Screenwriting : Final stretch by Stephen Floyd

I rush to the end.

Do a very very rough storyboard to visualise more.

Write more.

Do a beat sheet.

Write more.

I jump around using different methods to stress test my writing. Then when it is done, I can’t wait to give it to someone.

Stephen Floyd I really sympathize with the exploration vs deadline dilemma. I usually come up with a fictional dead line before the real one - and let it rip:) This way I'm not stressed about the real dead line and still give myself some time to explore the story and characters.

I write an outline and a treatment before I do the first draft, so by the time I'm reaching the end, I feel like I've written the script three times. I get impatient. I want it to be done so people can read it. This often forces me to improve upon my treatment, be even more creative, so I don't get bored.

I just finished the first draft. And it was as anti-climactic as I feared.

Next time write the end first.

My latest script I wrote all out of order as the scenes came to me and sewed them all together after (using my outline). It went very quick. It was a fun way to write.

Phil Parker is so right.

I can't write a story without knocking out the outline first. I have to work the story out from beginning to end before I start pounding out the first draft. My attempts to work like Stephen was fun at first, but then I got completely lost midway. I lose focus without an outline or treatment to follow.

I have a unique problem I call "the multiple ending monster".... I used to do an outline from beginning to the end, but then as I flesh out the rest of the script, I end up getting multiple new ideas on how to end it. By the time it's time to write the ending that "multiple ending monster" is on my back. But now I have learned that the monster is my friend, it's better to have options than an anticlimax. Maybe you should consider exploring endings during the writing process so you don't have this problem again.

Like many here, I'm big into pre-writing, sometimes down to the point that I have every beat of a scene laid out before even starting a first draft.

But that doesn't sound like your issue and I feel bad for you because you should be feeling elated right now and, usually, this would be a great time to write a marketing orientated synopsis.

I mean, it sounds to me like you just love writing and getting to the final stretch was perhaps like checking your watch during a wonderful party and know the venue closes in half an hour.

Perhaps this is more of a case that you have a tremendous amount of energy/passion and you know you're in a happier, more productive place allowing it flow.

How about this, if you don't already do it, I like to keep a lot of working documents where I'm working on dozens of projects, developing them all the time in the background. Some of those projects are dream fims, like, my big five that I want to make before I die. I find constantly working on those a great outlet and can advise on a system to manage it.

And you know what, you can go ahead and write those extra thirty pages, what's stopping you? Do it for the indulgence or, if there's franchise potential, do it so you have a head start on the next chapter. Or even write the next thirty pages and see if it develops into a whole new spec script set in a different world with different characters.

Either way, pull at this thread because there's something worth unravelling in terms of personal discovery. This should be making us all happy and we have to make sure we have a process that brings us fulfilment.

"Getting to the final stretch was perhaps like checking your watch during a wonderful party and know the venue closes in half an hour." That's pretty much it, CJ. That, and a compulsive fear of finality. You no longer have an open sea to explore when you come back to port.

I tend to work backward as I always know my ending first, then build the story/script from there. Reverse-engineer and/or I work out of order. Or I experiment and try different openings, various scenes, etc. So, for me, "the ending" is to finish that last re-write and force myself to stop tweaking and polishing. That's my hang-up until I finally let it go. Next. ;)

Beth Fox Heisinger My current script I know the beginning and ending. Now that middle part...

Stephen Floyd, I sensed that was the case and I can certainly sympathise with it. But how about we flip the perspective on this. What an absolute privilege and an accomplishment to enjoy writing a script so passionately that coming to an end feels like coming home. There's plenty of writers out there who see completing their final act akin to finally slaying the beast, so I'd say you're actually in a very good place. However, it seems imperative to me that you keep writing something.

Stephen, perhaps your “open sea” is another screenplay, and another one after that, and another. There is more than one ocean. ;) Best to you, and best wishes with all your creative endeavors.

race towards the finish line, don't stop, and make it awesome!