I was reflecting about a time I was given an opportunity to write a reboot or sequel for a popular 80s film. Out of excitement, I decided to burn the midnight oil and I wrote said screenplay in less than 24 hours. However, that experience taught me to never do that again. lol...
So my question to you is, what was the fastest screenplay you ever wrote? EDIT To clarify, I do mean first draft.
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13 days, 135 pages. It was a fun experience because I stayed in the zone for those 2 weeks and it was the only thing I was thinking about. If I was hungry I would just make a grilled cheese.
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@ Louis Tripodes Wow! That's a ton of pages. I wrote a coming of age at 127 pages and it took me about 2-3 months to finish the first draft. Do you struggle with procrastination? I do. A lot of the times I make excuses to step away from the screen.
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127 pages in 2-3 months is excellent. My 13-day first draft was my fastest ever and it's because I was just plugged in and didn't let anything distract me. Yes, I always struggle with procrastination. It's easy to make excuses not to write. "Oh, it's late, if I start now I'll be up all night. I'll start writing earlier tomorrow." Anytime is a great time to start writing. Especially whenever inspiration strikes, don't waste it. For me, it's the starting that's the hard part. Once I start writing I try to write everyday until I finish the draft. I like to think of it like a surfer catching a wave and you just want to ride it as long as you can. Otherwise I know I'll have to struggle with starting again.
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Oh definitely. I know exactly what you mean. Whenever I have a rush of creativity flood my head, I have to put it on word document first so I have the general idea down. Then I flesh it out and add all the details then I jump on the first draft. I like that surfing analogy.
Also, I have the same issue when taking a break. If I take a break for more than two days, I lose that inspiration.
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Maybe around 8 days, but I edit as I go, so it's not a true first draft when I finish, Antonio M.
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Money is a motivation. I wrote a prepaid script gig in 10 days while working 10-hour shift/50hrs week at my job. Lots of coffee and red bull energy drinks helped. Employer didnt care about polish or 2nd draft. Me either. One paycheck, one script version.
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Maurice Vaughan 8 days with edit, that’s fast. Edits take me forever. I usually workout the story on the 2nd draft, than work on simplifying my action lines on the 3rd draft, than work out my dialogue on the 4th draft, than workout my format in the 5th draft, and than do it all again covering everything on every draft after that. God bless you on the edit as you go.
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Dan MaxXx oh I bet. Not sure how you did it, but I think I would’ve been burnt out and passed out in the corner at work if I were you. Lol.. that’s some serious dedication.
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8 days with edits isn't my norm though, Antonio M. It's normally 2 weeks with edits for a first draft. I do something similar to you when I rewrite the first draft. I focus on one thing per rewrite (dialogue rewrite, A Story rewrite, etc.).
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I wrote the production scripts for both Double Threat and Night Train in less than a working week respectively. The former went to #4 on Amazon Prime US last autumn, and the latter went to #1 on Hulu recently. In both cases, there was a treatment I'd produced beforehand which took around a day, and I was given free rein to complete a final draft on my own terms, with only minor changes like typos needed before the scripts got their scene numbers and became shooting scripts.
When we cast Night Train, one actor assumed we'd been developing the script for years, so the quality was there.
While I write fast, it was all really a case of necessity. Indie film can be turbulent and reactionary, meaning you have to strike while the iron is hot and exploit opportunity as it arises. Plus, I was co-producing with a director I was very close to and on the same wavelength as with an understanding of his logistical limitations and market demands. I knew exactly what he needed, and he knew he could trust me to do my job without interference.
Motivation is everything. In these cases, we had greenlights, an infectious energy, and deadlines to meet.
On the flip side, there's a concept I've been noodling away at for nearly thirty years now and still haven't even written a premise for.
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I wrote one on assignment in two weeks including a couple of rewriters.
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Antonio M., I knocked out a Hallmark-style Christmas script in about six weeks. Started it Thanksgiving week and finished it up on New Years Day.
