Writing rituals

Wasn’t sure where to post this. Out of curiosity, what is everyone’s post-writing ritual? When you finish a script - what’s the first thing you do?

I always print it off - I like to look at it in paper form. I know I’m done with it when I’ve printed it off. After that - I wait 6 months then get a red pen and scribble notes on it and revise it. But I always know I’m ready to work on something new after printing off a script. Good or bad, I'm proud that it's done and in front of me.

I might celebrate with a glass of wine - but that’s roughly about it. I’m saving champagne for if I sell anything ha.

Plotting

Also - does anyone know some really great books on plot?

I think plotting is my great weakness and I’d very much like to work on that. Thus far - I have a tendency to rush through an outline (basically my foundation is never that strong before getting to the screenplay stage). I’ve tried yellow legal pads, scene cards, etc.

What I’m trying out now is outlining as much as possible in a moleskin notebook (200 pages) and then I’ll write it up into an expanded outline/treatment. So basically - write as much as possible and investigate it from every angle and then cut it down to a cool 100 pages.

Quoted from The Dark Horse Writing rituals Wasn’t sure where to post this. Out of curiosity, what is everyone’s post-writing ritual? When you finish a script - what’s the first thing you do? I always print it off - I like to look at it in paper form. I know I’m done with it when I’ve printed it off. After that - I wait 6 months then get a red pen and scribble notes on it and revise it. But I always know I’m ready to work on something new after printing off a script. Good or bad, I'm proud that it's done and in front of me. I might celebrate with a glass of wine - but that’s roughly about it. I’m saving champagne for if I sell anything ha. Plotting Also - does anyone know some really great books on plot? I think plotting is my great weakness and I’d very much like to work on that. Thus far - I have a tendency to rush through an outline (basically my foundation is never that strong before getting to the screenplay stage). I’ve tried yellow legal pads, scene cards, etc. What I’m trying out now is outlining as much as possible in a moleskin notebook (200 pages) and then I’ll write it up into an expanded outline/treatment. So basically - write as much as possible and investigate it from every angle and then cut it down to a cool 100 pages.

We may have a different definition of "finish". Anyway - these are the things I do after typing FADE OUT.

First - Take a breather for a few days - week.

Then do what I refer to as my mechanics:(Note - I write using Final Draft so these tools may not be available to all).

1. Copy and paste the script ten pages at a time into a Word File and run "Grammerly"  A nice tool for finding typos and grammatical errors.

2. Run the script in audio (i.e., FD will read it to you) - many errors are discovered by listening to the script (note - this was a tip I got from Warren and it is a good one).

3. Run a word search on a list of pedestrian verbs (e.g., walks, enters, stops, goes, etc. etc.) to see if they can't be replaced with a more descriptive verb.

4. Generate a scene header report to make sure that I described a single scene in a consistent manner throughout the script (amazing how many errors I can make in this regard).

5. Revisit all named character descriptions when intro'd to see if I can do better.

6. Finalize an outline for the entire script. When I write the first draft I use a very rough outline if one at all. I create a detailed outline (I use Excel or the FD  index cards for this) of a completed draft.  Each outline entry has these elements:

Scene number
Scene Location
Scene Purpose
Character's in scene
Did I enter scene to early - yes or no
Did I exit scene too late - yes or no
Comments:

Example:

Scene number: 1

Scene Location: Medical Office

Character's in scene: LOWELL and DR FERGUSON

Scene Purpose: First intro of LOWELL and DR FERGUSON. Establish something medically wrong with Lowell and establish his friendship with Doctor.

Did I enter scene to early?: Consider eliminating having  Lowell in the room by himself. Start scene with Doctor Ferguson still there.

Did I exit scene too late? No.

Comments: It's seven pages - needs to be trimmed more.  Some dialogue could be deleted/replaces with action/reaction.

Then I print the outline and use that to start the next draft. It's a tedious exercise for sure, but for me it moves me from staring at script pages to doing something active and somehow that gets the creative juices flowing.

Anyway - that's what works for me.

My ritual involves several vestal virgins, a hot tub time machine, lots of alcohol, cigs, weed, and a Tomahawk style bone-in Ribeye steak.

Quoted from Dreamscale My ritual involves several vestal virgins, a hot tub time machine, lots of alcohol, cigs, weed, and a Tomahawk style bone-in Ribeye steak.

