Screenwriting : Writing the script by Brian Stoneking

I would hope everyone who set out to write a script would know what they were doing, as far as story logic, format, etc. Then again, you look at some movies that got made and think that maybe isn't always the case. When I sit down to write a script I have a synopsis that tells me the general direction of where I want the story to go and then I let it flow out to take me there. As for genres, I enjoy them all but recently I've been asked to focus on horror/thrillers for a few different people. But I have scripts ranging throughout different genres.

I read Save the Cat and watched every free video I could find. Another great resource is Michael Hauge--both videos and newsletters. I stick with one genre, criminal drama.

I used to start with a very clear idea. Now I know the fastest way to torpedo your own work is to force it to be something specific rather than let it grow and take shape on its own. Every element of a screenplay is fluid until the film hits theaters, so we should adopt an attitude of adaptability rather than rigid subservience to a vision.

I'm confident in my writing and story telling ability. Yes, I know what I'm doing. I also know that, for a variety of reasons, people may not like my scripts. I write either or action/adventure or comedy genres. I didn't understand how to write drama or any other genre. I didn't get it. I could either make you laugh or blow stuff up. I couldn't make cancer or alcoholism interesting. But, just last week, I was writing a comedy that wasn't funny and turned into a coming of age drama. So, I guess I can write drama now and then.

First I write the end, then I start on the journey. That way have at least a vague destination that I'm trying to get to. Changes and detours are quite often and not unsettling.

I don't stick to a particular genre. I do however, stay away from certain genres, as I don't favor them.

In terms of my process. I know the plot, but everything isn't set in stone. I know the outline and where I want it to go, but my story develops as I write. Sometimes detours down another path to get the desired result, but it doesn't stray from the core of the plot.

I used to think I knew what I was doing. Then as I read more great screenplays I realised I had no idea.

I then wrote lots and lots. Finally I found my style (voice if you like). I also developed a good process.

I start with an idea, scene, concept then write. I start with prose. Then if the idea survives. I move to the screenplay. I do it this way to make sure I have enough story and a strong enough concept. I have a few tools I fall back in, such as relationship matrix and force field analysis.

I naturally levitate towards drama and thrillers based on my life experiences, but genres don't drive me, writing does. As Ernest Hemingway once said, "In order to write about life first you must live it.” Lord knows I've lived it as a photojournalist who's worked on assignment in 45 countries and as an army soldier from Desert Storm to the Latin American Drug War during the Pablo Escobar era. I write what I know from what I feel.

When I write, I write from the heart and just let it flow plus edit as I go, then eventually the story comes together. It's worked so far as the doors have cracked a bit, and I'll write about those experiences in time. For now, my best advice, write, write, write and write as it'll come to you when you write plus you'll see the genre develop as you write. Don't focus on a specific genre, focus on telling the story as it flows form your heart and then the genre will stick out like a sore thumb.

Writing beforehand treatment, synopsis, sequences...usually helped me knowing what i'm doing when writing the actual screenplay. Then adding notes, feedbacks and reading as much scripts, help me even more. Regarding genres, it all depends on the ideas i have, so i'm eclectic.

Who really ever knows what they're doing? Any skill is trial and error until your find a formula that works for you. I have a system for writing and completing a screenplay. Do I really know what I'm doing? Maybe. Depends on how you look at it.

My genre is sci-fi but because that genre generally has a high cost associated with it due to the FX budget, its very hard to break in. Almost no one is going to give a newbie $10M dollars and say go shoot the next "Star Wars".

I write in different genres to expand my skills and keep growing. It keeps my portfolio fresh and has won me a few contests. My latest thriller, "The Chameleon" won the Fade In awards and I went to L.A. to a Pitchfest where I got quite a few read requests. Not bad for a guy who doesn't even write Thrillers.