One habit all pro screenwriters share…
…They do a lot of prep-writing. Brainstorm. Research. Character development. Plotting. Outline. In the trade, it’s known as breaking your story, as in breaking a wild horse, taming that beast so you can ride it from FADE IN to FADE OUT.
Consider these comments from interviews I conducted with professional screenwriters:
Julia Hart: “I tried to write something without an outline and my husband just laughed at me. I find that outlining is just so incredibly important.”
Eric Heisserer: “I outline with note cards. I have a cork wall that I use and abuse regularly. I tend to split it into two groups, sometimes three. One will start the spine of the story and will map out the main narrative engine. The other part will be the flotsam and jetsam I feel are germane to the story.”
Justin Marks: “I’m a huge proponent of outlining and note cards. I use Scrivener to pull together story structure, and annotate it, if there’s research. Eventually, I’ll resort to hard note cards that I can post on a bulletin board. I also use a Dry Erase board to gather thoughts.”
Chris McCoy: “What I typically do is have an outline with the big plot points — the inciting event, where we’ll be at the end of the first act, some of the second act rising action beats, the impossible situation at the end of the second act and what the climax will look like.”
Justin Rhodes: “I spend a ton of time in prep-writing, but that’s mostly because that’s just the way things work these days. If you’re pretty much anything but an A-list writer (and sometimes even then), you’ll end up having to generate a detailed treatment explaining every aspect of what you’re going to do between pretty much every step of the process. You’re rarely allowed to commence anything without a detailed plan that outlines what the draft is going to look like in excruciating detail.”
There is no set approach to prep-writing, no right or wrong. The important thing is that you do it.
If you struggle with this part of the writing process…
If you’ve never tried to outline a story before typing FADE IN…
If you want to find a proven, professional approach that works…
Consider the upcoming session of Prep: From Concept to Outline, my 6-week screenwriting workshop that begins Monday, June 17.
You start with a Protagonist Character Treatment, then spend an entire week brainstorming guided by a series of prompts and writing exercises I provide for you. This part of the process is about exploring the story, getting in touch with your right-brain, rolling around in the creative dirt, and surfacing gold nuggets.
The next two weeks are devoted to wrangling the story, first the Four Primary Plotline Points, then tracing the arc of your Protagonist’s transformation.
The last two weeks are all about nailing down the story structure and eventually an outline.
One great thing about this approach is it’s not only about the events that transpire in the External World, it also pays equal attention to what’s going on in the Internal World, the psychological and emotional journeys of key characters.
Plus there’s this: A weekly set of due dates to motivate you to get the work done. Sometimes there’s nothing better than a structured environment to make some serious writing progress.
I limit enrollment to make sure I have sufficient time to provide extensive feedback for each writer, so if you’re interested, I advise you to act now rather than later.
To find out more about Prep: From Concept to Outline, go here.
You want to be a professional screenwriter. Prep-writing is one habit you need to develop to get you there.
As always I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!
Comment Archive