Less planning = "Fresher" writing and better script?

J

Jackson Miller

Well-known member
Hi guys. So I am going to write a screenplay with a friend who has written two screenplays already. He is a brilliant guy who one day just decided to write a screenplay, so he sat down with almost no planning and knocked the whole thing out in 2 weeks. He won 2nd place in a competition with this script. A few drafts later, he may be very close to selling this script to a MAJOR production company. The top guy emailed him saying he wanted to discuss the script. My friend had not even submitted it, the company had just seen it through the competition.

I am a bit younger than he is and I recently took a screenwriting class. I have been reading books recommended here and learning and soaking up all of the info I can. I feel very cautious to embark on any projects without detailed outlines and an exact idea of where things are going. I am very perfectionistic and I find myself saving my best ideas for when I am more experienced which is maybe for the best since some of them are complicated.


So now here is the thing. I am co-writing a screenplay with this guy and we have two totally different approaches. Which I am thinking will be good in some senses. We will balance each other out. But so far we have had one intense prep session where we took the story from a skeleton to something with a little more meat. I feel like we could continue to plan down to the scene. Is this wrong? He wants to start writing after one or two more sessions. He feels like his creativity is squashed by such extensive planning and that he may even get bored of the story by then. He says that his writing is fresh and exciting when he has written this way. I am sure it is and this is what people who know what they are talking about have told him. He also admits though that these people have said that his weakness is in structure and that some of it is too "loose" etc. This means more drafts afterwards in order to develop a great script. I'd like to avoid some of that. I want to create a masterpiece where every scene and little detail is included for a purpose and is well though out. That is my style at the moment. I am obviously going to bend and compromise with him which I am fine with doing to a certain extent just to try it out. But I am wondering how much I should compromise.

I guess I am just looking for advice. So anyone who has something to say, please do. Tell me less planning can work out well, tell me I need to stand firm. Tell me I need to be more adventurous. Whatever. Just help me out. Thanks guys.
 
I'm just starting, but I needed at least 2 months of gathering my ideas in an outline before I even opened up Final Draft to write my title page.
 
What I'd do is let him write out quickly with his 'fresh' wordplay, then you go over it and write an outline based on what he wrote. Then discuss proper structure. Normally I'd say the partnership won't work because your styles are so different, but you might have a point with the balancing out thing.
 
Mamet's thoughts...

Mamet's thoughts...

"They say that Bach could improvise a toccata and I'm sure he could, but I don't think anybody can improvise a screenplay."

-- David Mamet
 
Both roads take you there. Take the road that gives you two energy. In the end he will have to tidy it up. In the end you will have to loosen up.

Both of you can compliment each other by being different than the other. Too often we want to reshape the other person and make them be just like us, afterall don't we see perfection in the mirror;) so too often we end up fighting. There is no need to conflict. Instead just start your journey knowing that you will visit what ever you need to visit when the time comes. The trick is to stay engaged, and that means finding the positive energy of creating a great story. This is what will keep you two wanting to work even harder and longer into the night while you burn the midnight oil. Passion is the magical elixar.

PS, Mamet has great insight! ;)
 
I think 10s is right on the money. Writing more loosely allows you to explore different options at different forks in the narrative road. However, you might sacrifice structure. And you might realize that you've run out of juice midway into Act II. Writing with more preparation can yield a technically appealing story, but what about the little beats? The organic development of the story? The snappy dialogue?

However, I do think that you should discuss your modus operandus with your writing partner. What happens if you've outlined a solid overall arc, but he writes a third of the way through and thinks another direction would be better? My understanding of writing partnerships is that partners typically agree on the overall structure (sometimes down to a scene outline) and then break up the scenes to write separately. Are you guys going to rotate writing? Write by committee? These types of things would be good to iron out since you two have different styles.
 
it depends on what i'm writing, but for longer projects i do outlines like this:

i put the slug line (int/ext. blah blah blah) for each scene, then i put one sentence lines about what needs to happen (i.e. Tom needs to escape from Stacy's den of love and fire). sometimes if i think of good lines i'll put them in there, too.

INT. STACY'S HOUSE - LOVE DEN - NIGHT

Stacy has Tom strapped to the swinging sex slave. He escapes by trickery.

TOM
Stacy, listen baby, i'm on drugs and i should probably go before something bad and unexpected happens.

bingo bango. i write the entire script like that. then i go through and flesh it all out. as i'm doing that, i don't worry about how long the dialogue is or the length of the scene -- i just write until the goal is accomplished.

this whole deal i've been yabbering about allows me to be creative and free while at the same time i'm moving the story foward and following the structure. bingo bango.
 
etrizz said:
it depends on what i'm writing, but for longer projects i do outlines like this:

i put the slug line (int/ext. blah blah blah) for each scene, then i put one sentence lines about what needs to happen (i.e. Tom needs to escape from Stacy's den of love and fire). sometimes if i think of good lines i'll put them in there, too.

INT. STACY'S HOUSE - LOVE DEN - NIGHT

Stacy has Tom strapped to the swinging sex slave. He escapes by trickery.

TOM
Stacy, listen baby, i'm on drugs and i should probably go before something bad and unexpected happens.

bingo bango. i write the entire script like that. then i go through and flesh it all out. as i'm doing that, i don't worry about how long the dialogue is or the length of the scene -- i just write until the goal is accomplished.

this whole deal i've been yabbering about allows me to be creative and free while at the same time i'm moving the story foward and following the structure. bingo bango.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a great method. You could also modify the system to skip to sequences that you've already brainstormed while glossing over sections in-between.
 
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Either approach is fine, but trying to combine them may not work- possibly the two of you just aren't right for each other as writing partners? It's nothing to do with talent or technique - finding a writing partner is like finding a romantic partner, it's all down to chemistry, above all the two of you need to enjoy being together.
 
The thing that must be fast for me is the FIRST DRAFT, or the VOMIT DRAFT as I call it. Pre-writing/planning is essential for me and does not influence my creativity; that is, while writing the first draft...except to make the whole more cohesive and satisfying.

Writing fast is the key. No matter how much planning you've done.
 
I think that less planning could sometimes be a benefit based on what your premise is and how your characters will experience the story. A disaster movie protagonist might not know what the hell is going on around him, they just want to survive, while a movie about an assassination or a heist would need intricate planning.

I don't believe that there is necessarily one right way to write all of your scripts. The characters and premise can effect how you approach the process on a case by case scenario.
 
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