41 Responses to “Four Stages of Creativity”

1. Kristy on Monday: 5 January 2009|0043

   I can’t speak for everyone as we all have our own creative process, but it seems to me that the two pieces you should KNOW before you sit down to write are your beginning and your end. Without either you’re meandering through the story. It’s inevitable that when this guy finds his ending, he’s going to have to go back through and change a whole lot of stuff. That’s what rewrites are for, but his job would have been easier had he known the elements of his story beforehand. Just my thoughts.

2. Susan P. on Monday: 5 January 2009|0547

   Interesting topic. To “Name Withheld”, I suspect that when you write you need to know when to let go of your character: when you need to allow them to go on their own way after your mutual encounter.

   We often aspire ‘things’ for folks we care about: we want them to build the best car and win the most notable race. We want them to generate a great script and see it up there. We want them to realise that being with someone can be better than being alone. We want them to get well. We so hope they will be finally recognised for their invention.

   What do you aspire for your character?

   That is probably your ending.

3. Clive on Monday: 5 January 2009|0642

   It’s an interesting question you’ve set up Kristy: when is the latest point in the process you can decide on the ending of your film?

   At the plotting stage, perhaps?

   During the first draft?

   During rewrites? Surely that must be the last possible point that you can be unsure of how your film is going to end.

   But no, the actual answer is this: twelve months after the European cinema release is probably about the latest you can radically alter the ending.

   Which is exactly what happened to the US release of Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” where they cut the film short at the false happy ending, instead of the actual tragic ending. Leading to lawyers, lots of corporate shouting and an active revolt by the films critics of America. All massively funny stuff, the film industry doing its crap thing of turning a creative process into a legal one.

   I’m not wanting to make a major point here… unless it’s that the start and the end of the script is where the battle for control gets fought and it’s where most of the major revisions will happen if the script is ever optioned.

4. David Kassin Fried on Monday: 5 January 2009|0809

   Lots of screenwriting books talk about the process, and each author has their own opinion about what the “right” writing process is. Mine is completely organic, working every aspect from every angle. Although, as a guideline, I’m working the steps in order – start with a logline, give it a short summary, flush it out into an outline and a detailed beat sheet, delve into a detailed treatment that describes every thought and emotion in every scene, and write the scenes themselves – letting myself move freely between the steps helps to incubate and illuminate every time I get stopped anywhere along the way. Can’t think what the second act should look like? Write a scene from it. This scene sucks? Work the treatment. Not sure where to go? Come back to the outline. Somewhere along the way the “Aha!” moment is inevitable.

5. Tom on Monday: 5 January 2009|0815

   For the incubation, illumination and verification steps, you’re saying that this process should take place countless times during the creation of a script, right?

   For me, the incubation step is pretty much any time I’m not actually sitting down and working on the script. I went and saw “Doubt” yesterday (which I loved) and came up with three ideas for the script I’m working on during it — very minor points (i think one them was literally just changing one word in the script), but I didn’t have anything to write with so had to constantly remind myself of the ideas during the film so I would forget them. I’m actually getting pretty good at doing that.

   And I don’t think it was a coincidence that I came up with three ideas while watching Doubt. It’s so well written and constructed I think any writer would gain certain insights into their own work by watching it — or at least get some ideas. I’m gonna buy the play and try and find the script to study.

   But I think your larger point is that screenwriting is about problem solving. The steps you laid out are the problem solving steps. And, actually, I think you can sometimes come up with an answer to a problem before you realize you have a problem — or at least come to those realizations simultaneously.

6. Mike Scherer on Monday: 5 January 2009|1040

   ‘…I don’t know how to end it…’

   A great man once said: “Begin at the End.” – was it you, Unk? Maybe… maybe not.

   Anyway, what this means is simply this: don’t start writing until you know how the damn thing ends.

   Protagonist/Flaw + Antagonist/Flaw + Ending = script.

   Well, maybe not quite like that, but that’s the gist.

   Another slant: How can you possibly map out a vacation if you don’t know your destination? By analogy: How can you plan and write your screenplay if you don’t know the ending?

