Does anyone else have a deep love of writing? Does anyone else think about the projects they are working on non stop throughout the day? Does anyone else think they totally suck at writing and become super frustrated?
It seems like I always come up with an idea that I am super psyched on. I obsess about how to progress the story. I've written upwards of fifty pages multiple times. Then I always end up disliking the idea or feeling like it is very cliche and unoriginal.
Anyone else have this problem? I am pretty new to screenwriting, but I seem to be making no progress...ever hahaha
Maybe that's part of learning.
How do you folks out in simplyscripts world stay motivated? Come up with original ideas?
Thanks for listening to me b*tch...

When that happens, 80% of the time it doesn't mean that your script/story/idea/whatever is bad; it just means that you've been obsessing so much about it to the point where you can't enjoy yourself writing.

That's why people say you should never, ever stop writing a first draft. Once that first draft is done, even if it turns out to be crap, full of plot-holes, etc, you've still got something to work with and improve upon when you get around to writing a second one.

It's hard not to second-guess yourself -- in fact, I do it all too often; but you are rewarded if of you fight the urge to correct every detail of your story or get to work on another story before you finish the one you're writing.

All first drafts of all scripts ever written suck balls. Period (Want proof? Read George Lucas's first very draft of Star Wars, and look at the film it ended up being). That's why you must never quit writing or leave your first drafts half-finished -- because there is always potential to do something better with them.

And as for screenwriting, I don't consider it an art, to be honest. Art ends up as a finished product, ready to be consumed -- a novel is read, a piece of music listened to -- but screenplays, even play scripts, are templates, leading to the art of creation, bringing people together to make an infinitely more complex piece of art than any other -- a film.

--Julio

I'm also fairly new to this and find that I go through some of the same issues that you described.  I've written a few shorts, and decided that it was time to take a crack at a feature.  Came up with an idea, storyboarded it, and started to write...

...got through 30 some odd pages and mothballed it.  Not sure if it sucked or if it just wasn't worth it.  (Let's be honest, probably a lot of both).  

That said, I've read a number of books, and they all seem to make the same point, that it is important to finish the projects you are working on.  Getting another great idea in the midst of working on something is, more often than not, just a form of procrastination.  If that great idea you got while you were working on something, really is great, then it will be there when you finish your current project.

As of right now, I'm working on something that is taking longer than I thought it would, but I'm going to finish it, come hell or high water.  Everything else can wait for the time being, cause I'll probably go through the same doubts with it (and that's what it is, more than procrastination...or maybe they are one and the same)

Which reminds me, of an idea I had about an idea I had.

A poor story is just one story: Boy pursues girl.
A good story is two stories: By becoming a better man the boy will not need to pursue the girl.

Don't start the blazing 30 page opening sequence until you have a pretty good idea what you want a boy and a girl to sit across from each other at the diner after the movie to BS about over a cup of coffee.

Stupid boy "That was sweet when he chopped off that cop's head!"
Clever girl "It was sweet that he did it to save his zombie wife. Would you save me even if I was an ugly zombie?"

I often wonder what other writers go through and if they suffer the same problems I do.

I don't obsess, or maybe I do, but I definitely run through my story all the time. This is a major cause of my persistent insomnia.

Almost every waking moment I am sifting through the story in my head to the point that my story begins to feel like memories I once had of another life. I actually SEE it in my head as clear as if it really happened. I let it morph and bend. I do this for a long time before I ever write a word on paper.

The trap you want to avoid, and one I still fail at, is doing on the spot editing. You write a sentence or a bit of action or perhaps a whole scene and then spend the next 2 weeks obsessing over what few pages you have written and re-written, TWENTY FREAKIN' TIMES, until you're so damn frustrated you want to kick the hell out of... something.

I finally found it best to just write it. Get it done. Even if that first draft is a dirty kitchen sink version. You have to let it be what it actually is... A FIRST DRAFT. You can't write the final product on the first, second, or even a third draft. There is a natural evolution that has to happen.

The first draft should be somewhat easy, it is the re-writes and the fine tuning that can be a real pain in the ass. That is when the real second guessing starts. In my opinion anyway. But what do I know...

   I know exactly how you feel Yosemite, I have the same problem. I think about writing night and day. I generally think most of it is crap, but it still doesn't stop me. I've been a unsucessful wanna be songwriter off and on for thirty years. But I never give up. I also have the problem of other "great" ideas coming up while I'm trying to finish projects.

   Those ideas are a form of procrastination, that is true. I tend to lose my concentration because of all the ideas that come into my head daily.

   Screenplay writing is frustrating to me because I have never seen or may never see a script I have written produced, so I have no idea really what it would look like on screen. With music, you can do a recording or have a demo done. A book or short story is a completed work that anyone can read, It's a hard thing to me. Yet I really enjoy writing screenplays and will continue no matter what. Don't give up. I'm not going to. Marvin.

Quoted from yosemitesam How do you folks out in simplyscripts world stay motivated? Come up with original ideas? Thanks for listening to me b*tch...

Hints for beginners

Most beginners believe there is a formula to writing a script and work on having this and that in certain places within the script.

There are no rules but there are expectancies and definite conventions that must be met.

How many acts you divide your three acts into, the number of scenes per act, exactly where an act finishes or where the point of no return is placed, is not craved in stone.

How a writer takes an idea from concept to a total presentation is dependant on the skill set of the writer, nothing else.

The variations on how a great script can be conceived and presented is endless and totally individual, until you come to selling it.

In the writer’s world anything is possible, you can do it any way you want, you can buck convention and approach writing from a completely different aspect to anybody else, but in the end somebody else will decide if you have the skill, imagination and ability to create something worthwhile.

