I have more ideas than I can handle and would really like to see your advice on the subject of controlling your creative process on the blog as well. I have taken some of your advice on making notes and planning out the script in as much detail as possible.
This is a great question because it’s something that will challenge you if/when you become a professional screenwriter. Unlike many other members of the filmmaking community, screenwriters can ‘stack’ projects – that is while you are writing another project, you can line up other future assignments. And if you become really successful, you can move into the role of producer as well. For example, here is the current list of projects with which screenwriter-producer Akiva Goldsman is attached to (from IMDBpro.com):
Fantastic Four – Producer, 2013, Treatment/outlinePrimeval – Producer, 2012, Optioned property
Robotech – Producer, 2012, Script
Sgt. Rock – Producer2012, Optioned property
The Lonely Dog – Producer, 2012, Optioned property
Heart Shaped Box – Producer, 2011, Unknown
Lobo – Producer, 2011, Script
Lone Survivor – Producer, 2011, Script
The Ha-Ha – Producer, Director, 2011, Unknown
The Incredible Mr. Limpet – Producer, 2011, Optioned property
Untitled I Am Legend Prequel – Producer, 2011, Unknown
Amulet – Producer, Writer (screenplay), 2010, Unknown
In the Small – Producer, 2010, Script
That’s 13 projects, mostly as producer. How about screenwriter-producer Ron Bass:
A Season in Central Park – Writer (writer), 2011, UnknownTeacher Man – Writer (screenplay), Producer, 2011, Script
True Believer – Writer (screenplay), 2011, Script
Boomsday – Writer (screenplay), 2010, Unknown
Player’s Rules – Writer (writer), 2010, Unknown
The Private Lives of Albert Einstein – Writer (screenplay), 2010, Scrip
What a Wonderful World – Writer (screenplay), Executive Producer, Producer, 2010, Unknown
That’s 7 projects, mostly as writer.
Even a pre-pro writer has to develop the use of the same mental ‘muscles’ that someone like Goldsman and Bass use because while writing a spec script, they typically have many other ideas they’re interested in writing – and then, of course, new ones pop up along the way.
So now, as a pre-pro, or later, as a pro, you need to learn how to manage your many story ideas while you maintain a clear focus on writing your current screenplay.
One aspect is simply managing your ideas and your writing — and this is where all my pontificating about writing being a two-fold process [prep-writing and page-writing] — can come in quite handy. The script you are currently writing is, obviously in the page-writing category. All your other ideas are in the prep-writing phase. That’s two different dynamics.
For the page-writing, you need to put ass on chair, close the door, turn off the phone, immerse yourself in your story world and characters and write. Whether it’s one page a day or 24 hour marathon writing sessions, it makes no difference to the basic requirement of disattaching yourself from this world and going into your story world.
For the prep-writing, it’s much looser dynamic. You have all these other story ideas. My guess is that you will naturally create a hierarchy of which one you want to do next, followed by another one you feel pretty good about, then a bunch of others sitting on a rather equivalent level of projects to develop for down the road.
One suggestion: Create a Word file for each project (or if you prefer, buy a spiral notebook for each project). Anytime a stray thought or possibility comes to mind for any of the projects, make sure you record that info in that story’s file. So part of this prep-writing dynamic is to be mindful of each of your story ideas, attuned to anything you experience in this life that may create an idea for any of your projects. You can do this anytime: In your car, at the grocery store, in the shower, on a run, sitting at your desk, in a coffee shop, in the library, and so on. It’s really about an awareness on your part that your creativity can ‘speak’ to you anytime and anywhere.
The bigger challenge is to focus on one or two and develop them so that once you finish the current script you’re writing, you’re ready to jump write into the page-writing phase for the next project. Suggestion: Pick one story that you feel has a strong story concept and about which you are passionate, and focus on developing that one. This requires a bit more structure than the generalized approach I described above. Here you will want to focus on these aspects of the story development process:
* Research
* Brainstorming plot points and possible plot elements
* Developing characters
* Structuring your plot
* Outline (if you’re into that approach to writing)
So you basically have three things going on in the course of your creative day:
* Page-writing: The time you seal yourself away to write the script you’re currently working on. You must consider this ‘sacred’ time – do not let anything get in the way of your commitment to finishing your current script.