   But what do I know – I’m just rambling and suffering from a Holiday Hangover.

   Keep Writing!

7. MaryAn on Monday: 5 January 2009|1058

   Siding with Kristy. Whatever ending anyone else came up with for this story wouldn’t work. Couldn’t work. The story would need to be rewritten to create a progression that would lead up to and support the conclusion.

   Dos pesos.

8. Clive on Monday: 5 January 2009|1243

   Just some more movie trivia…

   Robert Towne is one of the greatest screen writers of all time… and yet in the key revelation scene of Chinatown he’d written a complex monologue for Fay Dunnaway, which Roman Polanski threw in the bin and replaced with “she’s my sister, she’s my daughter, she’s my sister.”

   Writers get too close to projects and sometimes an outsider is the best possible person to suggest a better scene or a better ending… and regardless of the set ups there are always alternative payoffs (if you’ve the skill, experience and imagination to look for them).

   Film making is a collaborative process… it’s not a profession for people who can only see one way to get the job done.

9. Ryan on Monday: 5 January 2009|1407

   I like the snow you got goin’ on!

   I enjoy your topics Unk! You always have ways for me keep on keepin’ on!

10. Mike Scherer on Monday: 5 January 2009|1511

    ‘…I don’t know how to end it…’
    A great man once said: Begin at the End. Was that you, Unk? Maybe… maybe not. Anyway…,

    You have to know your destination before you can plan your trip. But once you know that destination you decide on a route, determine when to stop and where to sightsee, determine how long you need to get there, etc. You don’t drive three-quarters of the way then stop at Unk’s house, knock on the door, and ask if he would drive you the rest of the way.

    I think all writers have been in the same situation – start a screenplay and then hit a brick wall. Do as Unk suggests: Start over.

    Keep Writing!

11. Kristy on Monday: 5 January 2009|2003

    @ Clive – I wasn’t really referring to a script that had been optioned. I was focused entirely on the part of creating the script. As you said in a later post, making a film happen is collaborative. However, the writing part, at least initially, is our job as writers. So, as Mike said, it’s a good idea to know your destination before you plan the trip.

    But, as we’ve seen through the comments listed here, everyone has their own process and it’s always a little different. I was brought up on the Syd Field school of thought, which says the first thing you need to know before you write your script is the end, beginning, plot point one, and plot point two. I’m not saying that’s the end all and be all of screenwriting, but it’s worked for many a screenwriter, and frankly, I think it saves me time on the editing process because I don’t have to go back and rewrite an ENTIRE script to fit the ending. If along the way the ending changes, then fine – I’m open to letting my characters take me where they will. But, even then, I’ve gotten to know my characters enough prior to writing one word of script that even if the ending changes, I still don’t have to redo an entire script. I simply adjust my prep work and go from there.

    That’s just me, though. And, as I said, I’m not speaking for anyone else. Just seems easier to me.

12. Jeff Shattuck on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|0039

    Unk,

    I’m with you on this. Further, there’s no Theory discussion here, in my opinion, just some freeloader looking for, well, a free load. I love that he wants it this week, too. What a chutzpah-clogged ass.

    Jeff
    http://www.cerebellumblues.com

13. Clive on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|0311

    Personally, I don’t think it should be goal of a writer to either make their life easier or to avoid rewrites.

    The real question is, does knowing the end of the film before you start writing create a better script and ultimately a better movie?

    My take on that is complex because I use structural tools in my development process, but I also believe that you have to give your characters space to take the story in unexpected directions.

    I have a theory, it’s that the reason many screenwriters cling to the coat tails of McKee and Syd Field is not because they believe it will create a better screenplay, but because they want to nail their sale in as few drafts as possible. It’s fear of failure instead of a love of story.

    Personally, I think every draft should be an adventure where you have a rough plan and direction, but where anything could happen… up to and including discovering a radical new ending which means everything you loved about your script needs binning and building from scratch. This shouldn’t be something to be avoided, instead it should be lovingly embraced.

