I'm new to the screenwriting scene and I'm curious the process most writers go through. Once you have an idea and have written the concept down, where do you go from there? What's your process? What writing tools do you use? What kind of "deliverables" or documents do you complete through out your process? What kind of rituals or routines do you have? Thanks.
Screenwriting : Writing process by Bob Irish
Writing process
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Well, After getting your concept down, I'll suggest you get any good book on screenwriting(screenplay by SYD FIELD, save the cat by BLAKE SNYDER and the screenwriters bible), get a good software(Final Draft) and read a lot of screenplays, as many as you can go through. If possible, get a script and follow the scenes while watching the film. I am certain this way you will build yourself to being a professional screenwriter. GoodLuck.
My process: 1) Brainstorm - Concept/Idea. 2) Plot - Brief outline of characters and story. 3) Pageline - A timeline of pages between major plot points/acts. Example - Intro of characters and first plot point should end pg 20. Minor turning point around pg 40. Major turning point around pg 60...etc. 4) Write - Use each plot point/act as a milestone. Example: If I shoot for a 20 pg character intro and have 5 characters, then the main character will get the lions share, with the other 4 characters dividing up the rest or overlapping with the main. The page count is only a guideline and will change. 5) FINISH IT! - Write each day, completing each milestone until the script is finished. 6) Breath - Put it down for a few days. 7) Read/Edit - Read it over and correct mistakes. Have someone else read it and edit it. 8) Polish - Read it again and chop out unnecessary scenes, characters, dialogue. Tighten it as much a possible. 9) Repeat - Steps 6-8. 10) Submit - What's the point to writing if you're not going to do anything? NOTE: I haven't made any money yet but I'm getting great feedback from every contest that I've entered.
I'm big into pre-writing as much as possible. My whole system is built around the mindset of a note based system. I.e I'm not sitting staring at blank pages and thinking what's next. Everything starts as just scratching down notes, tons of notes, I'll really letting the subconscious mull over ideas and churn out more, I'll do a load of research. This goes into Evernote on my computer or phone and I compile it all into a single document. That document then grows and grows with everything from title ideas, to concept, to character, dialogue lines, and moments all separated under different headings. When I think it's ready to be written and I'm ready to write it, it all gets separated into documents such as scenes, stories, characters. Then more and more notes get added to those documents until I can firm something up. At that point I'll so things such as a character alignment matrix and go through a bunch of story development tools I have created. Tools which ask me the questions I need to be putting to my mind. Questions like what the climactic mid point event is or what the tests are in the third act. Once I have that, I decide what my sequences are going to be, how do I get from A to B to C. Once I have those sequences I put each through another development tool, again a series of questions that help me decide precisely what's going to happen and how that's going to break down into scenes. That pretty much gives me all the beats. So then it's a case of jotting down what happens. This is a sort of pseudo treatment, a scene heading, lines of what happens, mentions of what people say. That more of less gives me a first working draft, it's messy but it's all there, it's a story. I can then sit back and think about it. Changes aren't too much of an issue because it's just notes, it's not painfully laboured over purple prose. Once I'm happy, I can just go in and start turning it into actual formatted writing. The cool thing is I can go in at any point here and focus on the areas I'm most excited about. If I want to toy around with a third act stand off, I can. If I want to enjoy writing a midpoint comedy punch up, I can. When that's done, I have a screenplay, a rough one really but way way tighter than if I'd gone in blind. Then hack, polish, hack, polish, hack, polish.
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Write every day until your fingers ache and your eyes bleed. Write until you forget how to spell your own name. Then write some more. When you think you've got something decent, throw it away and start over.