Multiple scripts?

[Nazrat]

I've never made a movie or written a script. About 5 years ago, when I was thinking about film school I had some ideas for movies, 2 in particular. I was wondering how to develop a script for them. Later on, I decided not to pursue film. I tried a different career path, but now my thoughts are on film again.

Now, that I'm considering pursuing something in film, I want to try to write scripts for those movie ideas. I also have ideas for 2 more movies, one of them animated.

With no experience and struggling with A.D.D., this is very overwhelming for me. How would you go about approaching this? Ideas for 4 different movies are bouncing around in my head at any given time. I have written down some things so I don't forget them. How do I put these ideas into motion? What should I know about writing that will help a newbie? Should I work on one at a time, or all of them? Is this something that script writers have to deal with a lot? How do they do it?

I'm thinking that I might not need to wait for film school (if I decide to go) to learn how to write scripts. I know there are "how to" books and actual scripts available. My uncle recently finished his first script. He learned from reading the script from Rocky. I figure that if I can sell my scripts it can help me pay for school. I have no idea how much an inexperienced person could get for that. Or I could save them and have my own projects to work on after school.

Any advice I could get would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[cybersarge]

Throw ideas off other people, see what they think. Write down ideas, that sort of thing.

 

[jodymichelle]

My two cents is to write everyday, but write with set goals and deadlines.

>> How do I put these ideas into motion?

Just write. No need to worry about editing yourself while you write at first. Just spit it out.

>> Should I work on one at a time, or all of them?

I would probably work on all of them for variety of projects. You might want to try that because your work on each project will give you practice and inspiration for each project. But it also depends on what you've set as your goals and deadlines.

>> What should I know about writing that will help a newbie?

That it's real work, and it's a process. You must love the work and love the process. If you don't, it will show. You must love writing so much that you're willing to accept that the majority of what you write might not even be seen by the world, but that's okay with you, because that is how much you love writing.

 

[Nazrat]

I guess I better start writing to see how much I really love it. :wink:

What's the purpose of setting goals and deadlines for myself?

 

[jodymichelle]

The purpose is 'to get it done' and to measure your skills, speed, etc. Is there a timeframe you'd like to see yourself complete drafts?

 

[BUmike84]

another suggestion is to go to simply scripts and look at some other scripts for movies you enjoy. see what kinds of techniques that the writers used. writing scripts is a lot different than just writing a story or term paper. there are specific things that can make a script easier to read and things that can help visualize setting and characters and what not.

 

[Nazrat]

Is there a timeframe you'd like to see yourself complete drafts?

I don't know. LOL. I don't know how long it should take to reach certain points in the writing process. I've never done this before so I'm not sure of what I would be doing. I have A.D.D., so it would probably take longer for me than most people.

I have ideas for stories and some of the characters in these movies, especially for one movie in particular. But it's mostly the opening scene and the ending scene. Not much in between where the whole story takes place. It's an action story with two heros and a villain. I know what I want the plot to be. I have character backgrounds for the heros, but not the villain yet. It's strange, I've read about how developing the characters will help you develop the story, and now I'm realizing that it really is important for me to do that. I think I need to develop the villain before I can figure out the rest of the story in more detail. After all, the story is based on what he does, his evil plot and the heros' quest to stop him.

 

[Nazrat]

another suggestion is to go to simply scripts and look at some other scripts for movies you enjoy. see what kinds of techniques that the writers used. writing scripts is a lot different than just writing a story or term paper. there are specific things that can make a script easier to read and things that can help visualize setting and characters and what not.

Thanks Bumike. I'll check it out. I'm sure it will help a lot. Reading a script helped my uncle with his script.