I'm writing my first screenplay and I've heard advice on outlining every detail out on paper before you start and then I've also heard advice on just writing out the skeleton of the story and then on re-writing you can move the scenes around to what make logical sense. Which do you do?
Do Outline or Just Go For It?
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Re: Do Outline or Just Go For It?
So many outlining threads...
Do what works best for you. If this is your first screenplay, I would suggest outline. You don't need to outline every detail, just the major points of the story.
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Re: Do Outline or Just Go For It?
i would encourage u to outline. u do not have to map out every last detail. i put major scenes on index cards and post them on my corkboard. i move 'em around as i see fit. this saves u so much time down the road. in some cases, years. a good backstory and well written character descriptions prevent future headaches, too. for me, writing a screenplay without an outline is like building a skyscraper roof first.
p.s. be careful of something that stung me -- improper grammar."I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
- Screenwriting Friend
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Re: Do Outline or Just Go For It?
Originally posted by gvntoflyI'm writing my first screenplay and I've heard advice on outlining every detail out on paper before you start and then I've also heard advice on just writing out the skeleton of the story and then on re-writing you can move the scenes around to what make logical sense. Which do you do?
Some writers do extensive outlines and it works well for them. It doesn't work for me. By the time I got to the point of writing the script, I'd lost much of my enthusiasm for the story. It was as if I had used up my creative energy writing the outline. Once I started writing the script and actually working with the characters, most of what I had written in the outline didn't fit who these people were. I ended up hating it and never finished it.
I know one guy who wrote every idea he could think up on note cards. He had a huge stack by the time he was done. He laid them out, rearranging them over and over again and didn't like how it was all fitting together so he shuffled them like a deck of cards and that became the order of his story. I know. Sounds insane, but the guy is an Emmy winning writer so who am I to quibble with his method.
I know a few writers who totally wing it. None are working on a first script though. They've been around a long time. The whole process has become so ingrained that they work it all out in their heads as they go along. I'm not that smart.
Before I start a script, I know my plot points, i.e. beginning, middle and end, and several scenes that go in between each...the beats of the story. I know who my principle characters are and what their goals are. I know my theme, what message I'm wanting to convey to the audience. My first draft is pretty sloppy and tends to be mostly dialog with notes on what details need to be filled out later, but I don't worry about it. By the end I know my characters well and I know what I now must do to make the script say what I want it to say. My second draft is probably on par with the first draft of those who outline extensively. (And we've probably put in about the same amount of time getting to that point.)
But like I said, you'll have to figure out what works best for you. Try different things - outline, cards, storyboard, spreadsheet, crayon in the margins of a cookbook. Whatever works for you is the best way to do it.It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney
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Re: Do Outline or Just Go For It?
i'd be lost as hell without outlining. i've done it both ways. when i outline i almost always catch plot/story structure problems early and can avoid them before i even start page 1 of the script. outline and save yourself some time - unless you got time to waste."Making movies is a collaborative process...bend over."
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Re: Do Outline or Just Go For It?
If you don't outline, you might end up with a script with some great scenes whereof only a few of them really fit the story. It's always hard to "kill your darlings", so be sure they'll fit your story before you create them!
/H'Media is the evil of all evils, they tell you only what
they want the story to be'¦'
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