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It's not QUITE the same, but I once wrote the entire first draft to a 28-page WHITE TIGER comic while on an airplane to San Diego for my Grandma's memorial. My then-wife/co-writer and I had already pretty much plotted out the story beats, and the first draft was due in a few days, so with nothing better to do than watch the in-flight movie I started writing on my laptop, and had it finished by the time I had to put all my electronics away. I gave it a quick polish at the hotel (my Mom's Alt-Right husband was still alive then, and after a thoroughly unpleasant visit the last time I was out I was determined not to stay with them again!) and sent it off to my wife so she could give it her own polish before submitting it.
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It all depends on whether you want it good or you want it fast. You can't have both.. Working in television we regularly wrote hour episodes in 3-4 days. And they looked it.
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I have pulled an all-nighter and written a full script MANY times. Primarily when I was in college and procrastinating - and those were feature film scripts. The most recent one (a few years ago) though would be a 30-minute pilot that I wrote in one night and submitted for a Writers' Retreat where I worked with Jen Grisanti and actually ended up meeting RB Botto and Amanda Toney there and have been attached to Stage 32 ever since... so I guess it can work out? lol Definitely wasn't planned and I wouldn't recommend all nighters (even though I'll for sure still do them hahah)
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Louis Tripodes—ya got me beat! It look me a full two weeks to write the first two-hour pilot draft of JOHN H. WATSON, CRIME DOCTOR, because I'd been given Evette Vargas's Pilot Writing class but had to have a pilot for the class to critique.
I'd had the idea of Watson creating the Scotland Yard Crime Lab with Inspector Hopkins while Sherlock Holmes was pretending to be dead, and I'd wanted to use Babbage's Difference Engine—and with two weeks before I had to hand my pilot in, I got it to her just under the wire....
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I had to look up Babbage's Difference Engine. That thing would've been a beast. Be cool to see it in operation. Would John H Watson, Crime Doctor be like a CSI type show but set in the 1800s?
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Last one I did on an assignment - approx. three months (102 pages)...fastest rewrite was one night stand (11 hours straight)...but I was much younger back then...more idealistic, shall I say...
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Maurice Vaughan Glad to not be alone in having a set way of writing.
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@Cj Walley, congrats man! The fact that you got that kind of work under your belt says a lot. I bet it must've been a great feeling seeing that you were apart of that production. Much respect to you.
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@Ty Strange I never tried to write anything hallmark like. I find it tough. I find myself getting bored if I don't have any high pace action happening in my stories. I've been working a love story for like 3 months and have yet to finish the first draft because I can't seem to stay focused on it. Any advice would be appreciated.
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@Timothy Liebe I know a few people that developed comics and graphic novels. I do find comic script formats to be just as tough. I've also done some ghost writing for a few creators I know personally.
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@Bill Taub I agree, you can't have both in a short amount of time. It's either quality or not. I never wrote anything TV except for a spec on Breaking Bad as a school project. I find TV to be a bit more complicated. Not sure how you did it but I give you a ton of credit, especially having to produce hour long episodes in 3-4 days. I also agree, you can tell when a script has been rushed because there will be typos and plot holes all over... imo.
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@Emily J That's an amazing story. I don't know if I can do all-nighter's anymore, it really takes a toll on you throughout the week. Maybe it's just me. Also, I never knew there was a thing as a writer's retreat until now. lol...
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@Kiril Maksimoski That's rough, and I agree that the younger we are, the more hungrier we are at dishing out work. But with age and experience comes wisdom and you realize that it's always best to have everything planned out. I realized that I was able find many plot holes in my story by taking my time and having it written out as a road map. What's your process now?
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I wouldn't worry about not being able to write certain genres that don't appeal to you or don't feel engaging, Antonio M. Rom Coms, made for TV Xmas movies (highly formulaic by design) and love stories have different tones to them, so stick with what you enjoy.
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24 hours is nuts. But 2-4 weeks is doable. Just make sure you start with an outline. If you have your beats in order and have already have a clear picture of what needs to happen, I'm absolutely confident saying that a script can be written in 3 days.
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Just listened to Ali LeRoi (of EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS and ARE WE THERE YET? fame) and he knocked out an 120 page script in 8 hours. Wasn't good, he said, but he had a framework from which to mold something better.