There is no right way to approach scriptwriting – and there is no wrong way.
Approach the process as an exciting exploration of what best brings out your creativity. Sitting with a computer, listening to music, going to the attic and plopping down with a pad and pencil, taking file cards and making notes on the beach… whatever method helps you download ideas from your subconscious is the right way. Here are some tips for finding your own process in scriptwriting:
- Ideas are rarely formed logically. They usually result from a brainstorm and are not fully developed when first formed. Don’t reject them. Don’t think that you can follow steps or check off a list of tasks to get your initial idea turned into a screenplay because that isn’t how it works. As you collect ideas, intuitions, and notes, they may naturally form together like a snowball rolling down a hill, or they may take some time for you to sort through them, allocating them to the different possibilities they suggest for character, story, structure and events.
- Some writers start in the middle, at the plot climax, or even at the end of a story and work their way back to figure out the rest. You can let the jumping off point choose you. I’ve written scripts because I found my ending first, and then discovered the rest of it. I’ve discovered scripts because I had an opening. Don’t assume that you have to start at the beginning and write until the end. Scriptwriting is almost never that simple. While it is possible you may be able to start and the beginning and work to the end, sometimes it can be like working up a portrait from pencil sketches to the finished oils, adding ideas layer by later, rubbing out, adding new ideas as you see the results. It is a journey of discovery and you should not criticize yourself for not writing in a straight line. This process is almost like imagining up the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and then toying with them until you find the ways that satisfy you, that make them fit together. You will be surprised at how helpful and how easily the pieces will fit together.
- Your idea is like your child. I’ve always said ‘ideas are like small children – if you shout at them they go away’. Don’t be critical or difficult while your child is learning to walk. Encourage and nurture it as it learns and grows.
- I break down the story creation process into three, simple elements, my all important parts of scriptwriting: My word for the overview is “The Thesis”, or the moral direction finder for the story, and what it intends to teach. A very simple, human concept becomes your key, like ‘being rich does not make you good’, ‘a timid man can become a hero’, ‘a child can have more wisdom than his/her parents’. That emotional goal is carried in the character (or characters) you focus on. They manifest the plot’s emotional purpose through a defining life experience that they have to overcome and leave behind which I call “The Nugget”. For instance, ‘the rich man’s father beat into him that all people were really only after his money’ and the protagonist must learn to trust and love other people before they will trust and love him. These Nuggets are simple, painful human issues that the key characters must struggle with and overcome. What I call “The External Story” are the events that wrap around the character’s journey. The External Story serves to illustrate and bring out the character change. Example: While the wealthy man may be learning to trust, as a basic human issue, The External Story is the time and place that this is set in and can be a comedy/science fiction plot/a thriller – any approach that appeals to your creative sensibilities. But bear in mind the audiences will always feel and emote with the characters’ Nugget as the main way that they learn about human nature from your creativity.
- The act of writing is always fraught with uncertainty. We question whether we are capable or will get to the end of our script and frequently we see others succeed and wonder if we should not copy their style and approach as that might seem “commercial” or “successful”. But I am firmly convinced that it is not writing from your natural voice and it is less likely to feel vibrant, original and exciting to the people who can get your script made because it feels like an imitation rather than an original. And an imitation written without genuine heart and passion will more often than not be unlikely to sell.
My rule is to ignore everything I say that works against your nature, but I believe these tips – if they make sense to you – can be effective guides to helping your scriptwriting process.
About the Author:
Pen Densham is an Oscar nominated Hollywood filmmaker and the author of “Riding the Alligator”, a book about screenwriting techniques, structuring stories and creating compelling characters that stars will want to play. If you found this article helpful you might like to visit http://www.RidingtheAlligator.com where you’ll find more great information about scriptwriting and how to sell a screenplay.
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