When a producer reads a script he will know if you thought it through, planned every move, stumbled for ideas, maintained the premised and developed the characters to be the story and not the plot.

Most importantly the metronome in his head and from his experience he will spot the rhythm immediately or be aware that your script has none, equally as fast.

Amateurs will always be amateurs until they approach writing professionally.

That means dedication, learning the craft, thinking out side of the box and writing even when you don’t feel like it.

Professional writers do not take a day off, even if they are on vacation with the girlfriend, family or by themselves, their brain is working all of the time.

On concepts, past work, current work, marketing and building contacts. It is impossible to switch off the flow of thoughts, the need to get them on paper and show their work to the world.

Practice makes perfect, writing makes writers.

And please don't call me Butch.

Quoted from JCShadow Almost every waking moment I am sifting through the story in my head to the point that my story begins to feel like memories I once had of another life. I actually SEE it in my head as clear as if it really happened. I let it morph and bend. I do this for a long time before I ever write a word on paper.

That's exactly how I do it.  A lot of people might not like that method, but for me, it wrinkles out a lot of the problems before I'd come across them in the actual writing.  And, when I do sit down and write for that first time on a story, I only write a quick, very quick storyboard so I have the story from beginning to end right away.  I know if I sit down and try to write a screenplay without any kind of storyboard, I'm either going to shelve it or take a huge-long-more-than-a-year break from it.

Even my storyboards have second drafts and third drafts, where I'll add more and more detailed descriptions, or I'll add notes about catchy, smart, uncliche'd dialogue.  Going from the beginning of my story to the end in only a couple minutes really helps me figure out which scenes move the story along and which ones just get in the way and banter.  

Doing that, when I do sit down to write the first draft of the actual script, everything's automatic and pretty much writes itself.  The story's already told, I just have to guide it along a bit.

-  Mark

Many times, when I come up with a story, I ask myself "What is Hollywood doing wrong?"  And I work from there.  Maybe it's a story cliche, or maybe Hollywood isn't going enough with something.  I start with these problems and develop a story from there.


Phil

Quoted from yosemitesam Does anyone else have a deep love of writing? Does anyone else think about the projects they are working on non stop throughout the day? Does anyone else think they totally suck at writing and become super frustrated? It seems like I always come up with an idea that I am super psyched on. I obsess about how to progress the story. I've written upwards of fifty pages multiple times. Then I always end up disliking the idea or feeling like it is very cliche and unoriginal. Anyone else have this problem? I am pretty new to screenwriting, but I seem to be making no progress...ever hahaha Maybe that's part of learning. How do you folks out in simplyscripts world stay motivated? Come up with original ideas? Thanks for listening to me b*tch...

Lots of strong arguments for the idea that there is no such thing as originality. In fact, trying to be original causes the biggest block, which is what you're suffering from. Lots of strong arguments for the idea that the most original observations are the most obvious.

In screenwriting, you can only be original in terms of situation, not structure ( see http://www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html ). So there's a differentiation there for a start. Your best chance of being "original" is to get a handle on one structure/plot and repeatedly superimpose various situations over it.

Best advice I ever got about writing was by a guy who now writes TV and films in the UK. He always was talented. I hate him. Well, as Morrissey said "We hate it when our barstard so called friends become ultra successful. The gits." I tink it went like dat.

Anywhere, he said "You start with a blank sheet. Write something, anything. You can always change it afterwards."

When I first heard that I thought him daft. Turns out to be the best advice I ever got. Apart from buying a dictionary, a computer, a printer and a loan. Oh, and loads of booze.

Nuff said. Keep cooking kids.

Love & P

R x

I run into the same problem. Right around page 60 I start to loose my fire for the project. I know it's just a form of procrastination, I tell myself that, but the depressive wall can be all consuming.

Power through. You'll be a better writer for it in the long run. Plus I often find I hit a stride right after I get through that wall.

Your first goal as a beginner, regardless of what anyone else tells you, is to write something. Pick an idea, preferably something simple and fun, start writing and finish it, no matter what. You will have the urge to stop. Don't! No matter what... Don't! Stop! Writing!

Chances are whatever ideas you come up with at this stage, you'll eventually grow dissatisfied with them and want to move onto others. Don't try to come up with the next Avatar, Inception, Pulp Fiction, Fargo, whatever (I don't know your taste). Even if you do, it'll be crap when you put it on paper.

That's the thing. Whatever you write first is most likely going to be crap. There's no avoiding it. It takes time to get good at writing. I've been writing for five years and only now am I starting to think my writing is actually strong (and I still get lazy sometimes). Since then, I've taken those five years of experience and applied them to all the features I've written since 2007. Looking back on work you did years ago, you usually don't like what you see. But now, most of those scripts are more or less up to snuff and a little closer to reaching their full potential.

The other five scripts I wrote before 2007 are unsalvageable. Much as I've tried to fix them. The ideas, however, are not. I'm intent on taking the ideas from one particular script and writing a brand new script out of them. That's the thing. Ideas can always be applied to something worth while. But it takes time to hone your writing to the point where you can do that.

I'm telling you this for two reasons: 1) It's true. 2) I felt the same way as you when I started writing at a lowly age of fifteen (I didn't finish my first script until I was 1.

So don't think. Just write... Well, think a little but write, dammit!

Out of everything I've read here, I think this is the best advice (for you, not in general):

Quoted from rendevous "You start with a blank sheet. Write something, anything. You can always change it afterwards."

Quoted from dogglebe I ask myself "What is Hollywood doing wrong?"  And I work from there.

Wrong. You wanna sell a screenplay? Figure out how to fit in first.

Quoted from Ralph Wrong.... Figure out how to fit in first.

Very sage advice.