Read on Twitter
MY SCREENWRITING PROCESS:
(a thread) https://twitter.com/daniellenicki/status/1343975832054882305
(a thread) https://twitter.com/daniellenicki/status/1343975832054882305
so my method was built from reading several books here and there, experimenting, watching and listening to master writers explain the craft, observing my peers (such as @DexaviorSmith), and my mentor ronald baez ( @baeronald) to which i credit most of my storytelling ability.
as danielle mentioned, it may not work for everyone, and that’s okay! everyone’s different, and i’m still very young, trying my best to perfect my process as much as i can.
but, without further ado, here’s my writing process from conceptualization to finished draft:
but, without further ado, here’s my writing process from conceptualization to finished draft:
i start off by taking hold of a deeply personal experience and/or an interesting thought that passes through my head and jotting it down somewhere.
over time, i start churning out ideas as i brainstorm over the original concept that i jotted down.
over time, i start churning out ideas as i brainstorm over the original concept that i jotted down.
i write each one of these ideas down next to wherever i wrote the original concept and i draw lines that connect the supplementary ideas to each other. the farther a supplementary idea lies from the original concept, the more narrow and specific in detail it becomes.
eventually, i’ll have enough assets written down to discover certain elements of a story, such as characters, plot points, and settings. once i know that i have enough to work with, i move on to the next step.
i start asking myself questions: what type of story is this? what genre would this screenplay be? what does the narrative look like? how many characters should it have? whatever questions i may hold about the story, i write them down and i answer them.
while i’m doing that, i start setting up a quick and summarized beat sheet full of (at least) seven MAJOR moments in the story and what big decisions a character must make over the course of the story as a whole.
now, i compliment this beat sheet with a graphing sheet. essentially, as i’m figuring out the essence of the entire story itself, discovering plot points and such, i start jotting them down on the graph, and connect the lines depending on the movement of the narrative.
the axes of the graph depend on what type of story you’re telling, and how you are trying to tell it. it is within this graphing stage where i can visually observe where my story becomes more intense, where tension is built up, whether my story is non-linear or not, and etc.
once i have this figured out, i normally (just by habit) cut the graph into acts and see where which parts of my story exist on a visual-narrative level, and how the pacing can be balanced and appropriated between these certain acts.
anddddd once the graph is fully drawn, the beat sheet is completed, and most (if not all) of my internal questions are answered, then here is where i move onto starting my outline. i take a moment of the process to delve into the characters and setting before i truly begin.
for each character in the story, i write an entire page summarizing them as a whole that can practically explain to anyone what type of person the character may be. it’s here where i include tons of background information on these characters, from zodiac sign to childhood trauma.
then, i start outlining. i basically use all of the information i’ve discovered prior to this point to develop a much more specific and elongated version of the beat sheet; except now, i have foresight into how the story will progress, how characters will behave, and etc.
this part typically takes WEEKS and WEEKS of time, but it is so worth it, because it makes everything afterward much easier.
when the outline is done, i then move right along into the actual screenwriting. finally, right?
when the outline is done, i then move right along into the actual screenwriting. finally, right?
so this part is usually very quick, because of all the actual preparation that i went through to get to this point. i go ahead and spit out a rough draft using my outline as a reference, i make sure that i don’t go back and edit too much, as the goal is to just finish the rough.
once the rough draft is completed, i go ahead and take a break for about a week or two, because damn, i need one...
this break serves not only to relieve stress from all of the internal deadlines that i’ve placed upon myself, but also to be able to come back to the project with new eyes, so that, when i do come back, i notice how horrible the rough draft is and get to editing.
once i’ve edited the rough draft once (maybe twice or thrice), then i go ahead and workshop the current draft of the screenplay! i send it over to my most trusted folks and they’ll go ahead and give me notes and suggestions on what they believe is best for the story.
once i get all of those notes back from my people, then i take them all into consideration and re-write/edit my piece with all of this newfound knowledge in mind. once this is done, i send it back to my folks one last time, and if it seems good, then that’s a final!
even though it’s a “final draft,” i always keep in mind that the screenplay is a living, breathing document. even when i’m in pre-production for the film itself, i’ll find myself making changes to the script here and there based on the resources available to us.
so that’s that! my entire writing process from conceptualization to final draft! i hope this thread helped you guys out in some way or another. this was definitely a fun little experience for me. a huge shoutout to @DanielleNicki for making the original thread, she inspires me.
