small ideas that help fuel us and drive us forward. If you need any help or advice in getting those ideas down on the page, please don't hesitate to reach out. I have a pretty simple solution that can provide you with great direction. All the best!

Alexis, I was so inspired by your post that I blogged about it this morning. You may want to take a quick look to see how I go from idea to a full blown outline in a simple and elegant process. You may find it helpful on your journey.

https://www.thefailedfilmmaker.net/post/how-to-start-writing-a-screenplay

Hey Alexis! Welcome to the journey, you’re going to love every minute of it! Seeing the scenes play out in your mind is a good sign of imagination. Believe me, not everyone has it. My advice: Just start! It won’t be perfect first try, but something is better than nothing and you’ll learn more and more with every try! Good luck and most importantly, enjoy!

Thank you for sharing this Alexandre Ross. I will keep on writing them. You just gave me an idea. Thanks!:-)

Sean LaFollette Thank you for offering your help and I will definitely accept it with arms wide open.:-) And I'm happy to know that my post inspired you to create that very informative blog. I'm glad that I marked my beginning and I think I'm on the right track. Thanks again Sean!!!

Good Luck. Now the fun part takes place.

Hi Alexis, Of course, I wish you all the luck in the world and hope that you are very successful. But most of all, enjoy whatever you do. If you feel a story forming in your mind, just start writing, typing or doing whatever you can to strike while the iron is hot. The worst thing in the world (for me) is to have a great idea in mind, put it off and when I finally get around to actually writing, the story has faded. So now, if I have a great idea at 3:00 am, I'll get on the keyboard and start cranking it out.