The Art of Screenwriting: All You Need is an Idea.

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Books, Christian Blogs, Christian Living, Christian Writing, Creative process, Creative Writing, diy, Film, How to write a screenplay, Ideas, novel writing, Screenplays, Screenwriting, Stories, Story telling, The Art of Writing, Writers Block, writing, writing tips

 Do you have a fantastic idea for a novel or screenplay but don’t know where to begin? Do you find yourself gazing deep into that evil white blank page for hours clueless and terrified?

First off, I don’t consider myself an expert writer by any stretch of the imagination but I do enjoy writing screenplays. The advice I’m going to give you is from my personal experience through continual trial and error.  Second, I want to write this article to encourage those who have an idea or a story they want to share but just don’t have the confidence. They believe the lie: “It’s stupid! Nobody will read it or like it.” I know from experience that confidence was something I lacked and still struggle with today. I wasn’t really good at grammar or spelling but I knew how to tell a good story. I was also afraid to show others my work out of fear of rejection. I’m sure many famous authors, screenwriters, painters, and inventors felt the same way at some point in their lives but they didn’t give up.

With that in mind, if you have a passion for writing, whether it is for a screenplay, book or blog I’m going to give you some tips to encourage you to attack that white blank page.

1. Research: Know Your Topic

This is probably the most important tip of all and in my opinion the most fun.  They always say, “Write what you know”. It’s true you should, but that shouldn’t stop you from constantly learning, growing and stepping out of your comfort zone. Do your research and do a lot of it. For example, if you’re writing a 1940’s detective film you need to read detective novels, watch detective movies and read biographies. Do research on the time period. What was going on in pop culture? Who was the president at the time? What music was popular at the time? How much did things cost? What were the top news stories? You get the point? You might not use all of that information but it will help you create believable characters, worlds and situations. I keep a Moleskine journal with me at all times and inside the journal I compile all the ideas I get from my research. Also in the pouch of the journal I will keep some index cards handy. On those index cards I will write out scenes or random thoughts, then post them on a giant corkboard and arrange them in order. Just remember, the more information you gather the better.

2. Journaling: Write Whatever Comes to Mind

In the last point I mentioned having a journal for your ideas, now I’m talking about journaling whatever comes to mind or events that happen in your daily life. Talk to people and get to know them. Get out of your comfort zone and live life. You will be amazed at how random events that seem boring to you now could end up making a great story or blog post one day. Who knows your grandpa might make a cool character.

3. Talk to Friends and Family: Get an Opinion

If you think you have a cool concept or idea run them by a family member, friend or anybody you trust. Tell them to give you some constructive feedback. I do this with several of my close friends and this works out fantastically. Sometimes I get so stuck and bogged down with a concept that I can’t think outside the box. My friend’s are able to look at it with fresh eyes and give me a fresh idea

4. Write an Outline: It’s Your Go To Map

Now that you have your idea and research, it’s time to write an outline. An outline is very important. Sure you could just write whatever comes to mind but eventually you will hit a roadblock. I don’t know of too many people who can just sit down and spit out a masterpiece without having some sort of outline. If you can, you truly have a God given gift. For everyone else…you need to map out your story. Every story is structured with a beginning, middle and end or an act one, act two and act three. If your story is random and not structured it will fall apart. Every good story has its “Protagonist” and “Antagonist”. An incident happens to that “Protagonist”. This incident (usually caused by the “Antagonist”) pulls the “Protagonist” out of his comfort zone. This “Protagonist” has to learn and grow in order to stop the “Antagonist”. I’ll go into more detail on story structure in a later post.

5. Distractions: They Diminish Creativity

Before you start writing you need to eliminate distractions because if you don’t they will stifle your creativity. For example: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Television, Phone.  Turn off all electronic devices…including the wifi on your laptop. Write in total silence and let your story speak without interruption.

