Screenwriting : What Sparks Your Scripts? by Sandra Isabel Correia

It's all of those, Sandra Isabel Correia. And sometimes it's because I want to write about a social issue or another topic in an exciting way.

A few weeks back, I was making a batch of limoncello. I had to peel 21 lemons, and let the peels soak in grain alcohol for 21 days before moving on to the next step. I got to thinking, 21 Days, 21 Lemons, that's a good title. Hence the creation of my latest RomCom script, 21 Days, 21 Lemons.

And if someone asks you to write a ghost script in a genre or story you don't feel connected to, Maurice Vaughan, what do you do?

That's a good strategy David Miller, and a very good title. For me, it's the true essence of creativity; you simply write your next script based on a real-life event, and I adore it. How many times did you write it? 21 days? :D

I'll take the job, Sandra Isabel Correia. I've done it a lot of times.

So far what sparks me to write is a story that excites me in one way or another, particularly if it speaks to how I wish real life was but isn't lol. Writing it out is healthier than just thinking about it all the time :)

That's interesting. Maurice Vaughan. I don't like to take jobs that I don't feel connected to. Even if it isn't a genre or theme you like too much, how do you make it compelling for you?

Thanks for participating, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. So, you write for pleasure, and your portfolio is a result of what you feel like writing or a necessity?

I prefer taking jobs that I connect with, Sandra Isabel Correia, but bills and expenses. :D I find things about the job that excite me as I outline the script. Maybe it's a character in the script, scenes, etc.

No worries Sandra Isabel Correia, and yeah, my portfolio so far is stuff I feel like writing. Some ideas don't pass the three-day test, which is to say I get over the excitement of the new idea after three days. For me the desire to write them is very important or else it feels too much like homework and I never enjoyed homework lol.

How I understand you Maurice Vaughan, yes I know :)) I do that in my mentoring business life :)) But at the end, when we dive inside, we find exciting details that moves us on. Thank you for sharing my friend:))

Ahahah I love that concept Banafsheh Esmailzadeh ‘it feels too much like homework and I never enjoyed homework’ ahahaha The three day test is a good strategy and most importantly is that you are following your gut :)) I need to be in love with the story to write it.

You're welcome, Sandra Isabel Correia.

I'm constantly on the lookout for unusual storylines involving very relatable characters that are instantly recognizable for their normalcy but find themselves in outlandish situations.

I try to find a story I can be obsessed with, thinking about it constantly to the point my wife asks if I'm still here. Those ideas come from simple little setups that could prove interesting.

Actually Sandra Isabel Correia , 7days start to finish. I bounced 3 or 4 potential plotlines around in my head, then BAM! It came to me and just poured out.

Oh, I love these questions! I'm a vivid dreamer and can remember a good portion of what I dream, so several of my films are derived from elements I experience in my dreams. I also like to think outside the box and take a conventional story and flip it on its head.

A desire to leave behind a legacy, to say I own something I made, to be unconventional, and a sense of tranquil fury at how unique material is getting rejected, while studios and networks seem content to pump out the same crap over and over. For example, in the UK (where I live), there is an incessant obsession with period and police dramas, with little room for anything else.

What I've written is something so antithetical, so unusual, something that looks to the future instead of trying to romanticise the past (partially because of my growing contempt for the predictable, along with the unhealthy obsession with nostalgia that infects the society in which I live), and I have every intention of making it into a movie myself because I have learned over the past 20 years, as I developed my literary capabilities, that writers are treated like shit, worse than extras in some cases... and I have no intention of being discarded like a used prophylactic (that's a condom, if you don't know what it means). I WILL be heard, not just seen.

Sorry for the very angry response, but it's kind of how I feel at the moment.

it's love and the desire to create your own world when you can express a lot of feelings and learning alot of thingsSandra Isabel Correia

I write everyday, organize by sorting or time lining a outline, and rewrite once a month for up to three days.

I also write and edit my scripts every day. I have received lots of wonderful feedback from my pitches made here on Stage 32, but I'm bewildered by a few conflicting scores from readers of my scripts. For example: I received all "5" scores from one reader, but another reader gave me mostly "4s" for the same script. The TV script adaptation that I co-wrote with Cynthia Uhrich, has a few time stamps and two flashbacks. I'm not sure how to proceed at this point. I welcome all criticism as gifts, but I also stand by the work that we've done. The pilot has already undergone so many evolutions since we began working on it a year ago.

