Hi guys,
I am starting to write my own features, and I wanted to ask what you guys do before starting a feature script. Do you guys draw an outline for the story and then write it? What are some important things to do before getting into a feature-length script?
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Hi Jack!
What I personally do is a huge number of things: narrative research (unless I need none at all, but in my opinion that's quite unlikely to happen to anybody), a very short summary, then a more detailed outline. Then, scene cards divided (if possible) into the three-acts structure, and then it's time to write. This is my general approach to the script, but it depends from time to time or story to story. Sometimes I have a sudden inspiration and I write the last 10 pages or the teaser and then I go back to the research and the outline. Every method is very personal, every writer has their own. Hope you'll find yours soon!
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I study on ideas first and think about what type of story I want to tell, do I want a PG 13 or an R rated story, what genre? And than I throw every idea that comes to mind into Microsoft Word whether it's stupid silly good or bad and than read what I have and start the process of eliminating and than I start working on an outline with what I have and than I look at how the beats will fit into this idea and start writing and if I get thirty pages in and it is going nowhere. I start over with a new idea. Good luck.
Do not get discouraged early on, it's a long process that takes time. It took me three months before I wrote the first scene in Boy Blue.
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Jack Murphy yes I think an outline is helpful although there are certainly as many different schools of thought as there are writers so it's your adventure to pursue.
I'm a spec writer and have written 7 feature scripts since 2009 so you'd better believe I work SLOW haha.
How much time do you want to devote to writing a feature script?
If you're interested in taking the long route, I can strongly recommend John Truby's book 'The Anatomy Of Story' as a workbook, of the dozen books in my main canon that one got me through my first novel and my first script that was not only well-structured but also equally from my mind and from the heart.
It takes time and mental effort but it's a masterclass in getting your subconscious activated to gain something valuable in the experience.
Also, you want to create and know your ending, because that's your destination (even if you change it later!).
McKee says that Act I is Inspiration, Act II is Craft, and Act III is Philosophy.
I'd advise aiming to write 140-150 pages of script and then down the road when it's "done" in first draft, put on your ruthless editor's hat, get a fucking chainsaw and cut that thing down to 95 pages. It's like making sashimi, you really only want the best parts.
Cheers and best of great success!
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I begin by 1) writing a logline, 2) expand the logline into a 1 paragraph synopsis; 3) identify my protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) - what they want? why they want it? And what is preventing them from achieving their goal?; 4) write a 1 page description of the story; 5) further develop characters; and then 6) write a full treatment OR... a step outline.
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Hi Jack! Congrats on beginning your writing journey. First, I pull ideas to write about from my own life experiences or experiences I've shared with others. Then, I decide what twists and unique spins I'm going to put on these experiences. After that, I write a logline for the script and follow it up with a synopsis (where, when, story arc, acts, emotional and physical conflicts and relationships) and character breakdown (who, wounds/flaws/quirks/traumas, and motivations from said histories) and establishing your protag and antag. That's the fuel that kickstarts my writing engine. Good luck Jack!
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I outline almost all my scripts, Jack Murphy. I use this template: www.stage32.com/profile/811418/Screenplay/Outline-Template-for-Feature-S...
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It’s good to outline and map your story and character arcs before typing the script. Writing is rarely a linear process.
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I write bios of the characters and develop a visual for each. Often I have specific scenes already in mind, so I jot those on index cards. Then I work out key scenes, also on index cards. Then connect the dots. I know index cards are old-school, but it works for me.
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Hi Jack, so before I start writing I will have my little black notebook full of ideas and I use a free app called Evernote to pull together all my research.
The only time I ever outline is for a series or limited series. I wait until the weight of ideas and research push me or compels me to write. (Outlines for a single project tend to kill the story for me, before I write).
I will then consult with my notebook and write the stand-out scenes, any big action scenes and from then on, I will plan the contours of the story landscape.
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Know your character arc, all the emotional points of significance in the story. I outline according to these events of emotional important. You're either setting one up, executing one, or dealing with the aftermath of one. The external story is 2nd to their internal story.
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I do detailed outlines on notecards, detailed story written as a sort of stream-of-consciousness/blurb hybrid and character bios before I start writing.
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I start with dot points. These will raise questions. Often something like “what does this person want from life?” I can then address this in the story (subtle).
I can move those ideas around. I can find a story in that person’s life that contrasts the story. After we only understand light because of shadow.
I keep doing this until the story is so clear to me, I am basically ghost writing for myself.
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Hi Jack thanks so much for the great question. I am definitely the odd writer out as I have never done an outline or do note cards. If I am writing a period piece or a character I have not lived or met I will research. But I mainly meditate to get answers to my questions about characters then when I have lived (acted, become them) all my characters for at least a week, then I sit down and write the story. Thanks everyone for chiming in, great stuff indeed!
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I get the story on paper. What happened, then what happened, then what happened...only then do I think about the setting (urban, rural, time period, etc.) because to me the story is what's important. Some may use a log-line or an outline, I detail events, including things like ----unbeknownst to hero, villain is .... or, while X is happening, Y & Z are also happening. Why do that? Because characters (people) don't live in a vacuum, and big events unrelated to the characters themselves, have to be dealt with. I learned this from Muller on Noir Alley. Double Indemnity takes place before the war although released in 1944...why? The audience would have asked why Walter Neff was selling insurance and not off fighting the Japanese. To drive home the point, the script includes Walter mentioning the movie The Philadelphia Story, a film released in 1940. Research can save a LOT of time down the road.
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One thing I like to do, which I've not heard many people talk about--it's very technical but I find it immensely helpful--is to research different story structures and figure out which one will work best for the story I'm telling and for the format. I think we're often inclined to default to the standard 3 acts because that's what most mainstream screenwriting education dictates we must do. But there are so many different kinds of structures and familiarising myself with different options has made me feel like I have access to so much more possibility. And personally, anytime I've hit an impasse of writer's block it's because I'm writing in a structure that's not well suited to the project. I can usually "un-stuck" myself by restructuring within a different template.