* Prep-writing (general): Everything from generating story concepts to anytime you have any idea or thought about any of your various future projects – being attuned to whenever you creativity reacts to external stimuli of your day-to-day life and recording those ideas into a file for each of your stories.
* Prep-writing (specific): Cracking the next story you want to work on – research, brainstorming plot, character development, structuring plot, outline.
How to manage all that? How about this:
* Page-writing (current script): 2 hours before your day job.
* Prep-writing (general): Anytime during the day.
* Prep-writing (specific): 2 hours at night after your day job.
If you actually approach your time like this being conscious of what you’re doing, then you can manage to both write and prep your stories.
There’s one other dynamic: Managing your expectations. Since the page-writing process is a labor-intensive affair, one which challenges you throughout to find the resolve to keep pressing ahead, it’s quite typical for a writer to start to look at one of their future ideas and become enamored of it. Hey, maybe I should set aside the script I’m currently working on and write this other story – it seems better, more exciting, etc.
While your other story idea may end up being a better script, this is dangerous territory – because almost assuredly part of what’s going on here is the ‘grass is greener on the other side’ syndrome: The script you’re writing – the one you ‘know’ – is a slog; the script you hope to write – the one you don’t ‘know’ as intimately – appears to be easier / better to write. However if you set aside the script you’re writing and move onto the other project, here’s what will likely happen: A few months down the road, you’ll be writing this other story, and that process will be turning into a slog, then suddenly you look at some other of your story ideas, and you find yourself saying the exact same thing you did originally: Hey, maybe I should set aside the script I’m currently working on and write this other story – it seems better, more exciting, etc.
In other words, you end up with a stack of unfinished scripts.
My advice: Always finish the script you’re writing before moving into the page-writing phase of a future script. Do not use your interest in some other story as an excuse not to do the hard, necessary work you need to do to finish a screenplay.
How about you, GITS readers? How do you manage your ‘slate’ of story ideas? How do you balance your page-writing time and prep-writing time? And how do you manage your expectations about what you’re writing now and what you want to write next?
UPDATE: There are some superior ideas and approaches readers are posting in comments, so if you haven’t clicked through, I strongly encourage you to do so.
I try to come up with some kind of tentative title for each idea/concept. Then I start a file for that title on my computer. If I come up with any new thoughts on how to develop the script, it gets dumped in a document in that file before it gets forgotten.
I have pitched more than one of my concepts that is waiting. In that situation, the script has taken over the number one position to be finished. It's awfully tough to get back to the original script after a year has passed and two others were finished.
I have stopped writing pages (which is probably a mistake) after reading your approach to writing a script.
Instead I'm currently working on 3 outlines, with one more percolating.
I'm reaching the end of two of them, and starting to spend too much time fine tuning. I think this means it's time to start turning one into a script.
I keep a file with notes for potential upcoming projects. Sometimes I'll TRY to work on more than 1 at a time, but through the years I've found that 1 story win out, and that's the one I follow untill I've taken the idea and resulting story to the highest level I'm capable of.
Your suggestion of always writing is a great one, Scott; "write one script while devoloping your next." Ultimately, I think that a winning formula for pre-pro writers. It shows those trolling the spec. script waters you're cranking out scripts at a regular basis.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
I think this is great advice. It's kind of what I do, just more structured. I use word documents to organize my thoughts and create and outline. I have several outlines going at once. And I do a complete pass of pages or revisions on one script at a time. However, once I've done a round of revisions on one script, I may move over to another script and do a complete pass or revisions – depending on where it's at. This is all for my own projects. When it's work-for-hire, everything else gets put on the shelf and I focus on one story for the duration.
Oh, and don't forget to add Movie outline to your arsenal. I don't know how I lived without it for 5 scripts. It gives you an easily accessible place to record every section Scott mentioned.
I used to keep txt files, note cards but that got too hard to manage. Then ScriptPIMP (it's an acronym) mentioned it in an ad. I'm glad I did. Now Final Draft is just something I hope I got my money's worth for.
