Screenwriting : As I emerge from the depths... by Elle Bolan

Hi, Elle Bolan. I like to focus on one project, but sometimes I work on two projects, three, etc. Like a feature script (the main project) and a short script. For example, if I'm working on different projects, I'll work on the main project most of the week, work on a short script one day, and spend a day or two outlining a feature script.

@Maurice I am usually only actively writing on one at a time. But I'll be building bibles and outlines for others, editing and polishing even more.

I tend to get tunnel vision when one gets going really deep.

Hi Nicholas, you’re the first screenwriter I have ever messaged. I have high hopes for a novel which has received great reviews, and so many people ask me why it isn’t a TV drama or a film. I still have 2 more books to print yet.

I’d really like to set up a script for one of the dialogue scenes. The first book is around 308 pages, and would appreciate some advice on getting this right. I’m a new author, finding the ropes.

Forgetting Lorna Rose is the first book

Here is a feature article for promotion…

[FEATURED]One moment, life feels predictable—steady, familiar.

And then, with a single discovery, everything fractures.

That is the world Beverly Thompson plunges us into with breathtaking intensity.

"Forgetting LORNA ROSE"

Lorna Rose has always lived boldly—radiant, fearless, unforgettable.

But her world shatters the day she uncovers something she was never meant to see:

Her father’s hidden love letters to another woman.

Trying to protect her mother, she steps forward…

and unknowingly ignites a chain of events soaked in betrayal, obsession, and revenge.

A friend crosses a line that can’t be uncrossed.

A local reporter turns her life into a twisted game of pursuit.

And the police officer she turns to for help becomes her lover—

only for his buried past to rise at the worst possible moment.

With every step, Lorna feels the shadows closing in.

Someone is out there.

Watching her.

Following her.

But who… and what do they want?

This gripping story blends passion, danger, and psychological tension in a way that keeps your heart racing long after the final page.

To Beverly:

Your storytelling is fearless, vivid, and emotionally explosive—

a reminder that even the strongest lives can unravel when secrets demand to be seen.

"Forgetting LORNA ROSE"

A haunting, seductive journey into betrayal, survival, and the price of truth.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgetting-Lorna-Rose-Beverly-Thompson-ebook/dp...

I definitely have a case of tunnel vision for the most part lol I like to focus on one thing at a time if it's really complex. Normally I am able to multitask simpler projects but if its a big project like Petal or Finding Elpis, it gets all my focus unless it's a tiny project (like Glass Waltz). That being said, I did something crazy with Finding Elpis and while writing BoFS's draft, I went back to part 1 and rewrote a good chunk of it, then I did it again with RoP, and THEN I continued writing BoFS xD I'm likely gonna do a fair bit of such leapfrogging during my time writing the series out, especially since I don't want to have late-stage retcons as much as I want subtle, distant foreshadowing as early as possible. I haven't even started on pitch decks...

Elle Bolan, welcome back from the land of rewriting. That place has swallowed many of us whole at some point. Your question is such a good one, because balancing revisions with new pages can feel like trying to keep two different creative brains running at the same time. For me, the key has been treating each phase like a different mode of creativity rather than trying to force them to coexist all at once. Rewriting uses a more analytical, structural mindset, while drafting new material feels looser and more exploratory. When I try to bounce between them too quickly, I end up frustrated with both.

What helps is dedicating specific windows of time to each, but not necessarily every single day. Some weeks, I’m all-in on revisions because I have a clarity streak going and don’t want to break it. Other weeks, I give myself permission to focus on new ideas because that momentum feeds my energy. The balance shifts with the project.

I also find that being intentional with my “creative bandwidth” helps. If a rewrite is emotionally or mentally heavy, I don’t expect myself to produce clean new pages that same day. And sometimes networking becomes my lighter creative work, still productive, but not tapping from the same well.

There’s no wrong way to juggle it, but it sounds like you’re already doing the most important part: showing up consistently.

It’s two very different type of tasks requiring a different mindset. I prefer to split them apart. one day I do new pages and the other day, I revise. However it’s important to spend at least two hours per day in your new story to keep your mind thinking about it (so creativity flow more easily).

@Banafsheh the tunnel vision phase is so fun.

@Ashley Renee Smith now that's awesome. It really hard to juggle all the things. I'll adopt that flexibility you talk about in because sometimes I do feel like I'm expecting too much with not enough hours.

I focus on one project and take notes on anything that comes my way.

And because I’m obsessed with my conversations with ChatGPT,

I discuss every new idea with it, develop titles, and even create some visuals.