So, I wanted to ask you all about this. Because for me at the beginning, ( a very, very, long time ago..........) it was this dreamy, romantic notion, you know, I'm gonna nail this screenwriting process so easily and quickly that no one will doubt my capabilites. Hum... hum... As we all know, it's a far more treacherous and complicated process than what it seems. I have to say, I wasn't really into outlines. I took a lot of notes prior ( I still do) and then went for it and crashed down a few stories, miserably. After I received a few angry notes, I considered the outline process again, a little more carefully. And to be fair, I really like it now. I think when you have an extensive outline detailing your plot and subplots, your screenplay is in a better position already. And if you have to write for TV, no choice, you better be ready. We all read or heard this phrase (or a similar one). Screenplays are to movies what a schematic is to a house. Well, outlines for me now are blueprints for screenplays. That's obvious knowledge for insiders, but for the youngest among us, it's not. You can make change to your plan. Or someone ( a producer?) would surely like you to make a few adjustments. My question: I was just wondering how do you consider outlines, in the grand "scheme" of things? :) Do you practise it extensively or not? Do you keep it short or long? Do you go back to it often?
Screenwriting : Outlines: out of the way or in your line of sight? by Anthony Mouasso
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Yeah I'm big into pre-writing as much as possible now. I work from outline to sequences to scenes to beats. It really helps keep everything tight and inline. It's also a lot easier to spot issues and tackle them before they become convoluted.
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Same here CJ. I'm really seeing the benefit of hashing it all out before committing it to final draft or the like.
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At the beginning, I thought I'd lose some spontaneous aspects of the writing, I was so wrong... Or maybe totally right to lose some of them. But I didn't know at the time. And it feels like if you are into this craft, it's the big thing to consider.
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I too find that I capture way more of that spontaneity, especially in the very early stages of envisaging a scene. There's a damn good reason why so many writers complete a detailed treatment before committing to a draft.
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I look at writing as a magic trick, and we are the magicians. Our job is to amuse and amaze the readers/viewers. That means we have to know how the trick is done... and it may not be "magic" to us. To us it's the skill of performing the "trick" so that the audience thinks it's magical. The focus is on the skills, not the "How did she do that?" because we know how we did that. No magician in the world is going to go on stage before an audience and just hope that they can reach into their hats and find a rabbit. They know the rabbit is there (it's in the outline) and what is fun for them is the skill of making the audience think there can not be anything in that hat, and then they produce the rabbit. So, for me, having an outline does not remove the fun of writing, it just shifts it from discovering the story (which I get to do in the outline stage) to the fun of how I tell the story, which is all about the details and methods I use. When I know what happens next, what's fun is finding the most interesting way to have it happen... rather than the first way that pops into my head (which is usually what happens when you are working without an outline). Since most screenwriting work is assignments, those assignments usually require a treatment that is approved before you go to scripts. So outlines are a good habit to get into, because you will have to work that way eventually. I just sold a spec, and one of the steps in my contract is a new outline which incorporates the notes from the 2 producers (which are often conflicting). So even with a spec sale, outlines can be part of the job. Best to get used to them.
So well said William, and I love the magician analogy - spot on.
That magician analogy is enviably well put. It's almost like William knew exactly what he needed to get across and just enjoyed putting it the best way he could.
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Like I was a writer or something. (thanks!)
:)
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My process is to begin with just a two-page outline based on a story structure beat sheet. It may sound short and easy, but I rewrite it and rewrite it and rewrite it until it seems like all the bumps have been smoothed out. This way I have a good skeleton -- main characters, key plot points, theme, etc. Yet with only half a page correlating to roughly 25 pages of screenplay, there's still plenty of wiggle room for spontaneity.
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Hey Shari, Thanks to share that with us. Must be tough to focus on a two pages outline over and over. But I see the point: reducing the story to its concentrated juice. About spontaneity. I think William has a meaningful approach, what we want to offer as storytellers is a solid illusion of spontaneity. The first thing that comes to our mind is not always the best suited for what we create at the time. And that's something we should take into account when we write. Makes me almost digress on the differences between brainstorming and automatic writing! I think both are needed, but at different times. :)