Hello all. I’m sure many are like this, or maybe not. I’m writing something, then I have ideas about something else, so I gravitate toward that. I have a finished screenplay that hasn't seen the light of day. I thought because of this, I could try to make it into a book because I have thoughts and ideas that I can only expand on in a book. I then had an idea I was toying around with. A low budget horror movie. I stopped the book and went into this, which I’m enjoying. It’s just so hard to stay in the lane when I have other ideas I want to explore.
Screenwriting : So many ideas flowing. So hard to stay the course. by Nicholas Velez
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Hey Nicholas, it’s totally normal to feel that way! Creativity can be overwhelming when you have so many ideas flowing. Let me be honest, I self-published my book even though I knew my ultimate goal was to work in films. While I don’t regret it, I realized later that sticking to my scripts would have aligned more with my long-term vision.
My advice? Focus on your screenplays. Work on more than one to show versatility and establish yourself as a serious writer, not a one-hit wonder. You could also consider evaluating your scripts on The Black List, submitting to competitions, and using the Pitch feature here on Stage 32 to get your work noticed.
Best of luck with your projects, sounds like you’ve got a lot of great ideas to explore!
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It's not easy but necessary. Just have to work hard to keep on track until it's finished. Good Luck.
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When you get a new idea that excites you, write it down and set it aside. Tell yourself that as soon as you get done with your current project your reward is to sink your teeth into the next.
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Nathan is right. Also-don't obsess over revising. Isaac Asimov never revised. He told Stan Lozowski the following: I start out with someone doing or talking, and then I just take dictation. It's as if I am not involved in the process!
Mozart worked the same way. A higher power sang in his ear and he just wrote down what it sang. He didn't have to revise.
If the true voice of each character sings to you, don't change what he says or does!
And the bad so-called 'script doctors' often make things worse with their general comments. It's as if they say the same thing for everyone...'you need to make the reader CARE about the character...you need more EMOTION...'.
It's never a concrete suggestion, just fluff. And they get paid for this stuff.
Finish what you are working on and go on to the next idea.
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Hi Nicholas. You remind me of myself when you say that you're easily distracted by the latest idea. I think this is just a type of brain that some people have. People may assign a label to it, but either way its very helpful for creating new and interesting ideas, recognizing patterns, and not so good for completing 1 task to completion. There is nothing wrong with working on various projects simultaneously, in fact you will be expected to do so if you're working on writing your own work while also working in a writing room for example.
My advice is to set goals for when to complete a project. One writing project to me involves the script (which is created in this order, logline, character sheets, beat sheets, outline, writing draft 1, notes, rewrite, repeat until done) then there's writing up the information and getting art for the Pitch Deck, Synopsis, pitch practice. You kind of bounce between multiple things all involving the same project.
Things that have helped me sit still to write and focus - I don't take Adderall. Tried it once and nothing happened. There's all kinds of nootropics you could try (disclaimer: do your research of course before taking any supplement or medication and consult with doctor. This is only my personal experience and your results may vary) I have tried Saffron, which helps a lot with brain fog, anxiety, depression, stress management. I also have had great results with Mucuna Pruriens, which boosts your dopamine levels. There's also NAC, which lowers glutamate levels and raises glutathione.
Basically there's just a lot of things you can try that can calm your brain down and make it feel easy to sit in front of a screen and bang pages out. Obviously generating ideas is easy for you, but the execution and follow through of ideas is what sets people apart in this business. So anything that is helpful to me doing that and not going to hurt me, I am willing to try.
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Thank you all for the ideas. I actually have around 4 scripts stored away. My last one is my favorite so far. In the past, I would write, complete, send the logline around, send to contest, but never got anyone’s interest. I would then just go onto another idea that was floating in my head. I do now see that the ideas were cool, but might not have been put together properly. I would say I am better now, and my mind doesn’t stop. I’m happy for that. I never get bored. Anyway, again I appreciate it all, and I will try my best to take a bit of advice from you, you , you, and well, all of you.
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Hi Nicholas Velez - everyone has their own process but in my exeperience working with writers, Nathan Smith suggests a good approach. Keep journals and notebooks handy and wrote down your ideas as you go while getting each project completed one (or two) at a time.