#Tumblr screenwriters

[filmcourage]

Most Effective Way For A Writer To Find A Manager - Peter Katz

[deniselavestal]

''what if my writing isn't good eno--'' what if it's a reflection of your soul. what if it has a place in this world. what if you write it anyway

[sas-soulwriter]

How do we write characters authentically?

Hello, my dear writer! I assume we've all wondered at the beginning of our writing journey, "How do I find my own writing style? How do I stand out, and how do I make my characters sound authentic?" This post is dedicated precisely to the latter question. How do we write characters authentically?

Observe Different Personalities: Observe people of different age groups, from various cultural backgrounds, and with diverse life experiences. Pay attention to their language, gestures, and behaviors to develop a broad understanding of human diversity.

Take Time for Character Development: Invest time in developing your characters, including their background, motivations, goals, strengths, and weaknesses. The better you know your characters, the more authentically you can portray them.

Utilize Realistic Settings: Place your characters in realistic environments and situations that are recognizable to your readers. Describe the details of their surroundings, such as landscapes, buildings, clothing, and everyday items, to create a vibrant backdrop for your story.

Be Open to Change and Development: Allow your characters room for growth and change. People evolve over time based on their experiences and decisions. Permit your characters to learn from their mistakes, gain new insights, and undergo development.

Everyday SituationsAn additional tip is to place your character in various small situations, even if they are a fantasy figure. For instance, have your character order coffee. What happens if they encounter a ghost? What are their feelings about Christmas? Accompany them while shopping. How do they react when meeting their greatest hero? Describe everyday scenarios that aren't part of your official story but are meant for you to better understand your character.

[writingwithfolklore]

Making the Most out of your First Draft

As someone who used to write every first draft without planning and then use that to figure out characters and outlines, I have a lot of experience in first drafts that are incredibly helpful to forming an actual story, and drafts that don’t add much.

              So here’s how to make the most out of your first draft:

1. Write what doesn’t make sense

One of the most helpful first drafts I ever wrote abandoned plotlines and started new ones as though they had existed all along like several times. It was also the longest draft I had ever written because I had packed so many ideas into it. The reason why this is helpful is because you can test out what a plot point will look like in the middle or even end of your story without having to go back to the same beginning again and again.

It doesn’t need to make sense, just try things out. Disappear characters who don’t work, add a best friend near the end that acts like they’ve been there the entire time, whatever idea you’re interested in you can try out without worrying too much about what makes sense or what you’d need in place to set it up. It's like literally stream of consciousness writing, and you're going to learn so much more about your world, plot, and characters than trying to make it make sense.

2. Write poorly

I spent a lot of that first draft having characters monologue to themselves or each other about their interests and problems and lives which allowed me to explore their backstories and voice even if that’s not something I would do in a final draft. I had the wackiest plot points to see how my characters would react, what would happen to the plot, and if I didn’t like it I would keep going like nothing had happened, I did a lot of yadda-yaddaing over worldbuilding and setting the scenes and making up things on the spot to see if they’d stick, skipping sometimes to the interesting stuff, or adding in a random scene just for fun.

It doesn’t have to be good. Even a little bit. You’re learning about your world and your characters and the story you want to tell, but you aren’t writing it yet. Allow it to be the worst thing you’ve ever written.

3. Make notes on what you like

As you go through and throw spaghetti at the wall (figuratively speaking), make notes on the things that stick. If you write a line of dialogue you really like, or a piece of backstory or even a vibe, make sure to make a note of it somewhere. This will help you narrow down your ideas to what you want to keep when you start writing your story. And if you’re like me and you want to outline or plan your subsequent drafts, these notes will be invaluable to start forming your planning.

Anything else I missed?

[doraminatook]

I wrote a spec script for Good Omens.

This past week, I was out to coffee with a friend of mine and we got to talking about writing (as we often do). She has more of a television/movie background while I have more of a theatre background.

In the midst of our discussion, she brought something called a "spec script". When asked what exactly that was, she explained (at least in terms of television), it's an unprompted and uncommissioned script written for an already established show. The purpose is to help demonstrate a writer's ability to match the style, format, and voice of a show they didn't create.

Immediately, I said, "That just sounds like fanfiction!"

(Obviously, it's not, but I enjoyed the parallels nonetheless.)

