The more I know the less I know.
The scribosphere is a vast cyber-verse that is full of all types of theorycraft regarding screenwriting of which I am thankful… most of the time.
I had a dream the other night that I got caught in a huge tsunami. I kept telling myself that as long as I held my breath and covered my face I would be ok…. (Don’t ask, it was a fucking dream OK.) Eventually surfaced and I was fine.
I think it was my way of telling me that even as I read the tidal wave of blogs and articles on the subject of screenwriting and feel like I am drowning I just need to hold my breath and swim for the surface.
Tomorrow I suspect my evil subconscious will be adding sharks… It’s just how I think I guess.
Sunday as I watched the Seahawks vomit all over Carolina’s field their shitty version of offense I got really fed up with all the frontloaded preconceptions of what a story and screenplay needed. I said fuck it and wrote the scene I had been working on in my head for quite awhile. It was completely out of sequence and it is not complete as is it will be intercut with another scene but it felt good, it came easily and it was fun.
I remember a workshop I attended by Cynthia Whitcomb where she said that she would sit down and flip through her scene cards as she wrote. If she didn’t see the scene she went to the next card.
Somewhere in the shuffle I keep forgetting that. My vision is clouded with the big picture. The 110 page, act broken, twist filled masterpiece that you need to have before you peek your head into the screenwriting world. Sensory overload and frankly I think it prevents me from writing.
I want to grow the story. Write the fun, pivotal “trailer scenes” that gave me the idea for the story in the first place. Then go back and write some more scenes that complement those and so forth. Who knows, I might be completely crazy. But I find when I do sit down with just an idea crazy shit starts popping into my head as I write that I find a lot of fun.
It’s all about finding my stride. I don’t believe I can follow any one person’s technique. I am going to have to write to find my own. Self flagellation for the win!
That is all.
-Jim
2 comments:
Jim,
It sounds like there is a lot that goes into writing it's amazing to here how much work that you put into it. If you needs so crazy ideas let me know I got lots of them. You know the Seahawks were pretty crap-tastic yesterday so I feel ya on that.
Writers write -- You know that. We all do it in different ways. I tend to 'map out' my stories, but meander within the 'mapping' system.
There is no right or wrong way as long as what you're completing gets the right people's attention.
I've espoused all sorts of ideas on how to get stuff completed, but the reality is -- you have to find your own way.
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