I’ve never tried to speed my way through my pre writing for early drafts. Truth be told, my pre writing and outline could probably stand to be streamlined. But once I start writing, I know my story, so my first draft—while still needing work—never has to go through any extensive rewrites. All in all I’m able to finish a first draft in around a month. And it blows me away how many people I’ve seen mention wrapping one up in a week or so. With that said, how long does it take you personally to put that first draft to bed?
Screenwriting : How long do you spend on a first draft? by Eric WC Harmon
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It truly depends.
I have been working on “Bad Love” for 10 days. Another 10 and it should be done.
“Guilty Man, Innocent Mind” has been with me for a decade. I don’t want to work on it till I am a better writer.
As little time as possible. Just get the story down and written for the first draft, worry about nothing else. It's the second draft, and all the other ones after it, that you need to take your time with.
Just my opinion.
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Two months or so. But I gotta increase my pages, treat writing as a PT job. Agents always want new material. Gotta keep pumping new pages, first drafts, polishes all the same time. Or else Agents drop you.
Well...if you go to a bar a first draft feels crisp, fresh, amazing.
Drink a little more and well... figure.
Time spent never like the eager intended feeling.
Make whatever not fleeting.
It usually take for me about 3,4 weeks top but then it all depends on the genre and the complexity of the scenes. However i always create a writing schedule and giving myself deadlines. For example, i set that day i'm gonna write sequence 1 the next day, sequence 2....Rewrites take more time for me.
2-3 months. Between my family and my full-time job, I can only get in 2-3 pages a night. But its slowly beginning to pay off.
I try to average a minimum of 5 pages a day. Outside of that, it takes as long as it takes.
Well, it takes me about 1-2 months to plan out my script. I plan by writing in a journal. Then once I really truly know the world of my story and characters, I go ahead and use the board method. In which I use index cards to label/plan scenes in each act. This saves me from doing numerous drafts. Once I truly know my story in my heart, I begin writing 3 pages a day. This adds up to 2 months to complete my first draft. All while balancing college classes, personal life, and exercise.
For me, four pages a day seems to be the sweet spot. I've listened to many pro screenwriters talk about their process, and more than one said that they write 4-5 pages a day. (That said, I wrote my best script under pressure, from a clear but evolving outline, and kicked out 8 and even 12 pages a day toward the end. But that was only because I'd carved out an exclusive chunk of sink-or-swim time to write it. Pressure can be good, at times.)
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Looks like the consensus is work at whatever pace is best for your situation. UNLESS someone is waiting for the script or paying you - then kick it into high gear! :) Seriously though, I think writers should take pride in whatever they are able to achieve - for some it's two pages a day due day job commitments and the like, for others it's twenty pages a day for a devoted time period. It's not the number of pages that matters, it's the commitment to getting it done that counts.
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If you outline before, the first draft goes faster. If you don't, it takes longer IMHO. I try to vomit draft quickly then rewrite.
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Takes me about 2-3 weeks to get the first draft out. If I didn't have the pain of a 9-5 :'( I'd prob be able to cut that down to a week.