So i'm trying to get some screenplay ideas going to flex my writing muscles, does anybody have suggestions on techniques that have helped them steer them in the right creative direction? For example, I've been making a list of my favorite actors/actresses/performances that have stood out to me and writing what I like about them and what storylines may be well suited to them. Any thoughts are well appreciated :)
Screenwriting : Tips to get the creative juices flowing... by Jacob Taylor
Tips to get the creative juices flowing...
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The great Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders etc). Says if you what to write about war start with something super strange and as far away from war as possible, like tomatoes. Start writing about tomatoes and try to link that writing back to your war story.
Get blood flowing through your creative muscles.
If you are talking about finding the seed of a story. Pose a debatable question. Now how would you use that as a theme in a story? What does your story have to do to answer the question?
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Music is a big motivator for me. Listen to as much as you can from a wide variety. If a song sparks something within me then I write that idea down and start fiddling with it to see if there's a story there.
Hi Jacob,
"Tell me a story I haven't heard before."
Those are the words of a studio development exec that guide me. That might sound confusing to some, since some of us feel that "every story has been done before." But they really haven't, because the people, the times, and the locations change every day.
Sometimes I read about real-life events that inspire me. Sometimes a painting, or a song's lyrics can inspire me. Sometimes the face of a stranger, or something that I overhear can inspire me. Sometimes I start with themes and premises that inspire me. Or a sunrise or a sunset. And then I start to develop my premise, my characters and my story line. I have more ideas and story lines than I'll ever be able to write, and every day brings even more ideas. Stop, ideas, stop! Heh-heh.
Hope that helps!
Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Jacob!
REST IN PEACE, DANNY AIELLO (June 20, 1933 - December 12, 2019)
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Some of my writer friends swear by mental "warm-up" exercise every day. They'll pick a random location, character, genre, etc. and create a story from the combination.
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My two mentors from school were typewriter era writers. They didn't believe in waiting for muses or inspiration. They sat down and did it as a 9 to 5 job, 6 days a week. They looked at themselves as blue-collar workers. Nothing sexy or romantic about the job of writing.
Jacob - Go out and watch people. Take a notebook & pen or pencil with you and make notes on what you see and what is going on around you. Don't go after an idea - let the idea come to you as you go about your daily life. I was a member of a small town gym with the most eclectic clientele you've ever seen. When I wasn't working out I spent a lot of time laughing at what was going around me. I finally started taking a notebook to the gym and writing down all the best stories and best lines I heard. I ended up using that to write a deck for a gym based TV reality series and then a 30-minute sitcom. I'm not a comedian but tried to use the funniest things I'd heard and seen. The latter will need a lot of polishing. But the reality TV series went to a gym trainer who was working with a well-known New York producer (and a director, writer, and financier) trying to put together a reality TV series that takes place in a small gym.
Dan M - you're right. If my muse & I showed up before 9:00, we got some of the coffee. It wasn't glamours, sexy or romantic - but it did pay the rent.