John August

Writing Process

Writing is hard

Psych 101, QandA, Writing Process

questionmarkI’ve been busy
writing a script, and I have the whole idea mapped out in my head. But for
some reason, my writing doesn’t seem to flow. I struggle to get from one point
to the next. Is this normal? If I go back through the script
again after I’ve jotted down my rough dialogue, will it flow then? Do you do
a quick rough draft before you get into the real writing?

–Bob

answer iconWell, are you a good writer? I ask because it sounds like this is your first
screenplay, and there’s every chance you’re a terrible writer. It’s my experience
that most people in Los Angeles feel like they could write a good movie. The
reason why most of them aren’t successful screenwriters is that they’re really
aren’t good writers.

It’s easy to see how they get mislead: If you read a script, you’d think any
monkey could do it. Most monkeys can’t.

I’m not picking on you, honestly. I hope you’re a terrific writer who’s just
realizing how incredibly difficult screenwriting can be. It’s great when the
writing flows, but most of the time, it doesn’t. You work your ass off to get
to the end of a sentence, then start another. You end up deleting scenes that
took you four hours to write, then rewriting entire scripts based on problems
you should have spotted before you even started writing.

It’s not grueling, back-breaking labor like building a road, but it is labor.
It’s exhausting. And while Final Draft might make formatting your script easier,
it’s still just as hard to write.

Often, when I approach a scene, I will do a quick rough draft, by which I
mean all of a scene’s crucial dialogue lines scribbled on the back of an envelope.
It’s mostly just to get the shape of the scene, but it is "real" writing
just as much as the endless tweaking that will inevitably be entailed.

Above all this, I would stress: Don’t wait for flow. It might come; it might
not. But it’s your job to keep writing anyway.

Generating ideas

QandA, Writing Process

Do you have a method to generate your ideas?

–Dean

Not really. I’ve never found it particularly hard to generate ideas. Most
of the time, I have far too many different things I want to write, and
the challenge is deciding which ones are actually worth the investment
of time and thought. So I don’t really have any methods for generating
ideas. I don’t brainstorm. I don’t draw mind-maps. I only outline if
I’m concerned about fitting the pieces together.
In fact, 90% of the time, I’m trying to find methods for shutting competing
ideas out, so that I’ll actually get my work finished. Or get to sleep.
I’m drawing a distinction here between coming up with new ideas (“a biker movie in space”) and figuring out how to solve specific problems with a story or scene (“how should the villain capture the Millenium Harley?”).
Obviously, every writer is going to have to find ways to get over these hurdles
when they come up. A few techniques that often help include:

  • figuring out what the outcome needs to be, then working backwards;
  • deciding what caused the problem in the first place, and whether it can be changed or cut;
  • looking at the moment from another character’s perspective;
  • quickly writing several different solutions, then judging whether one or a combination of several best address the problem.

For all the talk of high-concept comedies or big-idea action tentpole movies, a screenwriter’s daily life is almost entirely about coming up with the “little” ideas that help get the story told.

Process of writing

QandA, Writing Process

Briefly, could you explain to me your process of writing?
How long does it take you to write a full screenplay?
Do you listen to any music when you write?

–Justin Benton

Not only does every writer have a different process for getting words on the
page, but the process often varies from project to project. Generally, most
of the scripts I write have a long gestation period before a single scene is
written. Since a lot of the movies I work on are studio assignments, there
are inevitably a half-dozen meetings with producers, directors and studio executives
before we "commit" on exactly what I’ll be writing.

I’ve written first drafts of screenplays in as little as three weeks, and
as long as six months. As I’ve gotten more experience as a screenwriter, I’ve
become much better at estimating how long it will take me to write a script,
much like an experienced contractor will have a better idea how long it takes
to build a house. In general, most studio contracts will list 12 weeks for
a first draft, so I’d have to guess most writers could hand in a draft that
fast.

Being easily distracted, I never listen to music as I’m writing, though I’ll
often have music I use to get in the mood for a particular scene or sequence.

Finding time to write

QandA, Writing Process

I enjoy writing just as much as another person, but my time
is limited. I work 9-5 everyday and when I get home I am dead tired. I have
some good ideas for
a story/screenplay but have trouble finding the time. Do you have any advice
on how I can stretch my time out in order to start writing again?

–Kevin B Smith

Writing is now my full-time job, but I wrote my first few scripts while working
full-time. Outside of some wacky high-concept family movie (likely starring
either Eddie Murphy or Tim Allen), there’s simply no way to squeeze more time
into the day. So something has to give.

Some how-to-be-a-writer books will recommend you get up an hour earlier, or
stay up an hour later in order to write. If that works for you, God bless,
because I need every bit of sleep I can get.

You might be able to give up weekends. I ended up staying in a lot of Friday
and Saturday nights in order to write, which was a little pathetic and lonely
at the time, but hey. It worked.

One relatively safe bet is to give up television. It’s a giant time-suck,
and now that it’s summer, who needs it anyway? I’ve been known to make a sign
that says "NO," which I tape directly onto the TV screen. Other times,
I’ve rationed my TV viewing: one hour for every four pages written, or somesuch.

Delete all the games on your computer. That’s a no-brainer. And unplug your
internet connection.

When I was writing my first script, I was fortunate to be working a completely
brainless summer job at Universal, answering phones and making copies. I ended
up getting a lot of writing done. After work, I’d come home, eat some spaghetti
and start writing longhand, siting on the floor of my apartment. (Note: I had
almost no furniture, thus the floor.) I would take my PowerBook 180 into work,
then type up those pages on my lunch break. Repeat this process for four weeks,
and I’d written a script. As a bonus, I’d avoided banal office lunch conversation.

Everyone’s situation is different, so what worked for me may not work for
you, but my general point is that you need to actively clear time in your day
to write, which means giving up something.