    It’s about a difference in emphasis between wanting to create the best movie possible and wanting to nail a sale with as little work, in as little time as possible.

    The writing process shouldn’t be a clinical exercise and a writer can only really do the job properly if they’re open to discovering new things in their work… something you can’t do if you have to corral your characters to an imposed finishing line.

    The point of structural guidelines are to help in the editing process, not to take the risk and pain out of writing… writing should be both a painful and risky process.

14. Mike Scherer on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|0504

    I apollogize for the ‘double’ post. I waited several hours, didn’t see my original post, and reposted — although with a slightly different version.

    Keep Writing!

15. Clive on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|0835

    I’ve been for a long walk in the snow and have made a snow bear whilst I pondered some of the issues raised by this thread. Mainly I’ve been wondering why I find the idea of a locked and predetermined ending to a movie script bothersome… actually tedious is the word I mean.

    My main concern is based on my understanding of the Porsche 911… hang in with me because it is relevant. Here is why:

    If you were designing a new sports car and you knew nothing about cars you’d go to the design books and they’d all say the same thing… basically a sports car needs to be mid-engined in order to get the balance you need to get round corners. As a statement about car design this is about as true as it is possible to get… however, the Porsche 911 has its engine mounted at the rear, which is absolutely insane. No text book designer in their right mind would ever start a sports car design from the premise that the engine should be at the back. This isn’t just rule breaking, it’s creating massive technical problems for yourself right off the bat.

    Now, despite this, the Porsche 911 GT3 is one of the most incredible cars in the world to drive. It’s fast, it’s poised in the corners and a monster at any track day. Despite the fact that its design breaks the most fundamental rules of car design… it is still probably one of the best cars to drive in the world. A fact I find interesting.

    OK. What happens if we apply the same thinking to screenplays?

    People who start their screenplay by overly controlling their story by applying blindly the rules of Syd Field will never write the equivalent of the Porsche 911… they’ll write scripts that work, they may make lots of money… but they won’t ever write the equivalent of a 911, because to do that you have to both understand the rules and be prepared to completely ignore them because you have a hunch.

    It’s taken Porsche thirty years to get their balance issues right… in the 1970’s the Porsches were called the “Grim Reapers” because they had a habit of losing their back end suddenly and killing the ass off you.

    It’s easy to look at someone doing something mad and shout at them how following the rules will solve all their problems… however, it’s entirely possible the mad person may be on the verge of doing something unpredictable and marvelous… and that being in a real mess is the best possible starting point for getting there.

    Unk’s right… it’s about the application of knowledge, experience, imagination and creativity.

16. Kristy on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|1522

    Interesting theory you have for those who, as you say, cling to the coattails of McKee and Field. If it were true, I’d be rolling in the dough. Since I’m not, I’m inclined to believe that both have great ideas when it comes to structure and presentability, the rest is still up to the writer.

    Just to clarify, I never corral my characters anywhere. I’ve said before that I let my characters go where they want to go. However, I believe in working smarter, not harder. So yes, I want to save myself work later down the line if I can. That means I start with an end in mind. Then I figure out the beginning. Then plot point one. And then plot point two. This gives me an overall idea of where my story is headed. For some, this may stifle the creativity a little. But, I work better with this particular structure because it’s my form of outline. Next I sit down and write out an 8-10 page character biography for the main characters and 1-2 pages for the minor characters. It’s in this part of the process I find out whether my characters agree with me or not. They may not, in which case, I’ll go back and revise what I’ve done. Again, this is just my process, but it gets me started and keeps me working.

    I’ve tried what you’re advocating, Clive; and while I think it’s great if it works for you, it’s not for me. I meander, a lot, and it’s a bit annoying going through and scraping whole pages because it’s not right in the story. I just don’t think a script is the place for meandering…to me, anyway. The meandering should come before the script…in the development stages. However, your point isn’t without merit. We just have a difference of opinion on where to apply it. That doesn’t mean that you’re right and I’m wrong, or vice versa. And it doesn’t mean that you’ll get the Porsche 911 before me, or that I won’t write one at all. The way I write works for me, the way you write works for you. And, I believe we’re in agreement that it’s about the application of knowledge, experience, imagination and creativity. The application part of that, well, we’ll leave that to each their own.

