I continue to run into this problem when writing screenplays.

I outline the screenplay, write up the treatment, and then I discover the story is just plain awful, so I go through the process again.  Is there an easier way to identify a flawed story earlier on?

I wrote a 10 page script about Abortion this evening.  Figured the story was good enough for a short.  The story looked good in both the outline and treatment, which I wrote at lunch.  But after writing the script, the story just didn't work.  The characters had too much angst, and I couldn't really connect with them.  The story just ended up feeling mundane.  It was like a bad episode of "My So Called Life."

Any suggestions for filtering through ideas, so I don't waste time working on weak ones?

I am writing a Christmas screenplay -- probably will end up around 90 pages.  I'm still working out the treatment.  Act Three is coming up weak, and I'm not sure I want to invest more time in it.  I'm thinking about just writing a list of all the beats and writing those out.  Then, I could just re-arrange them in the script and polish them.  Any ideas with Christmas stories?  I struggle some because they are over-the-top and very pleasant.

tweak

Have you considered the possibility that familiarity breeds contempt?

The idea pops into your head and you love it.  As you begin fleshing it out with outlines or a treatment, it seems good, and you know exactly where you want your story to go.

Then you slog through the process of writing, and rewriting (hopefully, anyway), and doubt creeps in along the way.  You polish.  And you begin to second-guess yourself.  Things that seemed brilliant in your mind's eye begin to appear mediocre on the page.

By the time you are finally done, you are not even sure you like it that much anymore.

It is called being your own worst critic.  It comes with the territory -- if you care about the quality of your work, anyway.  People who think everything they write is brilliant are the most tedious people I know -- and they are seldom correct in their assessment.

The only answer is to have confidence in your story until somebody tells you otherwise.

Maybe your story does suck.  But you are not a good judge of that after you know it inside and out, having spent so much time with it.

You need some fresh eyes to look at it.  That is what feedback is all about.  What makes boards such as this one so valuable.

Just make sure you set your B.S. filter on high as you read through the feedback.  Do not let the empty gushing go to your head.

Read and reread the posts from your harshest critics -- and thank them for it.

They are the ones that are actually helping you.

Quoted from bert By the time you are finally done, you are not even sure you like it that much anymore.

When you first come up with a story, there's the thrill of novelty.  At a certain point, that thrill fades away and your just writing another story while other brilliant ideas pop into your head.


Phil

Quoted from bert Then you slog through the process of writing, and rewriting (hopefully, anyway), and doubt creeps in along the way.  You polish.  And you begin to second-guess yourself.  Things that seemed brilliant in your mind's eye begin to appear mediocre on the page. By the time you are finally done, you are not even sure you like it that much anymore.

That's why I hate trying to write comedy. A joke is only good once or twice. Rereading them over and over they start to look really bad.

I think if you can start with the most general way to explain your script and the expand it'll help you.

Theme: What is your screenplay about. Revenge, redemption, etc. This is mainly to make sure it is about something.

Logline: While not sure, if you can't sum up your story in a line (or two at the most) maybe you don't have a focus. If you can and it looks blah and uninteresting, maybe it is.

Synopsis: Expand to a couple of paragraphs. You can lay out all your twists and plot turns. You can also see if there are none (no conflict) and fix it.

The treatment or index cards: I prefer index cards cause it gives me more freedom but many prefer treatments at varying lengths.

Script: At this point, if you have a lame script you probably will know it by now, whether you want to admit or not. Writing the actual script can almost feel like the grunt work but it's also where all the action is. You'll hate it one day and not be able to stop the next. You'll find complications you never saw before and have to fix them on the spot. But you'll have your map cause you prepared so much and you know if you've made it this far, there should be something there.

After all this is done, your script may still suck. No one tells a joke thinking it's not funny (unless that is the desired intent). You never know. Francis Ford Coppola did the Godfather but he also did Jack.

I defy convention when I write so take this for what it's worth but I never, ever write out a treatment or outline beforehand.  I like the story to evolve on it's own, little by little as I chip away at it.  A treatment I find to be too confining.  It creates barriers and parameters that can hinder the creative process.  

I've tried doing it the conventional way but, like you, I just get bored with the story idea once I have it all mapped out.  Maybe you should just write and see where it takes you.  Start with a simple idea or feeling you have.  Sometimes you find that they can take on a life of their own.  Maybe you'll end up discovering that this really isn't a story about abortion but something else entirely.

I'm not saying that this always works for me.  Somtimes ideas fizzle out and die but other times real inspiration comes unexpectedly when I just write blindly, letting my emotions be my guide.

I think general treatments which tell the story and give you grounds to write what you wanted but never force you into a certain direction. The better ideas come from other writers just chatting and semi brainstorming with that person.

Or reviews can sometimes (When the reviewer gives a shit) give you better ideas to make the script better. You won't find that very often but when you do, it works out.

I find that coming up with the craziest concept always keeps me interested in my own work when I can be bothered to actually write something.

I think the outline and treatment provides a roadmap for writing the script.  I might come up with other stuff, but the outline and treatment keep me focused on the story.

I wrote some more beats and started a script bible for my characters in my Christmas story.   Each character's backstory is helping out.

I am only 15 pages into the script, so it will be a while until I finish.  I figure I can write 5-10 pages a night of script.  But I'm trying not to edit myself until I finish.  

The story is still pretty weak, but I'll see if after finishing it, I can fix it up.  Otherwise, I'll just jump on to the next one.  Just want to finish it up either way.

tweak

Lately I;ve found that a script may seem great at first, but the juice really comes in the rewriting stage.  Usually by the third draft, I'll have knocked most of the garbage off of an idea and am able to tell whether I actually have something I can work with or I need to move on.

If I was writing prose, I'd know in about 100 pages if I think I can make this work until the end.  Probably why I've only ever finished one novel.