So, of course, I had to write a spec script. (Season 3, episode 1 of Good Omens.)

Let it be known that I did not do this in the hopes of joining the writing team as I know Neil has that MORE than covered. I just did it for fun, but I'm really proud of it and I hope you head on over to AO3 and take a look at it.

Probably too many swear words. Probably too much AziraCrow too quickly. Probably too blasphemous. Definitely wonky formatting.

But I had fun! And that's what fanfic is all about.

[mellblogss]

I'll never be able to love someone like I loved you.

[frances-and-the-moon]

I hope there is another homoerotic antagonism show coming soon because The Worst Of Evil destroyed me, The Devil Judge broke me bc they parted ways, Beyond Evil made me sad bc they parted ways, The Merciless killed me, D.P. also made me sad, can I please for the love of God have a show where the two main characters stay together until the end or do I have to learn Korean move to South Korea and become a screenwriter myself

[ravenstarmedia]

Me learning the original concept for Wish had Star as a Peter Pan/Genie-esque shapeshifter, he would be Asha's love interest, the king and queen would be a villainous couple, and that sounds a hundred times more interesting than what we actually got:

*opens Final Draft*

[ronniaugust]

How to Write on Final Draft (without it feeling so daunting)

It's incredibly difficult to open up a Final Draft document without feeling like you're literally writing your final draft, so here's a few features you can use your advantage!

1. Turn on dark mode

Dark mode makes it look like less of a script and more of an outline. Edit and rewrite in light mode, you will feel the difference.

2. Use speed view

Speed view gets rid of pages and page numbers and therefore you are only looking at the words you type.

3. Use focus mode

Focus mode removes the scenes, page numbers, and outlines you have at the top on the program while writing. Another way to forget about focusing on progress.

4. Make a messy beat board

Throw all your ideas onto the beat board, it should help make the document feel a bit more lived-in and less pristine.

Bonus:

5. Set a template with your formatting and use that to start every script you write

While a script format is very ridged, there are things you can do to personalize it. When you find those things, make them in a Final Draft doc (without actual writing) and save as your own template so you don't have to change all the elements every time.

[thebadphilosopher]

I FINISHED MY FIRST DRAFT.

My brain has stopped forming words. Thank god it's done because editing is so much better than a blank page. The word count is not high but that's because it's not prose it's a script.

But let this be some motivation. I hope you all also finish whatever you're working on!

[filmcourage]

9 Common Screenwriting Mistakes Beginners Make - Cody Smart via FilmCourage.com.

[deniselavestal]

Your writing deserves love, kudos, recognition, and it is totally VALID to want those things, but a lack of it does not diminish nor determine your worth as a writer.

I know it's frustrating, but your stories are worth telling regardless. (+ sometimes a story pops off months after it was first published).

[curiositysavesthecat]

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[writingwithfolklore]

The Yadda-Yadda

              A lot of writing is developing your intuition. Luckily, you’re already working on this whenever you read or watch anything. However, one situation your intuition might be yelling that you aren’t hearing is the “yadda yadda”.

              This is when you kind of skip through action or dialogue to get to a different portion in the same scene. It looks like, “She exited the car, waved to Dave and walked inside. Then she found Stacey. “Hey, Stace.” "

              It can mean you’re getting impatient with your own scene and just want to get through it to another part, or you’re bored of writing it. This may mean that the scene is running too long, or is actually unnecessary altogether.

              It’s good practice to listen to what you feel when you’re writing—if you’re feeling impatient or bored of a scene, a reader may feel the same way. Try seeing if you can change something to make the scene more interesting, or ask yourself if it really serves a purpose. If you absolutely had to take it out, what would you do? Or do you need to do anything?

              That being said, don’t listen to the voice that tells you a scene you’re writing is horrible or that you’re a bad writer, that’s not your intuition talking, that’s just a mean voice. Learning intuition is as much about learning what to listen to as learning what not to listen to.

              Good luck!

[itsawritblr]

Because normal people enjoy what we create, but don't value us for creating.

[doraminatook]

Oops...I wrote Episode 2

Butter fingers! I slipped, landed on my keyboard, and accidentally wrote a second episode for my Good Omens spec script. (Mostly because it was more fun than actually doing all the things that need to get done in my real life.)

At this point, it's less of a spec script and more of just fan fiction, but I'm not sorry.