The characters won’t stop having conversations in my head. I see things in the real world that remind me of the world of my characters.

There isn’t really a moment when I say to myself: “I have to write a script quickly.” Most of the time, it comes naturally, without forcing it. I write without any obligation. I don’t choose a genre at the start, I begin by dreaming, and then I write. The genre eventually finds its way into the story on its own.

And yes, sometimes it takes me by surprise: I feel something that absolutely needs to be expressed. It can show itself through music, painting, or writing, through any form of creation.

And often, an idea can stay in my mind for a long time, but strangely, I never forget it. It’s always there, somewhere, waiting to be expressed.

I love your point of view, Darrell Pennington :))

That's a fantastic approach, Mike Schreurs, and I love how your wife asks about you ahahha. It sounds like we have a similar process. I find that the best ideas are the ones that relentlessly demand to be written, making it a passion project instead of just a task. That level of obsession is precisely what you need to see a script through to the end.

Wow, David Miller, that's super fast. That's like a story to be told. How many pages did you write per day?

Lindsay Thompson, your REM sleep is powerful! I have that sometimes. :) One night I was in 2050, and they were showing me around our world in that year. I woke up and wrote in my journal, and who knows if one day I'll dive into a story. :) Tapping into your dreams for material sounds like a perfect source for truly original ideas. I completely agree with your point about flipping a conventional story on its head, too. That's a great way to make a genre feel fresh and exciting

No need to apologize at all, Stefano Pavone . That "tranquil fury" you mentioned is the most powerful kind of fuel a writer can have. Your frustration with the industry's endless cycle of predictable content is a feeling so many of us share. But I have to say, your decision to take control and make your own film is incredibly inspiring. That's the only way to truly guarantee your unique voice gets heard and isn't just a discarded draft. I'm rooting for you. I am in Lisbon, and I understand you.

That's such a beautiful way to put it, Ines Rim. The desire to create your own world and express all of those feelings is a huge part of what makes writing so rewarding.

That's a great approach, Paul Rivers . Discipline is definitely the secret weapon for getting a script across the finish line. It sounds like you have a solid and effective routine that keeps you on track :)

I'm so glad you brought this up, DonnaMarie Miller. This is a common and incredibly frustrating experience, but don't let it get you down. Those conflicting scores are a perfect example of how subjective script feedback can be. What one reader loves and gives a high score to, another might view differently based on their own taste or what they prioritize. As you said, criticism is a gift, but the real gift isn't the score; it's the notes. My advice is to look past the numbers entirely and focus on the specific written feedback. Look for patterns. Are there any themes or issues that appear in both sets of feedback, even if they're phrased differently? If one reader notes pacing issues and another mentions that a certain character's motivations are unclear, those notes might actually be pointing to the same underlying problem. Those are the notes that are most worth considering.

You're absolutely right to stand by the work you and Cynthia have done. The fact that the pilot has gone through so many evolutions shows your dedication and passion. That's what will get you to a finished product you believe in.

That's the best kind of inspiration, Desiree Middleton. When your characters start having conversations on their own and living in your head, you know you've got something special. And seeing the real world through the lens of your story is a great sign that your idea is fully alive.

That's such a lovely and organic approach to creation, Koby Nguyen. When an idea comes naturally, without being forced, it tends to be the most authentic. I especially love your point about how an idea will wait, never to be forgotten. It’s a powerful testament to the stories that are truly meant to be told:)

My "spark" is the desire to give people the same emotional and/or adrenaline rush I had when imagining a story I like play out in my head.

Sandra Isabel Correia I found myself writing 15-30 pages/day, it just poured out of my mind to the pages. My wife says I've found my new genre. My previous works were always slow and deliberate.

Sandra Isabel, when it comes to starting a new script...well, for me, it's all about the FUN of being able to create something...to give myself another chance to come up with something that (hopefully) people can relate to.

And I'm a bit like Lindsay in that I like to take a genre or subgenre (or at least a trope or two) and turn it into a spoof.

I love that spark Michael Dzurak. That's a fantastic and empathetic motivation. The desire to give an audience the same emotional and adrenaline rush you feel is exactly what makes a story so compelling and powerful. But, not easy to achieve :))

David Miller, that’s incredible! When the writing just pours out of you like that, you know you've found a story that's truly meant to be told. It sounds like your wife is right; that kind of effortless flow is a great sign that you've found your new genre. I write 10 pages per day :))

That's a great approach, Jim Boston. Tapping into the fun of creating something new is what it's all about. And I love that you're drawn to writing spoofs. It takes a unique kind of talent to both know a genre inside and out and then turn it on its head for a fresh take. I see that in you my friend. Thanks for sharing.

