How important is writing to screenwriting?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • How important is writing to screenwriting?

    Given the recent spate of "How important is...- thread titles, this seemed like the logical, humorous, next-step thread title.

    Coming soon: The all-emoji screenplay! Soon to be playing on a tiny screen in your hand!
    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

  • #2
    Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

    I say just skip the writing part. Go straight to screen.
    You know Jill you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was, for an hour or for a month, he must have been a happy man.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

      Is that a Max Landis question???

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

        Originally posted by UneducatedFan View Post
        I say just skip the writing part. Go straight to screen.

        Yes, how important is writing to moviemaking?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

          Properly formatted chicken scratches are preferable to improperly formatted words, especially if they follow all the Rules (MAY THEY NEVER DIE!)

          Percentage-wise, I'm going with:
          Rules following 63%
          Properly formatted 35.5%
          Writing 1%
          Chicken scratches .5%

          Of course -- these percentages aren't set in stone. Under some circumstances I could see myself increasing the "Rules following" percentage up a full .05%. And in many modern screenplays, "Chicken scratches" would probably overtake "Writing" percentage-wise.
          "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

            How important is writing to screenwriting?
            Subtract writing from screenwriting and it's just a screen. But maybe I'm taking this too literally.
            Last edited by Crayon; 06-12-2018, 12:12 PM. Reason: vB code for strikeout not supported
            Know this: I'm a lazy amateur, so trust not a word what I write.
            "The ugly can be beautiful. The pretty, never." ~ Oscar Wilde

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

              Originally posted by jonpiper View Post
              Yes, how important is writing to moviemaking?
              Writing is important to moviemaking as the acorn is important to the oak tree.

              Writing is important to moviemaking as krill is important to the North Pacific right whale.

              Writing is important to moviemaking as clean water is important to all the fishes of the seas.


              Writing is important to moviemaking as popcorn is important to the moviegoer.
              Last edited by Clint Hill; 06-13-2018, 10:16 AM.
              “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                Originally posted by jonpiper View Post
                Yes, how important is writing to moviemaking?
                Screenwriting is to movie making as genesis was to the void.

                And screenwriters are to movie making as the gods are to the dark deep waters -- we are the atomic music to the cosmic dance -- we are the puppet masters to the mindless marionettes. We are the alpha.

                Well, not I, obviously, but an indomitable and fortunate few are.
                Know this: I'm a lazy amateur, so trust not a word what I write.
                "The ugly can be beautiful. The pretty, never." ~ Oscar Wilde

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                  Originally posted by TigerFang View Post
                  Writing is important to moviemaking as popcorn is important to the moviegoer.

                  Methinks you are overrating the importance of writing to moviemaking.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                    Originally posted by Crayon View Post
                    And screenwriters are to movie making as the gods are to the dark deep waters -- we are the atomic music to the cosmic dance -- we are the puppet masters to the mindless marionettes. We are the alpha.

                    True, or wishful thinking?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                      Originally posted by Crayon View Post
                      And screenwriters are to movie making as the gods are to the dark deep waters -- we are the atomic music to the cosmic dance -- we are the puppet masters to the mindless marionettes. We are the alpha.
                      Originally posted by jonpiper View Post
                      True, or wishful thinking?
                      Well, neither - more figurative. But not exactly untrue, either. (So there'd be no point in pointless wishful thinking.) Are screenwriters not the 'progenitors' of movies, and any subsequent parties involved merely 'executives'?
                      Know this: I'm a lazy amateur, so trust not a word what I write.
                      "The ugly can be beautiful. The pretty, never." ~ Oscar Wilde

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                        How important is the screen to screenwriting?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                          Originally posted by Joaneasley View Post
                          How important is the screen to screenwriting?
                          Perfect question.

                          The boundaries of the screen, visual and aural, absolutely define writing for it.
                          Last edited by Clint Hill; 06-16-2018, 03:51 AM.
                          “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                            Originally posted by Crayon View Post
                            Are screenwriters not the 'progenitors' of movies, and any subsequent parties involved merely 'executives'?

                            Subsequent parties, like directors, actors, set designers, etc. are not merely executives; they are givers of life.

                            Without them even the best screemplays would be nothing more than a barely read text consigned to the very same place where rejected scripts are buried.

                            Quote:
                            Originally Posted by Joaneasley
                            How important is the screen to screenwriting?


                            Without the screen or some other way to realize a screenplay, screenwriting would be nothing more than a lonely artistic pursuit.
                            Last edited by jonpiper; 06-14-2018, 07:11 PM.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: How important is writing to screenwriting?

                              Originally posted by jonpiper View Post
                              Subsequent parties, like directors, actors, set designers, etc. are not merely executives; they are givers of life.
                              Time for me to jump in. Of course, the opposite is true, as well. Without our IP, there are no movies except those weird little art films that started and finished without anything on paper.

                              Writers will never be as powerful as they should be until they start to make (ie. produce) their own movies. Yes, there'll still be vain actors and directors to deal with during the process, and distributors etc. at the last end of the process, but until "Writer-Producers" become the norm this will continue to be a pleading game for most writers.

                              In the meantime, our spec screenplays are far closer to "novels" than we think they are. It's just time to stop waiting for everybody else to do their thing (and, increasingly, make us pay them up-front to do it), and take charge of things ourselves.

                              Jump into the driving (marketing and self-promotion) seat and just do it.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X