Before You Begin Scriptwriting

Gather your notes and ideas before jumping in

© Dave Brandl

Nov 15, 2006
By the time you're ready to begin writing the first draft, you have thought of many ideas, bits, character traits, settings, snippets of dialogue, and plot lines.

What can be most helpful at this point is ensuring that these things are not only documented (beyond your own mind), but that they are also organized. Accomplishing this can help you immensely toward the actual scriptwriting.

In my notebook of play ideas, I continually add information as it comes to me. Then, when I begin my next script, I have all these notes, etc., ready to work with.

I have frequently stated that writer's block is not really an affliction as much as it is a condition of not being properly prepared to write.

The romantic image of the scriptwriter sitting at a typewriter with a blank piece of paper and typing "Act I, Scene 1" while waiting for the Muse to inspire is not reality. Rather, scriptwriting, as with all writing, is best served by good, old-fashioned planning and information gathering.

A simile I like to use in describing this planning and organizing is a jigsaw puzzle.

Many people start working a jigsaw puzzle by finding all the edge pieces and building the border, thus setting the overall dimensions and orientation. This I liken to creating the script's outline and determining its dimensions (e.g., genre, length, and number of scenes and characters).

Next, people may put together small combinations of pieces, such as faces or significant objects, and then place those combinations in approximate positions relative to the border. In my notes, I may have dozens of such combinations, which may be character descriptions, snippets of dialogue, storylines, scenic information, comedic bits, and emotional targets.

Thus, by organizing all this data, a more comprehensive picture of my script emerges. Sometimes it's just enough to get me started writing the script with enthusiasm and drive.

Other times, after looking at this picture, I may realize that there are huge holes or big problems with the script. And recognizing these negative attributes early makes them much easier to fix or rework than if I didn't address them until after a draft or two had been completed.


The copyright of the article Before You Begin Scriptwriting in Writing for Stage/Screen is owned by Dave Brandl. Permission to republish Before You Begin Scriptwriting in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.




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Comments
Jan 3, 2007 12:34 PM
Brian Tubbs :
I think you're right about writer's block. I'm trying my hand now at writing a YA fantasy novel and two scripts (one a historical film and the other a light fantasy drama).

I realize I have a better chance of winning the lottery than selling either script to Hollywood, but screenwriting is something I've dreamed about and thought about for a long time. I want to FINISH at least one of them this year - and enter it in a contest. That will be an accomplishment, even if I don't win anything.

Right now, I'm trying to work on character building and plotting/outlining. I'm inexperienced in this, so it's been frustrating. I want to dive right in, but I can't. Lots of writer's block. I'm finding, however, that the more prepared I am to write a scene -- the better it comes.

Glad I stumbled onto your site.
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