Thread: so many ideas...

hello, my name is Amy

i have wanted to write screenplays and make movies for the past 3 or so years. the only thing that is bothering me is that i am, for lack of a better term, skatterbrained. i can get the idea and write down what it's about with little bits of details here and there. i actually am better when i have a person to work with who i can bounce ideas off and get feedback. my sister is a very good writer but doesn't want to do anything like what i'm doing.

i guess what i'm saying is i wish i had someone who would be willing to work with me. can anyone help me think of a way i can go about getting one of these said people?? lol


i'd be willing to share some, they won't get stolen right?

A lot of new writers worry about their work getting stolen. Not to be rude, but most new writer's work isn't that good, so it shouldn't be so huge a worry.

I think to help yourself (and not forever be dependent on 'people to work with') is to write all these ideas down as they come. Good, bad. anything. Write them all down. Then comes the rough draft with or without maintenance along the way.

In the end, you're the one who needs to write your plays, so you need to get all these details out of your system as they come (I have the problem of ideas popping into my head even as I'm writing something completely different so I always have a notepad at my side) and then start committing more to your work.

There isn't always going to be someone to be there to bounce ideas off and work with. A lot of it is sitting your butt down in that chair and doing some actual writing.

Better to get into the habit now rather than later.

i think that all these ideas you talk about can all be related in some way because they all come from you. So put down all the ideas, and then try to incorporate and link them into the story without detracting from the plot. This way, it will make a more 3D piece of writing, and you dont need a crutch.

i'll be glad to give you feedback and help in any way i can... that's what i do for aspiring writers of all kinds, all over the world... email me for details, if you want...

love and hugs, maia
maia3maia@hotmail.com

well, ideas can't be copyrighted and unless you're a well-known pro, it's only the finished product that can be sold, so there's no sense worrying about an idea... besides, often more than one writer will come up with the same idea for a movie at the same time... it's just a matter of who can write it best and get it to someone who'll buy it... there are even many cases of near identical movies being made and released in the same year...

Guitar_chick133, What you need to do is write an outline of the play you want to write.

I don't recommend that to everyone, many do best to just write, but if organization is a problem for you, an outline can help you create and follow a plan.

Make it your own personal style of outline, something you can follow and flesh out. For instance, say you wanted to write a play about Cinderella (just to use a familiar story) it might be something like this:

I. Scene 1
__A. Cinderella sleeping in front of fireplace
____1. Back to the audience so we can't tell it is a person
____2. Step Mother calls wakes her
__B. Step sisters enter
____1. Rude comments like a tennis match Cind. in the middle.
____2. poking her, grabbing hair, etc.
__C. Step Mother enters
____1. Tells sisters to stop touching her.
____2. Says they will get their hands dirty.

And so on.

Even just a very rough outline like this:

I. Scene#1

__A. Cinderella sleeping near fire,
__B. Stepmother and Stepsisters torment her.

II. Scene #2

__A. Cinderella alone
__B. Prince arrives, needs some help of some sort
__C. Cinderella helps
__D. Stepsisters return drive prince away by their attitudes.

III Scene #3

And so on. Gets your ideas down, then you can go back and make the dialog etc that makes it a play.

thank you so much you all, i know it's been so long since this has been written. but iwas working on just trying to get one of my ideas down in at least some sort of screenplay form so i've been on the scriptbuddy.com website getting it down. i don't plan on paying the $15.50 to be able to print it out, but at least i have it down right? it's only 68 pages, and i'm still going back and fixing things every once in awhile. i'd still like a little help though. lol

nowadays a spec screenplay by a newbie should be around 110 pp unless it's a comedy, which would be 20 or so pp shorter... and, as i said, you can email me for help any old time...

maia
maia3maia@hotmail.com

for some reason, with this particular screenplay, I don't think I'm gonna get over 90 Minutes, if even that. I finished it, and then I've been spending the past few weeks going through and correcting and tweaking and adding things and I've got it up to 84 pages.