This is the first time this has happened to me cause usually I struggle to find a good story to write, but lately I have SO many fantastic script ideas I don't know what to do. It started with a short film script I was writing for a competition and then somewhere in the middle of it I was like "I have an idea for a web series show" so I worked in great detail on the ideas for the web series script while I was still in the middle of writing that short film script.
And then I was gonna finish off the short film script and start actually writing the web series pilot. BUT THEN I was having a random conversation with my friend and I was like "I have another fantastic idea for ANOTHER web series script but the problem is both of my web script ideas are so good and now have so many details planned out for episodes, seasons, and how I want them to start and end. I have 3 major projects I'm working on.
BUT THEN IT KEEPS GOING. I woke up today on Christmas and I was like I want to write a Christmas full length film. I spend half of this day working on all the details and the idea is so solid I don't want to abandon it. So now I have this problem of I'm still trying to finish this short film script and now I want to start writing TWO separate web series scripts as well as a full CHRISTMAS MOVIE! I'm worried about accidentally not focusing fully on each project before finishing but it just happened this way. I had all these ideas come to me until I worked hard on all the details. I have multiple seasons already planned out for both web series shows and the entire movie planned out for the Christmas film. So it's not like I have vague ideas written down and won't start any of them
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That happens to me, Ryu Reeves. What I do is write a logline or some details for the story and put it aside for later so I can focus on my main project instead of thinking about the new idea.
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Yea I had no choice lol I was like this is too much! I've never had that. Usually I get one really good idea and stick to that. Or usually I just get a lot of ideas but nothing that really has substance. And I don't like to even start writing things unless I can see it being a hit in the theaters. I don't want to write something just to write. I want it to be something I would go see!
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I know what you mean, Ryu Reeves. I ask myself "Would I watch this?" when I come up with a script idea. If the answer's no, 9/10 times I won't outline the idea.
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I always tear my scripts apart so fast because i want it to actually make sense. I'm like okay if this character in episode 7 has a scene at Walmart that doesn't really make sense because in episode 2 she says she only shops online because she hates the crowds. I go through every line of my script 100 times over like I'm Scooby-Doo trying to solve a mystery!
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"Like I'm Scooby-Doo trying to solve a mystery!" :D I do something similar, Ryu Reeves. I go through a script (mainly when I'm rewriting), tracking things. Like I'll track the protagonist’s cell phone. If she loses her phone on page 18, but she's texting on it on page 22, that's a problem I gotta fix. I track props, characters, the character arc(s), the theme, etc.
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As a writer, it's easy to let inspiration overwhelm you. Ideas bubble up, sometimes so fast and fiercely that they threaten to derail your story or focus. Over the years, I've learned to simplify my writing process by anchoring myself to a single foundation: my protagonist.
OUTLINE the protagonist's linear story from beginning to end in 3 to four paragraphs BEFORE you start writing a first draft. It's a discipline that's well worth learning (it will save hours, days, and weeks in your writing) By doing so you won't have to track setups and payoffs (losing a cellphone, then texting out of the blue on a said cellphone or she says, "she never shops in person", but ends up doing so without us understanding WHY she had to do it at this particular time) I usually sit with a cup of Java and map out my Protag's story from beginning to end. Then I flesh it out with the necessary scenery, props, villains, etc.) Then I do the same for my Villain. I tell the story from their POV in another 3/ 4 paragraphs. This helps me create a 3-dimensional villain(s) with a backstory. My humble advice is to outline...OUTLINE...OUTLINE!
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You need to focus on the project that is most important to you.
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Write any one of them, finish it, go to the next, etc. Don't agonize over this. It's a blessing, not a curse. It will all work out. I am ghost writing two books at the same time, and maybe 2 more. But your problem is simple-too many ideas. Do one, then the next; relax, enjoy life.