However, for writers not of that ilk, my point is you need to figure out the story somehow. Paul Schrader’s beat sheet for the movie “Raging Bull” If a full outline stifles your creativity, don’t do a full outline. And yes, we all want and need to leave room for the mysteries and surprises of stories to reveal themselves. So different strokes for different folks and all that. In fact, I think it’s safe to say a majority of time in the writers room is devoted to breaking stories (after shooting the shit and eating snacks, of course). For example in one-hour dramas with narrative arcs that extend over the course of one or more seasons, they break all or almost all of that out before divvying out scripts to individual writers. On a side note, if you have any interest in writing TV, whether you like prep-writing or not, you are simply going to have to embrace it. Having figured out whatever sort of approach to prep you use is a big plus in that regard rather than watching the ink dry on your contract, then going, “Uh, what do I do now?” You sign a contract on a writing assignment giving you ten weeks to deliver, you’d better be prepared to do precisely that. Third, if a writer wants to have a realistic chance at succeeding as a professional writer, they have to be able to turn around stories in an efficient manner. That is one of the big values of brainstorming and character development especially, giving yourself the freedom to explore and test out a wide variety of narrative options as opposed to narrowing the field of choices before surfacing other possibilities. Second, even if they do manage to get to FADE OUT - and acknowledging that a first draft is always going to be rough - unless they do 10–15 drafts, I doubt they will ever find the story they could have discovered if they had fully immersed themselves in it in prep. Another script on the Died On The Vine pile. At some point, frustration enters, then bitterness, then rejection. If they are not finding the story, their enthusiasm wanes.
Whatever approach you discover that works for you, even if it involves little or not prep work, good luck and go with God.įirst, in my experience a writer is much less likely to finish a script if they haven’t figured out at least the major plot points before they type FADE IN.
Repeat: You may be a writer who either cannot abide the process of prep-writing or find it actually inhibits your creativity. They simply have to type FADE IN (or if a novel, crack open that file) and have a go at it. Some writers absolutely loathe and can’t handle any sort of prep. Prep-writing is essential to the success of page-writing. However we have to balance that out with finding the story. I understand writers have an itch to get into the page-writing, which is great because that can help overcome the single greatest challenge of writing: depositing one’s ass onto one’s chair to actually write. As far as I can tell, this is the origin for the idea of “breaking” a story, as in breaking a wild horse. In other words, break your story in prep.
However you do whatever you do leading up to FADE IN, do it and do it an immersive, thoughtful way. However in my view, it is impossible to overstate the importance of prep-writing. There is no single universal approach that works for everyone. My last Prep: From Concept to Outline workshop of 2020 begins August 10.Īs I say: There is no right way to write. Good Day Persons of Letters, this may be good. Writers! Thought that this just may warrant a peek.
0 kommentar(er)
