He recently gave me some feature article work and I wanted to thank him. We got to talking about screenwriting and my writing in general, and he said my articles worked because I "tell a good story and it flows" and that "they also work cinematically"...

It was a huge compliment and I was grateful, him being the old guard newspaper guy that he is. But it got me to thinking - maybe that's where we all go off the beam sometimes?

We get so bogged down in screenplay formatting, and "we sees" and plot points and beat sheets, and the whole thing, and we forget to TELL A GOOD STORY...

So here's what I learned today - pick a good story, and tell it well, and the rest will come. And thanks to my professor for re-teaching me that...

Quoted from ajr He recently gave me some feature article work and I wanted to thank him. We got to talking about screenwriting and my writing in general, and he said my articles worked because I "tell a good story and it flows" and that "they also work cinematically"... It was a huge compliment and I was grateful, him being the old guard newspaper guy that he is. But it got me to thinking - maybe that's where we all go off the beam sometimes? We get so bogged down in screenplay formatting, and "we sees" and plot points and beat sheets, and the whole thing, and we forget to TELL A GOOD STORY... So here's what I learned today - pick a good story, and tell it well, and the rest will come. And thanks to my professor for re-teaching me that...

I completely agree. First hand, I get bogged down even at the sentence level. I just have an editor's eye that won't leave me alone sometimes. This is one kind of fruitlessness because before that really matters a great deal, the place markers must have some kind of place and meaning.

Like you said, the story must be before you at all times. Now, there may be some who find the story along the way, but that I think is rare and also hit and miss for most people.

There is such an infinite amount of details regarding the whole process that yes, people can easily get bogged down. Learning to have a more sky-high view, as like an eagle-- that is a skill, unless one happens to be gifted.

Sandra