The Process of Writing a Screenplay
The Process of Writing a Screenplay
Writing a feature length screenplay isn't a sprint, it's a fuckin' marathon... with you cast as a sweat-drenched suburban runner, gasping for air as fresh diarrhea streams freely down your legs.
Once you get past the early fun/cool/awesome scenes you've had swirling around your head forever, there's a long, long stretch of straight-up WRITING still to be done. Tough, thankless, challenging grunt work that doesn't exactly start most writers jumping for joy.
If you're lucky, along the way you'll discover a mess of scenes that become a blast to write. That's the good news. Bad news is that the plain majority of your beats will seem to turn on you like drug-addled ex-wives; digging in and requiring back-breaking labor to finally finish them off and drive a stake through their hearts (Marriage issues? Me? Ya think?).
Take scenes such as two characters sitting at a table across from each other. William Goldman has long claimed these are the hardest scenes of all to write. Dr. Goldman, I concur completely. On the surface, they seem as simple and straight forward as can be, only to metastasize into a wordless desert without landmarks the moment you put them under the lamp.
This is but one of the many land mines populating a writer's day. Minute to minute, slug line to slug line, there are an infinite number of story choices to be made, plot threads to explore -- each backed by the treacherous possibility of self-immolation should you select unwisely.
When it comes to process, every writer is different, and all I can address here is what I've found works for me. Make use of as much or as little as you want from what follows. Mix and match, experiment, keep the good fits, discard those that don't.
Henry Miller on Writing --
Henry Miller wrote an essential book on writing called (wait for it) Henry Miller on Writing. A Kindle edition has finally made its way into the eBook universe and yes, purchase a copy right away (http://www.amazon.com/Henry-Miller-Writing-Directions-Paperbook-ebook/dp/B00LHHFG9A)
Included in Miller's massive treasure trove of invaluable advice are his "Eleven Commandments" for writing. Cooked up while working on the über classic Tropic of Cancer, Miller devised this game plan to help keep his writing moving forward with maximum focus and efficiency.
Henry Miller's Eleven Commandments
1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.
2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.
3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
5. When you can’t create you can work.
6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
8. Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
9. Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.
What's simply amazing is that Miller's rules still work like a charm over eighty-plus years later. More proof that technology comes and goes, but the core work of writing remains the same.
At first glance, many of these commandments may seem somewhat self-evident -- but when you attempt to put them into practice, day after day, project after project, year after year, that's when you'll begin understanding the brilliant depth of Miller's advice.
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