As a matter of fact this is very timely for me as I have too many movie ideas.
What I like to do is work on as many as possible based on how commercial it is and whether it was written for established actors. Those usually move to the head of the line.
But admittedly with my job in software (40 hour week is on the low side), my blogging\training, and a necessity for sleep I'm not writing as many pages as I'd like but I can't feel guilty about keeping the lights on.
A film maker is in pre-prod on one of my InkTip shorts and I got my first opportunity to do requested rewrites…I digress.
The best thing is let your heart decide which one to work and let your head do the work.
I try to devote an hour a day to page-writing. Sometimes it's one project. Usually, more than one. Right now, I'm working on four scripts. That probably sounds a little crazy…
Two are nearly done, so it's a lot of polishing dialogue, working on pacing, tightening descriptions, etc.
One is in decent shape, but is still too long. So I'm doing a lot of trimming & tightening & tweaking of the plot.
The fourth one is in the "muscle draft" stage. I'm just trying to plow ahead and get to the finish line. I know there will be a lot of crap in there, but that will help fertilize the next draft.
During lunch at my job, I try to take 15-20 minutes and do specific prep-writing. I send myself emails with potential dialogue on future projects. Sometimes I do some general prep-writing then as well… ideas, concepts, character names, lines, etc.
I like having a few projects going at the same time because if you get stuck or bored, then you can move on to something else.
I have a sort of template I am using for a standard one sheet.
On that sheet, I have room for a title, genre, logline, synopsis, and summary of about 300 words.
If I can't complete that sheet, then my writing partner and I are not ready to write it. It goes to the outline stage after I can fill out the one sheet… OK, sometimes when the one sheet is 75 percent filled out. But I am really trying to have the whole thing complete before we go to the outline stage.
I have a similar method that works for me:
I have a folder titled "Media Projects". In that folder is one "master" document of all the project ideas I have. Every time I have an idea for a new project I log it – along with any story details – in that master document.
I then create sub-folders within the main folder, one for each project I'm "developing". In each sub-folder is a main "story document", so whenever I come up with details/ideas for that particular story, I log them in that document (you'd be surprised how fast those docs grow!).
I give each project their own folder because I'll also be creating a "research" doc for any research the particular story requires, "marketing" docs for marketing ideas and selling tools particular to that project, a "prodco/contacts" list of producers, companies etc. that may be good targets once I'm ready, on & on.
So although I may have 30 some-odd projects I'm constantly developing, they're easy to keep track of because every time I have a thought/idea that pertains to a particular story, I simply go to my "Projects Folder", open that particular project document and write it down.
Now I'm free to forget about it and when I'm ready to return to that story/idea I now have a document that includes all kinds of little story & character details I might have otherwise forgotten, as well as a pretty detailed story/scene outline.
I also go over my entire projects document @ once a year and weed out those ideas that were for whatever reason dead-ends.
So I don't go off chasing stories without finishing others I've started, I've also created a folder which acts as my own "slate" a studio would have, ordering my writing projects by priority according to my career goals (ex: I'm shooting for big budget films right now, so my "indie" ideas are at the bottom of the slate).
This is a great way for me to keep organized and focused on the story at hand, instead of jumping from this story to that without finishing any of them (which was my major downfall until I came up with this system).
When I'm done writing my current project, I know what the next one will be, and the next, and the next (until I get a studio gig, that is), and the beauty is, I'm never starting from scratch.
Deep & sincere apologies for the long post, but hopefully it helps someone with the same problem I USED to have!
I use the same method as Mr Dangerous, but it's a digital file system in Google Pages, so that I can access it everywhere where internet and a laptop or my iPhone are present.
You can add an infinite amount of navigation blocks in the left column and give each one the name of a project (Standard placeholder name for me starts with "what if…..") This is acting like a folder in which one can add as many digital pages as one likes, all accessible in the menu column. You can also add images, make tables, add excel sheets and so on.
I often have ideas while watching TV, or in bed, so I just use my laptop (with wireless internet connection) an enter idea snippets into the digital files. Practical.