17. Susan P. on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|1524

    I have observed Unk putting forth what works for him – and why he believes a certain viewpoint or schemata to be useful – and then conceding that others may have different paths that lead them to an equal endpoint of success and quality.

    For my part, I know the ending but it is not locked like the final question in a game show. But a change to the end would not, as a rule, lead to much change in the script; it’s more than a character wound up on path AH7 rather than AJ3.

    If someone like Kristy can write a fine script with a solid plan to commit to AJ3, I don’t see the problem with that. That’s just their way. And I would have to think that a clever minded creative writer using the type of approach Kristy outlines, could well have created the Porsche, simply because they spent time turning the design over in their mind and within said pre-planning came up with that notion. I presume the designer(s) of the 911 GT3 did that.

    The proposition that that idea could only arise from a more ad hoc after-beginning-the-design process is a notion I don’t quite accept. It may have happened that way but it wouldn’t have needed to.

18. Susan P. on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|1531

    Kristy..as a side comment, I would advocate a solid outline for anyone new to screenwriting or even IN screenwriting. But, to be frank, I’ve not found they’ve always worked for me for some reason. I get terribly bogged down. I agree working smarter is best and I absolutely concede that for the vast majority of people, on paper prep. works, and works extremely well. However, once again, it’s not proven totally helpful for me. I find I’m better with the plot points and skeletal ideas about linkages.

    I don’t think successful ‘creativity’ has a singular path – if it did, we’d have very similar works of art around the world.

19. Unk on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|1829

    This just in…
    
    Thanks for putting my email up on your site asshole! I worked really hard on this script and you just shit all over me! Don’t worry, I won’t be asking you to look at anything else I ever write.

    [Name Withheld]

    LOL. Well, at least you learned something… I’m not quite sure what it is…

    I haven’t read all these comments yet — doing that now…

    I have to agree with Clive on this one… But maybe… Just maybe, I get the impression that in fact, most of you that are saying to KNOW YOUR ENDING are actually saying the following…

    You don’t have to know it in exact detail… I didn’t know the ending to my last project in detail. I knew what I WANTED to happen… I wanted the good guy(s) to take the bad guy down.

    That happened.

    But I never once WORRIED about the details because trying to fit that square peg in a round hole is just too much of a pain in the ass.

    Rather…

    If you know your characters well enough and you basically know what you want to happen at the ending, your characters SHOULD eventually lead you there by the hand. No, you won’t know exactly how they intend to handle that final confrontation but ISN’T THAT WHAT MAKES WRITING MAGICAL?

    It’s the truly organic evolution that your characters have made by the time they reach their destination and then based on everything they’ve done previously in your story and OUT OF YOUR STORY, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT DECIDE HOW TO END IT.

    For instance… In my last project, I knew WHERE I wanted my characters to end up and I knew who they were going to confront but I had no idea HOW they were going to handle it…

    But they did handle it and handled much better than anything I could have mapped out months ago.

    Unk

20. Susan P. on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|1915

    I need to finish reading your post but…

    “trying to fit that square peg in a round hole is just too much of a pain in the ass.”

    LOL Yes, it is rather – especially if the peg is large – and has ragged edges.

21. Susan P. on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|1917

    Ok, Yep, I agree – that was pretty much my expressed process also. I actually think Kristy said similarly though when all was said and done – perhaps she could clarify.

22. Ryan on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|2212

    Unk,
    That was frickin’ funny. He didn’t need to respond like that. You didn’t let anyone know it was him.

    That’s great humor! Never a dull moment round here! LMAO!

    Your comment on your ending is exactly what happened with mine. My characters totally took me there. I knew where I wanted to go, but to get there… I didn’t have to worry about that, cause I knew my characters, and I knew they would lead me there. It went perfect! Know your characters and it will come.

23. Kristy on Tuesday: 6 January 2009|2306

    Yep, that’s what I’m saying. Know your ending to a point so you have something in mind, but don’t be so rigid that it can’t be changed if the need arises.

