I had my first 'writing the short film' lecture today.
My lecture is quite cool actually, he's worked on a lot of things that you might have heard of like Stig of the dump, The Bill and Chuggington (total G right?).
Anyways, I'm learning about script writing and developing ideas for films. I'm thinking I might actually start writing scripts properly in addition to my short stories and the novel that i'm writing. Only thing is, what do I write about??? I'm sure something will come to me but this has become a bigger issue for me recently. I'm writing music for my solo demo as well as for the band (A Little Knowledge). I'm writing short stories, the novel and now scripts for films! It's all well and good but when I get an idea I can't just start writing, I have to think about what format it should be in, what would it work best for.
In light of this I want to tell you my process! Anyone out there who is writing or who wants to write (It can be quite daunting but once you go for it you'll be fine) can read this and hopefully find it helpful. Let me know what you do or if you're stuck with anything and I'll do my best to help out.
Writing for the sake of writing.
A lot of people, including myself, need a reason to write. We all find it hard to get inspiration at some point and if we don't have that then writing can become quite a chore. The thing is, you shouldn't think about the end product just yet, try to think of it this way. Instead of looking at other authors, trying to draw influences and ending up writing a similar thing to them, Inspire yourself!
Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't read or even try to write something entirely original. That will leave you in a worse place then you are now. What I mean is just write about absolutely anything, it could be a really rubbish story or really poorly written but it's your first draft and it will most likely change entirely. The point is to get past GO! and kickstart your brain into coming up with a decent narrative.
I recently wrote a short story called 'The Climb' that I will be entering into a few competitions (fingers crossed it'll do well) and it all started from a writing exercise. I took a random picture from a magazine and I wrote about how that picture came about, what was the story behind it? It ended up being about a girl who wanted to be a rock climber, but I went passed the point of the picture because the picture (a girl with rock climbing gear) didn't really make a great ending to what I had written. Try that exercise?
Just remember. Every single story in the world has a beginning, middle and end. Some people use 3 steps like this, some extend it to 6, 7, 8 or more. It is up to you how many twists and turns happen along the way but it needs at least three.
To get you writing try this.
Opening - The inciting incident! what is happening and who does it involve? i.e. A teenage boy going to a fire station for work experience.
Confrontation - The character comes up against some kind of difficulty. This still comes under the 'beginning' really, you've established what's happening and who your protagonist is, now there has to be something they want. i.e. The alarm goes, the boy wants to go with and help the fire fighters, he is not allowed because of a lack of training and is told to stay put.
Knotting up the plot - What happens next? The plot needs to be pushed forward somehow, maybe the protagonist fights for what they want? Maybe they give up? It doesn't matter what they do as long as the plot is pushed on and they are moving closer to the 'crisis point'. i.e. The boy gives up at first as there are still people around the station to stop him following them, but he tricks them somehow and gets out. He goes to the location of the fire to help.
Raising the stakes - No i'm not talking about throwing meat at the ceiling, I mean your character needs to somehow find themselves in a situation that they REALLY DO NOT want to be in. How do they get to that situation? Maybe a sudden courageous moment raises the stakes? Maybe another character puts themselves in danger? Some news reaches your character that they don't want to hear? i.e. Our young wannabe fire fighter turns up (staying out of sight), he overhears people saying that they won't be able to get anyone out. He sneaks into the building to help.
Crisis point - Now this is the situation that your character does not want to be in (the moment that i mentioned in 'raising the stakes'). How are they going to get out of this? You need to put a lot of emphasis on how much of an issue they have here. Your character is absolutely screwed, not a single person can help him. Except YOU! You're the creator of their world, you are the deity that can grant them a miracle, or deny them it. You can have a friend pop up with just the thing they need or they can find it within themselves to overcome their obstacle, whatever relates to what you want your story express is good. i.e. I want readers to see that being strong headed and acting without thinking can lead to a terrible situation so our wannabe progresses through the house, jumping over burning debris, choking on the smoke and getting burned along the way. He reaches the people and tells them he can show them the way out. He turns to lead the way and falls through the floor.
Resolution - This is where our circle ends. Your protagonist has resolved their issue/ overcome their obstacle/ dealt with the drama. This is the point at which if you choose to do so you can send them on another adventure without the one you just wrote getting all tangled in your new plot. i.e. our wannabe wakes up in hospital, his mother is sitting next to him crying. She holds him close, starts swearing at him and crying even more. He feels guilty for what he has done and we know that he'll never be such a prat again! A fireman (the one who told him to stay put) walks in and tells him he's lucky to be alive, he tells him the people got out safe through the window). Mr wannabe asks how, he heard the fireman say there was no way that they could get out he thought they had given up on the people in the house. The fireman explains that it appeared that they couldn't get out so the firemen cut through the window frame. He commends the boy for his bravery and tells him he'd make a good firefighter one day if he took his time to learn what he needs to.
Everyone is happy! Or maybe not.... someones home burned down... but the story isn't about them. DO NOT try to resolve everyone's problems, the reader won't want to hear how they got the insurance to pay out for their home and how they got their happy ending too. Stick to the main characters.
Anywho, enjoy the writing everyone! Feel free to share it, I do love to read new things.