I think there's a "gripping of the soul" that happens Sandra Isabel Correia. I can be going about my day, feeding the dog...chasing the cat. When suddenly the grip of the story that I've been mulling in my head grips my soul and commands me to go write. Then, I turn to my family and say, "It just hit me - do you mind if I go sit and my desk? I've got to let this out now before it's gone."

They always say, "Yes!"

ahahaha, likewise. Leonardo Ramirez 2. How I understand you and your creative spark. Happens the same with me, and I believe that it's the real emotional impulse that comes from our intuition and guts. And if you can't write in that moment, what do you do?

Sandra Isabel Correia

It’s the story that won’t leave me, plus a need to put my feelings into words. I write to name what I am longing for, to confess things I can’t say out loud, and sometimes just to step away from everything. Discipline helps me finish, but it’s that story and the urge to express or detach that really moves me.

Sometimes I see a disappointment, sometimes a remarkable event and I say I should write about it.

Now, after years of spec scripts, when I get paid. Or when an exec producer asks for one.

That rarely happens Sandra Isabel Correia because they're so supportive. But when it does and I don't want to lose a thought or idea, I pull out my phone and speak notes into an email. Then I send it to myself so that it's always in front of me. I could use a voice recorder but then it's out of sight, out of mind. ;o)

That’s beautifully said, Prosit Ray. I really connect with the idea of writing as a way to name what we’re longing for and to express what can’t be spoken. That emotional pull, that need to release or reflect, is so powerful. Discipline gets us to the finish line, but it’s the heart of the story that keeps us going. Thank you for sharing this. It truly resonates.

Yaşar Taşbaş, sometimes a disappointment hits us, or a remarkable moment unfolds, and we just know. We should write about it. Above all, those experiences shape our themes and voices. They become the pulse of our stories. Thanks for sharing.

Jon Shallit, that's a whole different kind of motivation. That validation hits differently! We love that emotions :)

I love it, Leonardo Ramirez 2, and you just gave me ideas. Thank you, my friend :))

Yay Sandra Isabel Correia - I love it when that happens. Happy weekend my friend!

Sandra Isabel Correia

You have posed a fundamental and profound question that merits careful consideration. In this regard, I would like to point out that my perspective differs somewhat from what has been previously stated, although it partially aligns with it. The nature of screenwriting is essentially distinct from other forms of writing. A screenplay is not a literary genre in the traditional sense; rather, it is a functional text primarily directed toward film industry professionals—producers and directors—who transform it through their artistic tools into a visual work intended for the audience.

Accordingly, a screenplay is not originally written for the general public; instead, it is the finished film, after production, that is presented to them. By contrast, a writer who seeks to address the public directly and to express personal emotions, experiences, and dreams would be better served by writing a novel, as this literary form provides a broader space for self-expression.

Thus, screenwriting is not built on pure emotions but rather on the skillful application of craft combined with a measured degree of human sentiment, in a way that enables industry professionals to fully grasp the creative vision and translate it into its optimal cinematic form.

As for the motives behind writing, in the case of a screenplay, they primarily stem from necessity—whether financial need, the desire to share one’s dreams with others, the aim of presenting a new perspective to the world, or other forms of inner compulsion. By contrast, the motives behind writing a novel may encompass all of these factors, along with any other personal or intellectual impulses.

You are special my friend :)) Have a great weekend Leonardo Ramirez 2

Husin Alkhatib, I completely agree. Your perspective is spot on. As a writer becoming a director, it has deeply shifted how I write, read and approach scripts. My lens is now shaped by how things will play out visually and emotionally on screen, which is a whole different “game.” That’s where the real difference lies between screenplays and novels: showing versus telling. A screenplay is a blueprint for collaboration, not just self-expression. Thank you for articulating this so clearly, and bringing it to our post :)

And once it is shot, the DP/ editor/ director will edit what you envisioned to make things clearer or quicker. That's why you always have lots of extra B roll, so the edits don't look awkward. Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run was saved by editing.

Sandra Isabel, you're so very welcome!

Well said, Jon Shallit ! Thats really how it happens :)