    @ Susan – I’m not much for outlines either. Even when I started out, I didn’t use them, though like you, I see the benefit of having one. It’s just not for me. Although, my process is similar to an outline, I feel like it leaves enough play room to change things, where an actual outline just feels too rigid for my tastes.

    @ Unk – Wow, that guy (or girl) was really mad! I fail to see how you shit on their work though, given that you haven’t even read it. And if that’s how they handle this, I’d hate to see what kind of scathing emails and phone calls they direct to those who’ve rejected their work outright. Not very professional, but then anonymity does tend to bring out the assholes.

24. Clive on Wednesday: 7 January 2009|0253

    Is it possible that the actual process of writing pages and throwing them away isn’t actually a waste of time?

    Is it possible that meandering is the process?

    The advantage of having a plan is the you never have to experience writer’s block… you never have to just sit in the mess you’ve created and feel useless. Could it be possible that the very thing most writers try to avoid, actually is the process?

    I happen to think that it is.

    Seth Godin (marketing guru and all round cool guy) wrote something along the lines of: “you have to distinguish between being busy and getting the job done”

    Writing and scraping pages seems counter productive because after all it’s wasted work… however, is it also possible that when we allow ourselves some time to meander down blind allies we actually discover what the film is REALLY all about?

    I was about to qualify these questions by saying that there has to be a balance between meandering and structured process… but that’s just my fears talking. I’m not sure I believe that anymore. I currently believe that every script has its own unique gestation… sometimes that means spreadsheets and outlines, sometimes it means knowing the ending and not a lot else… and sometimes it means years of meandering.

25. Tom on Wednesday: 7 January 2009|0628

    “If you know your characters well enough and you basically know what you want to happen at the ending, your characters SHOULD eventually lead you there by the hand. No, you won’t know exactly how they intend to handle that final confrontation but ISN’T THAT WHAT MAKES WRITING MAGICAL?

    This rings true for me. In the script I’m working on now, I’ve known for a while what the last image will be (which in essence is how the final confrontation is resolved). It fits the theme I’m going for (or at least one of them — I’m kind of worried that I seem to have two themes developing, but I think they’re related enough that it’ll be OK) and I’m pretty excited about how the script will end.

    But the actual confrontation, while I’m not quite there yet in the first draft, keeps changing in my head (and on paper as I tend to write down any ideas I have for future scenes) as the characters and the story moves forward. Now it’s possible that my characters grow in a way that I would have to change the ending I’m going for, but right now everything is flowing toward that conclusion. And knowing the conclusion has helped me in making sure other scenes resonate with the theme of the script.

    And quite frankly, knowing the conclusion I think has helped me with the characters. For example — and without giving too much away — for the woman lead to make the decision she makes at the end of the script, she would have to be a hopeless romantic. So, I’ve made sure that her character is a hopeless romantic. Now, this seems to be working backward (the ending informing the characters instead of the characters leading you toward the ending), but I honestly don’t see a problem with this. I guess we’ll see. It’s quite possible this character won’t ring true, but I feel good about her right now.

26. Kristy on Wednesday: 7 January 2009|0838

    @ Clive – It occurs to me that we actually do the same thing, just at different times. You get to know your characters, plot points, midpoint, and details through writing the script. I take care of that before writing the script. We just approach it from different angles, but in essence we’re really doing the same thing. Your first draft is the equivalent of my prep work.

    I tend to meander through my character bio’s and the prep work because I feel more productive that way instead of having to scrap useless pages later on. It’s nothing to do with fear and everything to do with spending my time wisely. Time management habits, I guess. But, I face just as much “writer’s block” as the next writer. That’s because once it’s all said and done, I still have to write a script, which is a creative piece of work. I have to take all of that prep work and translate it into a script that jumps off the page and creates a picture in the reader’s mind. If I did my job well, they see what I see and agree that it should be put on the big screen. To transcend words and create that picture still requires me to be creative, something I’ve sat in front of many blank screens for. The prep work helps me, but in the end, it’s the finished product that matters. How I get there isn’t important to anyone but me.

27. Clive on Thursday: 8 January 2009|0238

    On one level you’re right… Joe Esterhaus wrote “Basic Instinct” in about twelve days using writing techniques similar to the ones you use.

    On the other hand Stanley Kubrick obsessively collected research material in thousands of boxes… for him every single aspect of every single frame was important… his definition of productive use of time was different.

    I happen to believe that Kubrick knows/knew more about film making than Esterhaus… and that his process is more relevant.

    You are however wrong in one thing… you assume that I develop in my first draft instead of doing the prep that you do… in this you couldn’t be more wrong. I actually do staggering amounts of research… I also write extensive treatments and outline, often longer than the script itself… and yet I still go in to EVERY draft without a pre-formed destination.

    Basically, our approaches aren’t even vaguely similar… because you think your level of preparation means you don’t have to do the actual work of writing… and I know that despite my extensive research and preparation I am still required to write and scrap pages until the product is as close to perfect as it is possible to be.

    Now, ironically that doesn’t automatically make me a better writer than you… because you just may be more talented. It’s probably true… but the real question is, are you really talented enough to make a name for yourself without doing the level of work required to get the job done or not.

    Like you said it’s all measured in what you end up with… and if you’re already optioning everything you write you’ve nothing to learn from anyone else’s process.

28. Kristy on Thursday: 8 January 2009|1131

    I’ll concede that our processes are different. Clearly I misunderstood your process overall from previous posts. I wholeheartedly disagree with your assessment that I believe my process means I don’t have to do the actual work of writing. I still scrap pages here and there, I still struggle with making it as close to perfect as possible. But I choose to have a direction in mind before beginning and working from there. If you call that not doing the work of writing, then fine. But rest assured, I’m not good enough to produce a script without putting a lot of work into it first.

29. Moviequill on Thursday: 8 January 2009|1533

    I think I’m going to write a self-instructional screenwriting manual called ENDINGS and see if I can capitalize on this very lucrative end of the business heh

30. Tom on Thursday: 8 January 2009|1600

    Just remember this rule of thumb: In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

31. Clive on Friday: 9 January 2009|0444

    As I’ve said before in other threads… reverse engineering in the movie business breaks down mainly because being able to dissect the finished article isn’t the same as creating it from scratch.

    The tent-pole theory of screen play writing works perfectly for reverse engineering finished movies because by that point the movie is a fixed arc between two fixed points, the set-up and the denouement. All the other alternatives have been abandoned.

    However, at the writing stage there are hundreds of potential endings to each story as it unfolds… and part of our job as the screenwriter is to find the best one.

    Now, I happen to believe you are less likely to find the best ending if you decide what it’s going to be too early in the process… and for all kinds of reasons I think that deciding it before you start your first draft is too soon to make that decision. No matter how much character development work you do, characters change once they start to interact with each other and circumstances.

    The overall effect of tent pole screen writing is that without realizing it, writers tend to make the characters conform to the plot, rather than the plot conform to the characters… as a result you end up with a film that is pretty much always less than it could be.

    Now, there are some exceptions to this… Rom Coms for instance have to move to the conclusion “boy gets girl”… so they fair well with tent pole planning… and the other time it works is when your initial inspiration for writing the movie was the incredible pay off you came up with. However even in that case you’d be amazed at how often the inspiration scene gets dropped in development for something better.

    Now there is a case to be made for doing all the developmental plotting prior to writing the first draft… and some stories are naturally more plot driven. But, even then I know from experience that if you leave the ending open and trust your characters they will naturally lead you to the best possible ending for the film… and like Unk said, when that process unfolds it is magical.

32. Paul on Friday: 9 January 2009|0649

    Hey – Clive – It’s me, Paul – I’m sitting in your flat right now. When are you getting back from Bulgaria so you can show me round the town?

    Jesus mate. I see you’re still up to your old tricks.

    Leave the poor woman alone and let her find her own process by making mistakes the same way we did. Have you forgotten that we learned how to do this by making complete and utter dicks of ourselves over and over again?

    By the way, bring back some Bulgarian booze and some duty free smokes. Peace and frickin’ believe.

33. Clive on Friday: 9 January 2009|1356

    Paul … excellent, didn’t know you read Unk.

    I got your email and you’re right… you can lead a writer to water, but you can’t make one think. LOL

34. Henry Cruz on Friday: 9 January 2009|1448

    UNK — if I can play devils advocate here. I remember, way back when I was a low-man on the totem pole — working for free — on a INDIE film festival and I asked a film maker how he was able to raise his financing — he got angry and said I struggled to much too much to help others.

    That stayed with me and I vowed to help others that asked for help — within reason. Half of me thinks being a working screen writer is like winning the lottery. And Screenwriter should be open to helping those that follow (those that are up and coming and willing to work for it to get into this exclusive boy’s club).

    I’m not saying that said writer should be given a free pass — far from. But, I look at things this way if one of us gets through then maybe they will help another person.

    I think in this case, it does sound like lazyness or entitlement on the part of the original e-mailer…but, that there’s always that other side. The un-informed person not asking for hand outs just a little help.

    Henry Cruz
    (blog HenryCruz.com)

35. Kristy on Friday: 9 January 2009|1551

    Well, if you learned by making complete and utter dicks of yourselves over and over again, I see nothing’s changed and you didn’t learn a thing. I happen to disagree with Clive on several points, plain and simple. And Clive, I do know how to think, thank you.

36. Tom on Friday: 9 January 2009|1901

    “I got your email and you’re right… you can lead a writer to water, but you can’t make one think. LOL”

    I know you’re just having fun, and I don’t want to come off like too much of a hard-on, but the only one on here who can claim to be a successful screenwriter is UNK. And when you make assumptions like this:

    “Basically, our approaches aren’t even vaguely similar… because you think your level of preparation means you don’t have to do the actual work of writing… ”

    You come off like an ass. You don’t know what she thinks.

    Kristy seems like she can think very well. Feel free to disagree, but for you to claim this superiority of knowledge comes off, well, not very good.

37. Susan P. on Friday: 9 January 2009|2015

    I’m afraid Clive I have to agree about the superiority issue. I don’t much like a bloke laughing with his mate at someone else’s expense.

    Whilst you and Unk seem to share many similar viewpoints, Unk manages to convey his opinions without the same dogma and high moral ground position.

    You’re a really clever guy Clive so it’s a shame you act like this towards others who don’t choose to agree with you. And yes, you did make assumptions about Kristy and believed those assumptions to be fact.

38. Clive on Monday: 12 January 2009|0045

    I’m actually not that clever… I just appear that way when I’m surrounded by stupid people.

39. Susan P. on Monday: 12 January 2009|0351

    ROFL – the double handed ‘retort’. LOL

40. Trevor on Monday: 19 January 2009|2104

    “Basically, our approaches aren’t even vaguely similar… because you think your level of preparation means you don’t have to do the actual work of writing… ”

    I wholeheartedly disagree. Preparation doesn’t exclude writing, it gives you a compass. Good screenwriting is done with minimalism, all plots and dialogue tying together through plot and theme, which you can’t do if you are writing blind. However, the story will change once you actually start writing the script, and even the ending can change! The direction of the whole thing can shift as you’re going through, and that’s OK but you MUST know where you are going at all times. You have to do the work, as Unk says.

    Basically, preparation is foreplay and writing is sex. Writing without preparation is masturbation.

41. Jessie on Sunday: 15 March 2009|1943

    as to the e-mail you recieved hahahahahahaha. Sorry, man that’s just so wierd. It’s like “hi random guy I’ve spoken to once in my life, could you write my screenplay for me. Pretty please :batting eyelashes:. :D

    As to your article, yeah, I’ve been kind of learning this the hard way. I now have a very crappy screenplay that took 4 months to write and the reason it’s crappy is because I didn’t develope the characters nearly enough. bad character developement= all the characters talk like me. I’ve learned that I say the word “well” intirely too much just from rereading over my dialog.

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