Developing Screenplay Ideas ... My well runneth --- in many directions!

Written by Edward B. Toupin


Recently, I started a screenwriting and movie-making group here in Las Vegas. Our objective was to begin at, well,repparttar beginning ofrepparttar 129067 process and work allrepparttar 129068 way through to an edited movie. Sounds easy? Yes! Is it really? Not at all.

The one thing I ran into atrepparttar 129069 very beginning wasrepparttar 129070 problem of demonstratingrepparttar 129071 development of an idea into something that could be used as screenplay material. The big question is, "what'srepparttar 129072 difference between regular material and screenplay material?" The only answer I could come up with was, "a beginning, a middle, and an end." They looked at me like I was kidding, but actually, I'm not.

Put simply, a screenplay is a dramatic story told with visuals and dialogue. The screenplay describesrepparttar 129073 actions,repparttar 129074 environment,repparttar 129075 dialogue, andrepparttar 129076 situations that moverepparttar 129077 story forward. Screenplays have a formula and a format that has been in place for many decades. Yet,repparttar 129078 beginning screenwriter sometimes misses this point. I ran into one fellow some months ago who was writing a screenplay that was "325 pages" long! After further discussion, he began to realize that, instead of writing a screenplay, he had a novel with a story that meandered without end.

You can use any old idea for your story, but have a point. Don't just write forrepparttar 129079 sake of writing asrepparttar 129080 story will meander around into a traffic jam. If you have an idea, define a theme or objective forrepparttar 129081 story. What'srepparttar 129082 point? What isrepparttar 129083 main character's purpose in "life"?

Life? A character's life? Indeed,repparttar 129084 character does have a life inrepparttar 129085 world you create, but a screenplay is not "real life". It's a metaphor of real life presented in such a way as to represent a particular theme. To write about a real life situation, you have to dissectrepparttar 129086 situation and findrepparttar 129087 underlying theme. Then, using that theme as a guideline, you must reassemblerepparttar 129088 original idea to best representrepparttar 129089 theme. Indeed, some aspects ofrepparttar 129090 true-story might be fictionalized to driverepparttar 129091 story towardrepparttar 129092 point.

For example, my wife is working on a screenplay about medical debauchery in Nevada. After a few passes, she began to realize thatrepparttar 129093 story roamed around in circles because ofrepparttar 129094 many facets ofrepparttar 129095 topic. After much coaching, she began to realize that she had to define one particular point and aimrepparttar 129096 story at it. As a side-effect,repparttar 129097 physical issues ofrepparttar 129098 story would berepparttar 129099 driving force that leadsrepparttar 129100 plot around to reach "the point".

After writing and reading screenplays overrepparttar 129101 years, I've given some pointers to folks that usually help them redefine and direct their stories to a solid point. One ofrepparttar 129102 main problems, which I reiterate here, is that you have to "define a point". For example, we might come up with an idea that has a bunch of "cool" actions and situations. We then try to write a story to include these ideas because we want them to be inrepparttar 129103 story. But, this approach will usually fail because --- what isrepparttar 129104 point? Define a point, a theme, an objective that encompassesrepparttar 129105 feeling and direction of these "cool" actions and situations and aim your story in that direction.

Making The Time To Write That Novel

Written by Patty Apostolides


Findingrepparttar time to write a novel is one ofrepparttar 129065 major issues confronting writers, particularly those who haven’t been published yet. How does one justify to themselves, or to their loved ones, that they need time to write if they have demands on their time, like a job, or a house to be cleaned, a family to be fed, or shopping to do? They makerepparttar 129066 time.

To make time, one would have to sit down and plan it. If this is not done, then writing will become a haphazard event, dictated by a whim, or a passing urge, rather than a scheduled time. This often results inrepparttar 129067 book never really being finished. You do want to finish that book, don’t you? Below, I have my own suggestions as to how to make time.

1) Think about your daily schedule, just like when you do a budget, only instead of money, you’ll be budgeting time. 2) Then get a nice large desktop calendar,repparttar 129068 ones that cost about two dollars. Begin filling inrepparttar 129069 mandatory slots forrepparttar 129070 week. Do you have a work schedule, or a doctor’s appointment, a meeting to go to, etc.? Then write these times down. 3) Next, fill inrepparttar 129071 times for meals, showers, shopping, socials, etc. 4) Now look atrepparttar 129072 times that you are free. Please don’t say there isn’t any time left! There will probably be some time available somewhere. Maybe it’ll be at lunchtime, if you are working, or after dinner, or even duringrepparttar 129073 day if you’re a stay-at home parent (when junior is napping). 5) If you are a new writer, start slow. Maybe find one hour a day and reserve that for your writing. Go ahead and writerepparttar 129074 date inrepparttar 129075 calendar. You just made an appointment with yourself. Now do it for every day ofrepparttar 129076 week. You decide if you want to workrepparttar 129077 weekend or not. 6) If you are a more seasoned writer, you will probably need more time. I find that I need a minimum of three hours a day to write. Sometimes I may also use this time doing research for my book.

Once you make that appointment with yourself, that’srepparttar 129078 easy part. Next, you have to keep that appointment. There are so many instances when something else interferes with your designated time. I know, I’ve been there. Therefore, you need to have some flexibility. Always have a reserve time slot handy in case you don’t make your date. Although I was pretty regular and rarely strayed from my afternoon schedule, there were times that I just couldn’t stay on track. I learned to be flexible and wrote inrepparttar 129079 evenings. The important thing to remember is to not stray too far from your schedule, because it defeatsrepparttar 129080 purpose.

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