I have been writing a new script when a new request came up that fits exactly the script I'm writing. My first thought was damn, I'm not done. My next was hey I have three months because that's how long they take submissions.
Unfortunately it's been a slow burn because I have so much going on at once. Where I used to write 10+ pages a day now I feel lucky to churn out 2- 3 pages a day on that script. I''m at the last act and I still dig that script to keep on writing it.
It's all about the ending now. It's gotta be great, fantastic, twisted and unpredictable. I think I know it but the way I write it's never known. It's about sitting down and writing. I hope I can finish it and feel great about it enough to submit. We shall see, because nothing is sure at this point. I just know I love it up to this point. Hoping for the best!
Oh it is the writer's life, brick by brick. Is it a house, a palace or a shack? If I feel that it's anything but a palace it will stay buried in my writing program forever. It's how I roll.
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It's a great mindset to have. Do you choose not to outline on each script you write?
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WL, way to go...and all the VERY BEST to you!
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Oh wow sorry I didn't know anyone responded on my little post until now. Thanks everyone! Outline? No James I'm not that kind of writer and I like it like that. He he he
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WL Wright good for you!! Haha
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Congratulations on making it this far.
Hey Marty my writing style is in good company and I'm happy as a clam about it. I know there are different styles. I do a lot of writer commiseration online. I am not one, I am one of many that write the same way.
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I'm an organic writer too - start with a rough idea, envisage some key scenes and characters, and build out from there. This takes me way out of my comfort zone, as I am generally a structured person otherwise, but is very exciting. If struggling for inspiration, I find a good walk/ run (or housework, if I must...) is great for disappearing into a screenplay and digging up some ideas - way better than staring at a computer screen. Good luck with finishing the script, I hope it works out for you.
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I never wrote an outline so I really never knew how my screenplays would end. Eventually I followed this formula which seemed to help a little but I didn't pay a lot of attention to the page count. Also I never wrote ten pages in my life... I am lucky if average one or two so you are doing better than me. Anyway here is the formula I use as a guide.
The 1st Act (30 pages) is all about set-up and setting the tone of the story
The writer should open the script with a lot of questions for the audience, then provide answers that aren't necessarily the true answers
The 2nd Act (60 pages) is about uncovering characters, finding out information that affects the characters, and letting the characters find out information that affects them
The story should develop along a line whereby layer after layer is stripped from the surface of the story to reveal what is truly going on, even though some of the revelations should suggest answers that may not necessarily be the truth (part of the building up of the reversals)
The 3rd Act (15 to 20 page) is usually fairly short and should answer all the questions posed by the story
The writer should try to hold back answers to the audience's questions as long as possible, but when the answers are revealed they must seem logical in light of what the story has set up about the characters and the plot
One approach is to make one character the logical solution to the mystery, then reverse expectations.
Hope this might help someone.
Force yourself to beat board. I am not an outliner. I resisted it. But once I did it, it makes writing SO much easier.
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write however you want; nobody cares about your process. But when you write for someone else or a salary team on stand by, employers want to see outlines/treatments. TV is all planned before script writing. My VFX guys worked on Avatar movie sequels; they didnt have finished scripts but they had approved scenes/ideas to start the vfx
Wow I never thought this would create this much dialogue. I mean, at first I was like, okay everyone ignored it, wrong time of day maybe? That was okay, really, It's the online world. Then this surprise, love it, really. Writers are the center of diverse views while others try hard to cram us all into a little box that defines us all. That box does not exist and this thread alone proves it.