WARNING: Another controversial way of eliminating distractions is to turn off the music. For me personally, when I write I don’t listen to music with lyrics. I find myself too distracted by listening to the lyrics.  I typically listen to classical music such as Beethoven and Bach or I will listen to soundtrack music. This helps me feel the mood of my story. If you find yourself still distracted while listening to classical music then just turn it off.

6. Stay Focused: Morning/Night

Find a time to write, preferably when you are the most focused. Are you more focused in the morning or night? Only you can be the judge of that. For me, writing at night is the best time to write. I’ve had the day to get things done and can now reflect on the day. I can gather my thoughts, drink tea and begin writing for the night. I understand for some a heavy work schedule could interfere and that is fine. You could always work around that. It’s just a matter of picking a time that works for you and sticking with it, which leads me to the next point.

7. Set Deadlines: Or It Will Never Get Done

Writing is an art, why should I set a deadline? You will never finish it, that’s why. It will be on a shelf collecting dust. Don’t let a great idea go to waste. Put that sucker on paper. Look at your schedule and work on a daily routine even if that means watching less television. Find something you’re wasting your time on and replace it with something productive such as telling the story you’ve always wanted to tell. Even if you only have time to write an hour a day, that’s fine. At least you are making steps towards that goal.

8. Get Up and Move: You Don’t Want Cabin Fever.

It’s important to take frequent breaks otherwise you will get burnt out and abandon a project. So get out of the house and go for a walk to clear your mind. Don’t over do the creative writing process. Take a break.

9. Get Rest: Your Creativity Needs It.

It’s extremely tempting to stay up till 5 am when your creativity is flowing but you have to stop at some point and get some rest. You can’t abandon your health. If you don’t rest your mind goes blank and when your mind goes blank you can’t write anything. Then you get depressed. If you’re on creative roll don’t write till you have nothing left to write about, then pick up on the next day with nothing. Get some rest; your body and mind need it. It will help you collect your thoughts so you are ready for the next day of writing.

Also keep a notepad by your bed. Sometimes you will wake up in the middle of the night with a fresh cool idea. Make sure you jot that down on paper before you forget it.

10. Write Crap: Edit Later

Lastly like the title above says, “Write Crap!” Don’t spend all your time making sure everything is perfect. You don’t want to spend forever on something that will be edited out later. Don’t aim for perfection and don’t be too hard on yourself. If you are it will be harder for you to produce that great story. So write crap and write a bunch of it. Don’t let all the rules stifle your creativity, just let it all flow from the heart. If you plow through and write crap you won’t find yourself looking at a blank page for an hour. I find when I do this some of the stuff I write is actually pretty good. Then I can go back later in the editing stage and take out the parts I don’t like.  In the words of Ernest Hemingway, ““The first draft of anything is ****(crap)”

In conclusion I hope the basic tips I have given you will encourage you and motivate you to write. I hope you push aside the negative thoughts in your head and pursue writing. That is if it’s something you have a passion for. It will be tough and your writing might not be great at first but you need to press on.  Heck, I’m still working on it and if you are a writer feel free to share with me your writing process. Also at the end of this blog post you will find some motivational quotes from some of the best writers, artists and creators in history.

P.S. Drink lots of Coffee and Tea.

– JL

Quotes:

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” – Albert Einstein

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.”– Ernest Hemingway

“Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer.” – Ray Bradbury

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” – Orson Scott Card

“If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.” – Edgar Rice Burroughs

“I steal from every movie ever made.”– Quentin Tarantino

“When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.” – George Orwell

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” – Ray Bradbury

“You fail only if you stop writing.” – Ray Bradbury

“When I was sixteen or seventeen, I wanted to be a writer…But everything I wrote, I thought was weak and I can remember falling asleep in tears because I had no talent the way I wanted to have.”– Francis Ford Coppola 

“Our doubts are traitors and makes us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” – Shakespeare

“No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth, without caring twopence how often it has been told before, you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” – C. S. Lewis

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it” – Michelangelo

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso