7 Stages of a Screenwriter: From Stars to Seashells
(or how I write, learn, and write again)
Writing screenplays? Smile.
What do you think about these stages? Add your own :)
1. The Stage of Grand Cosmic Fantasy
“My first script is a dystopia where an AI‑mermaid saves humanity through shared hallucinations. But it was the dog’s dream.”
— I’m a genius! Cinema will thank me.
— A trilogy? Absolutely.
— Structure? I have feelings.
2. The Structural Panic Stage
“Why do I have 80 pages and all my characters still just drink coffee?”
— Who even is this ‘Midpoint’?
— What do you mean, ‘the hero has to want something’?
— Can I just… not think about logic?
3. The Theory‑and‑Notebooks Stage
“I read 12 craft books. I bought index cards. I color‑coded emotional arcs.”
— Finally! Now I know exactly how not to write.
— Living inside Save The Cat.
— My dialogue got worse. How?
4. The Quiet Despair Stage
“Maybe I shouldn’t have started at all.”
— Why write if Nolan already exists?
— Voice? What voice?
— I’ll delete everything. Or not. Or yes.
5. The Small Honesty Stage
“Let the scene be tiny — but let it be true.”
— Less fireworks. More breathing.
— My character is silent. So I listen.
— Cutting hurts… but it’s right.
6. The Playing‑With‑Fire Stage
“What if she disappears in the middle of the film?”
— I know the rules. Now I can break them.
— I’m not copying anymore — I’m exploring.
— Strange scene… but it works.
7. The Home Stage
“I’m not proving anything. I’m simply writing.”
— Not as scary now.
— Sometimes easy.
— Sometimes painful.
— Always alive.
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Same here — it’s a duplicate of what I feel in my own worlds.
Sometimes I think, “Oh my God, this is genius,” and then suddenly it feels completely nonsensical.
Actually, I’ve run into a new problem. Even though I’ve written my first schema, I still feel that something is missing — something beyond the events or structure.
I’m trying to make it puzzle-like, where the audience never understands the full story until the very end.
The stakes keep rising, and I honestly can’t seem to organize all this chaos.
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Hi, Meriem Bouziani. Absolutely feel the same. Reading other scripts really helped me — The Fifth Element and Inception especially.
And on StoryPeer, I once read a script anonymously — and it gave my project a huge push forward.
That spark changed everything.
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Yeah, that’s a good point — working with a co-author can really help and bring fresh inspiration.
Nataly Kiut
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That's basically how it is for me, Nataly Kiut. And add "The Stage of Grand Cosmic Fantasy" again for Stage 8.
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This hasn't been my experience as a new screenwriter but I also didn't begin writing as a screenwriter. My first five stages are something like "I dunno why I thought I could do this. Eff it, I'm going back to prose." Stage 6 is no, eff that. I'm going back to poetry. Stage 7 - "oh okay. I'm on the last scene. I guess it's fine then." Stage 8 - "well, now what?"
I'm always stuck at stage 8. Even if I get coverage. Even if I workshop it. Stage 8 is my home. We like it here. Not really, but that's where we are at with four teleplays and one feature script
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There’s another stage for me — the jumping stage.
It goes like this: “Okay, I’ll work on The Silent PFC War… no, wait, there’s a new twist for The De-Evolution Game… but how do I solve The Oceanic War?”
And suddenly, a whole new story appears out of nowhere.
It’s so hard to focus on just one story.
Even when I try, my mind keeps thinking about the others unconsciously.
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@Meriem - I do this too. I can't just write one project at a time. I'm always writing at least two scripts and one prose effort.
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Excellent. I hope you finish them all. Elle Bolan
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Thanks, @Meriem. I hope you do too!
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This is a brilliant thread, I love the idea of stages. This is how it usually goes for me.
1. I'm Driving Stage
- A few stories play through my mind.
- Hey Siri, take notes.
- Return focus on the driving.
- Repeat.
2. A Week Later Stage
- Find these notes.
- Copy paste to files.
- Meditate or watch news.
3. Wife Stage
- Morning coffee.
- Reinventing stories on the fly.
- Eye rolling from wife.
- Continue talking about stories after she's left.
- Take out trash.
4. Write It Stage
- Bring snacks to studio.
- Write several stories out.
- Meditate. Write. Repeat.
5. Find The Bodies Stage
- Determine what medium is best.
- Move story files accordingly.
- Rewrite in formats.
6. Wife Stage Number Two.
- She edits grammar and spelling.
- I listen.
- I roll my eyes.
- She's a pro.
7. A Child Is Born Stage
- I have others give notes.
- I forgive them and fix accordingly
- I have snacks. Happy.
- I drive.
I do have some doubts here and there about the quality of the stories. But I have always seen this as transcribing. I think of stories as self made things, even if I do some research and edit some of the dialogue the characters have given. Even if I take some notes or bend to some structure. I know very little about the stories anyway. Until they are done. Then I find out what I meant. I drive a lot too.
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Maurice Vaughan. Haha, fingers crossed — by Stage 28, it’ll be our very own Star Wars.
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Elle Bolan, your stages are beautiful — prose and poetry…
It made me think:
autumn is perfect for writing poems beneath falling leaves,
summer — for fast-paced screenplays on the move,
and winter — for long, quiet nature descriptions by candlelight.
That’s a kind of structure too.
I hope you and your Stage 8 make peace someday.
I’ve recently found myself truly enjoying the act of writing scenes:
listening to the wind inside a scene,
watching how the light falls,
noticing what sticks to a character’s shoe.
Maybe Stage 8 isn’t purgatory at all —
maybe it’s a porch.
A quiet “in‑between,” right before the leap.
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David Austin Veal. Your stages are such a delight. Snacks, meditation, morning coffee, and driving — wonderful creative hacks. And the way you describe your writing process feels like music: rhythm, family, stories that shape themselves. Truly inspiring!
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Stay alive in writing with these hints and elevate your writing!!
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Thanks Ron Reid — I’m not giving up (just) yet!