What should I do???

L

LAFF OR DIE PRODUCTIONS

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Well I seem to have a problem every time I go to write something I get side tracked or I say I can just do it later what should I do??? Should I lock myself im my room until I write my screenplay or what??? Just please give me your advice.
 
Set aside a period out of each and every day, during which you will do nothing but write or edit or otherwise work on your script. One hour per day, and at least one page per day, is good. In a month, you will have a short screenplay; in four you will have a feature screenplay.
 
i think overcoming procrastination is one of the main hurdles or writing. i find it helps to go in phases and focus each writing session on a specific thing, like just working on variations of the logline, and then expanding that into a short synopsis. then maybe doing a treatment, then outline. i would agree with the other suggestion of sticking to a schedule, either a set number of hours or number of pages (once you get to writing actual pages). but really, the hard work is the outline and coming up with the structure. the actual writing of pages is fairly simple once you have the preliminary work done.
 
What I do when writing a screenplay is first outlining every scene on those little postcardlike cards, Syd Field's idea, and the start expanding each card to about a scene where I describe everything that goes on in the scene, maybe even write a few lines of dialog if i have them. Then when I am happy with the full scene I just start writing the scene. The main advantage of doing it this way is, you can write whatever scene you want at whatever time you want. You dont have to write them in order. Another import thing to keep you motivated while writing is: Have your ending ready. Most of the time I first write the opening scene, because mostly ill have that in my head right after i get the idea, and then ill write the ending scene.
Hope this helps...
 
First off, just write the damn page. Dont worry about it being stupid or bad or whatever - just do it - you can always re-write it later. Get words onto page.

And always finish your session for the day on an interesting scene or moment. Something that makes you *want* to come back and start writing again the next day - just like how a good TV program can end on a cliff-hanger - do that - and you'll always come back.

Most people have problems when they *start* writing. You're experience a problem actually writing - which is *very* worrying.

Have you ever considered teaming up with a writer and having them do the work?

EJ
 
tommyinla said:
Are you freeform writing or do you have the plot outlined?
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As far as I'm concerned, outlining is the way to go. Act I, plot point, Act II, plot point, Act III. I used to write full treatments, but find that a clearly defined outline works well for me. But writing a screenplay without knowing what the ending is going to be is like driving a car without a destination in mind and wondering why you can't get there. I've done exactly that with screenwriting a couple of times and have learned my lesson. Great initial story ideas go to complete mush without an ending in mind.

Read an interesting reflection on writer's block from Larry Brody here.

I caught a little bit of an interview (I think it was on Larry King) with Emelio Estevez and he talked about how he was totally stuck writing Bobby. He received the suggestion that he change his writing enviornment. He packed up the car, drove out of town, and checked into a motel. Without all the distractions of home, he finished it easily.
 
I'm a member of the "put words on the page" camp myself.

For the current feature I'm writing, I got an inspiration from a nature show. I immediately "saw" the first couple of minutes play out in front of me, so I sat down and started writing. The first 10 pages came right out.

I spent the next few days thinking more and more. I outlined plot events, characters and motivations... wrote more... then chucked the newer stuff and changed the plot and characters... wrote some more... then chucked all that and the first 10 pages and went off in a different direction. What started out as a serious horror/action/thriller turned into a tongue-in-cheek horror/comedy that contains none of my original ideas.

Now I'm on page 35 of that, but everything's coming to me much more clearly. I see relationships between the characters, the beginning, the ending, twists, turns. Normally I sketch out a plot curve, put major events along the curve, and keep going with it.

A lot of people use index cards and I'm all for that if it works. It's not a good system for me, but for others it's worked great. I like to draw out ideas, look at a timeline for action, and just write, write, write.

Writing is rewriting, and your first draft will suck regardless, so don't even worry about that. I wrote a 30 page Act III for a feature with plot holes, I KNEW it had plot holes, and didn't bother because when I go back and read it, the answers will come to me. But in order to see your writing and your story, you have to put it down on paper so you can examine it.

jlabonney said:
As far as I'm concerned, outlining is the way to go. Act I, plot point, Act II, plot point, Act III. I used to write full treatments, but find that a clearly defined outline works well for me. But writing a screenplay without knowing what the ending is going to be is like driving a car without a destination in mind and wondering why you can't get there. I've done exactly that with screenwriting a couple of times and have learned my lesson. Great initial story ideas go to complete mush without an ending in mind.
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I don't think freeform writing is bad. Sometimes I like driving without a destination because you wind up places you weren't thinking about before. I like writing without a clear ending in mind because the story winds up being completely different than I imagined.

An outline (which I often use as well) is great but can also be too rigidly confining if you find your story isn't "working," but you're trying to force your way to the next plot point.
 
MrWrong, those are good points. What works for me might not work for others, and vice-versa. I especially agree that writing is rewriting.

mrWr0ng said:
Sometimes I like driving without a destination because you wind up places you weren't thinking about before. I like writing without a clear ending in mind because the story winds up being completely different than I imagined.
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While you might end up someplace totally different than you originally thought, I think knowing an ending (it doesn't have to be THE ending) might be just the thing to help someone who's stuck in Act II finish the story?
 
jlabonney said:
While you might end up someplace totally different than you originally thought, I think knowing an ending (it doesn't have to be THE ending) might be just the thing to help someone who's stuck in Act II finish the story?
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Very true, if you don't know an ending by Act II, you're in trouble. But a lot of times forcing an ending mean s it's the wrong ending - what I normally do is just write something that works and completes the story, then come back, look at it and figure out why this isn't the ending I want to use.

Also, my last mentor taught me a very important lesson, too - a lot of times when your Act III isn't working, it's because Act II isn't working. Act II is tricker, because it's not tying up the loose ends so something can seem like it's working alright because it's not being tested in act II, but when it comes crunch time in act III, that's when it falls apart. I wound up writing out a character in Act II and my ending wasn't working... with help from my mentor, I brought that character back and gave him the ending he had been working for - and just the addition of that relationship in Act III made the entire climax shine and make sense.
 
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jlabonney said:
As far as I'm concerned, outlining is the way to go. Act I, plot point, Act II, plot point, Act III. I used to write full treatments, but find that a clearly defined outline works well for me. But writing a screenplay without knowing what the ending is going to be is like driving a car without a destination in mind and wondering why you can't get there. I've done exactly that with screenwriting a couple of times and have learned my lesson. Great initial story ideas go to complete mush without an ending in mind.

Read an interesting reflection on writer's block from Larry Brody here.

I caught a little bit of an interview (I think it was on Larry King) with Emelio Estevez and he talked about how he was totally stuck writing Bobby. He received the suggestion that he change his writing enviornment. He packed up the car, drove out of town, and checked into a motel. Without all the distractions of home, he finished it easily.
Click to expand...

Did you happen to catch Emilio on Jay Leno a while back? He said that at the hotel he stopped at, the front desk clerk was an older woman who was actually AT the Ambassador hotel and witnessed the whole thing from the perspective he was writing the script from...
 
tommyinla said:
Did you happen to catch Emilio on Jay Leno a while back? He said that at the hotel he stopped at, the front desk clerk was an older woman who was actually AT the Ambassador hotel and witnessed the whole thing from the perspective he was writing the script from...
Click to expand...

Missed that one, but it's a small world huh?
 
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