Peace.
:)
My lecture is quite cool actually, he's worked on a lot of things that you might have heard of like Stig of the dump, The Bill and Chuggington (total G right?).
Anyways, I'm learning about script writing and developing ideas for films. I'm thinking I might actually start writing scripts properly in addition to my short stories and the novel that i'm writing. Only thing is, what do I write about??? I'm sure something will come to me but this has become a bigger issue for me recently. I'm writing music for my solo demo as well as for the band (A Little Knowledge). I'm writing short stories, the novel and now scripts for films! It's all well and good but when I get an idea I can't just start writing, I have to think about what format it should be in, what would it work best for.
In light of this I want to tell you my process! Anyone out there who is writing or who wants to write (It can be quite daunting but once you go for it you'll be fine) can read this and hopefully find it helpful. Let me know what you do or if you're stuck with anything and I'll do my best to help out.
Writing for the sake of writing.
A lot of people, including myself, need a reason to write. We all find it hard to get inspiration at some point and if we don't have that then writing can become quite a chore. The thing is, you shouldn't think about the end product just yet, try to think of it this way. Instead of looking at other authors, trying to draw influences and ending up writing a similar thing to them, Inspire yourself!
Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't read or even try to write something entirely original. That will leave you in a worse place then you are now. What I mean is just write about absolutely anything, it could be a really rubbish story or really poorly written but it's your first draft and it will most likely change entirely. The point is to get past GO! and kickstart your brain into coming up with a decent narrative.
I recently wrote a short story called 'The Climb' that I will be entering into a few competitions (fingers crossed it'll do well) and it all started from a writing exercise. I took a random picture from a magazine and I wrote about how that picture came about, what was the story behind it? It ended up being about a girl who wanted to be a rock climber, but I went passed the point of the picture because the picture (a girl with rock climbing gear) didn't really make a great ending to what I had written. Try that exercise?
Just remember. Every single story in the world has a beginning, middle and end. Some people use 3 steps like this, some extend it to 6, 7, 8 or more. It is up to you how many twists and turns happen along the way but it needs at least three.
To get you writing try this.
Opening - The inciting incident! what is happening and who does it involve? i.e. A teenage boy going to a fire station for work experience.
Confrontation - The character comes up against some kind of difficulty. This still comes under the 'beginning' really, you've established what's happening and who your protagonist is, now there has to be something they want. i.e. The alarm goes, the boy wants to go with and help the fire fighters, he is not allowed because of a lack of training and is told to stay put.
Knotting up the plot - What happens next? The plot needs to be pushed forward somehow, maybe the protagonist fights for what they want? Maybe they give up? It doesn't matter what they do as long as the plot is pushed on and they are moving closer to the 'crisis point'. i.e. The boy gives up at first as there are still people around the station to stop him following them, but he tricks them somehow and gets out. He goes to the location of the fire to help.
Raising the stakes - No i'm not talking about throwing meat at the ceiling, I mean your character needs to somehow find themselves in a situation that they REALLY DO NOT want to be in. How do they get to that situation? Maybe a sudden courageous moment raises the stakes? Maybe another character puts themselves in danger? Some news reaches your character that they don't want to hear? i.e. Our young wannabe fire fighter turns up (staying out of sight), he overhears people saying that they won't be able to get anyone out. He sneaks into the building to help.
Crisis point - Now this is the situation that your character does not want to be in (the moment that i mentioned in 'raising the stakes'). How are they going to get out of this? You need to put a lot of emphasis on how much of an issue they have here. Your character is absolutely screwed, not a single person can help him. Except YOU! You're the creator of their world, you are the deity that can grant them a miracle, or deny them it. You can have a friend pop up with just the thing they need or they can find it within themselves to overcome their obstacle, whatever relates to what you want your story express is good. i.e. I want readers to see that being strong headed and acting without thinking can lead to a terrible situation so our wannabe progresses through the house, jumping over burning debris, choking on the smoke and getting burned along the way. He reaches the people and tells them he can show them the way out. He turns to lead the way and falls through the floor.
Resolution - This is where our circle ends. Your protagonist has resolved their issue/ overcome their obstacle/ dealt with the drama. This is the point at which if you choose to do so you can send them on another adventure without the one you just wrote getting all tangled in your new plot. i.e. our wannabe wakes up in hospital, his mother is sitting next to him crying. She holds him close, starts swearing at him and crying even more. He feels guilty for what he has done and we know that he'll never be such a prat again! A fireman (the one who told him to stay put) walks in and tells him he's lucky to be alive, he tells him the people got out safe through the window). Mr wannabe asks how, he heard the fireman say there was no way that they could get out he thought they had given up on the people in the house. The fireman explains that it appeared that they couldn't get out so the firemen cut through the window frame. He commends the boy for his bravery and tells him he'd make a good firefighter one day if he took his time to learn what he needs to.
Everyone is happy! Or maybe not.... someones home burned down... but the story isn't about them. DO NOT try to resolve everyone's problems, the reader won't want to hear how they got the insurance to pay out for their home and how they got their happy ending too. Stick to the main characters.
Anywho, enjoy the writing everyone! Feel free to share it, I do love to read new things.
Peace.
:)