Well, yeah - I didn't want to post all the obvious ones :)

Quoted from The Dark Horse Writing rituals Also - does anyone know some really great books on plot? I think plotting is my great weakness and I’d very much like to work on that. Thus far - I have a tendency to rush through an outline (basically my foundation is never that strong before getting to the screenplay stage). I’ve tried yellow legal pads, scene cards, etc. What I’m trying out now is outlining as much as possible in a moleskin notebook (200 pages) and then I’ll write it up into an expanded outline/treatment. So basically - write as much as possible and investigate it from every angle and then cut it down to a cool 100 pages.

I didn't really start to get a hang on plotting until I started studying movies. I would start a movie and I would write down every scene in a note book. How long the scene was. The purpose of it and what happened in it. After having done that with maybe fifty films, I started better see how they were all put together. The only drawback was that it took me quite some time afterwards to not feel a need to take notes while watching a movie. Anyway, this helped a LOT. No need to read books on the subject. Just watch movies.  :)

Now when I set out to write a feature, I always write down a list from 1 - 45. Scenes usually average around two pages of script, so 45 will be roughly the amount of scenes you will have. Then I fill these points 1- 45 with my scenes and/or plot points. When I have most of them filled out, I know where the script is heading and I won't get lost on the way.

I'm currently working on a feature that a director is waiting for, I'll probably disappoint, and this time around I'm trying out the sequence approach. Since I'm pretty decent at writing shorts, I figured this might work for me because this means I only need to write eight 12 - 15 page shorts. We'll see how that goes.  :)

Dave, your notes are GOLD.  Seriously, very impressive.

For me, when I was done, I knew it, but that was probably 10-20 rereads and adding/subtracting editing after the "rough draft" was finished and FADE OUT was typed...BUT...that rough draft had already been completely edited at least 10 times.

From there, it was straight to the virgins, hot tub, and everything else that one would need or want in such a setting.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

And, yeah, it made me very proud and was always a great feeling to know the project had been completed.

Quoted from Dreamscale And, yeah, it made me very proud and was always a great feeling to know the project had been completed.

Completed? What is this word, “completed?” :)

Quoted from Dreamscale Dave, your notes are GOLD.  Seriously, very impressive. For me, when I was done, I knew it, but that was probably 10-20 rereads and adding/subtracting editing after the "rough draft" was finished and FADE OUT was typed...BUT...that rough draft had already been completely edited at least 10 times. From there, it was straight to the virgins, hot tub, and everything else that one would need or want in such a setting. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D And, yeah, it made me very proud and was always a great feeling to know the project had been completed.

thanks

I write all my stuff by hand in a notebook. I may do a scene outline with slugs and a few lines about the scene. I don’t outline the whole script. Sometimes the ending will come to me early.

When I have most of it handwritten and the rest in my head I start to copy it into the laptop software. This can take awhile - my current feature I began writing by hand back in early November. I set myself the discipline of 1 page min daily. By just before Xmas I had three qtrs of it written but stopped as family stuff was about to happen lol. All good as I had it all worked out and knew how the script would end.

Fast forward to now and I’m only half way thru copying to computer lol as I get distracted by other stuff like work, life, gaming, reading etc.  But the best bit is that my method means I don’t have to do numerous drafts as I revise and create new stuff as I copy to the software! This keeps the material from getting stale. Anyway am gonna do some copying nowbut it’s a  slog as I’m tired from a 9 hour shift last night

"Also - does anyone know some really great books on plot?"

I'm struggling with books nowadays. They too often take too long to say too little, and there's so many decent podcasts and channels on YouTube that cover the same thing, but in a more succinct manner.

Triad any of those?

The trouble with screenwriting books is that they tend to cover a lot of basic information that most people who pick up the book already know.
They are still really good for having and referencing sometimes.

Having said that, I'm reading "into the woods" by John Yorke. It's really good I would highly recommend. It's a fun, insightful and inspiring read.

ELDAVE -
I started using grammarly too. I thought my grammar was fine with word then I used grammarly and discovered how atrocious I’ve been.

Some other things people do (during the proof read stage): reading it backwards word by word and reading it word by word with your finger underneath. I also look at the PDF and search if I’ve used certain words more than once. I keep an eye on the amount of times I use: then, silence, beat, moment. I’m definitely a “then” guy.

All great tips here though.

DREAMSCALE -
Ha I expected at least one person to say “cocaine and hookers” or along those lines.

ANGRY BEAR -
Apparently that’s what Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah do. They watch movies with a yellow legal pad and make notes of the structure while they do it. But yeah - at the end of the day, watching movies and reading screenplays is probably the best way to learn. As if by osmosis.

Admittedly, I have tried your technique before and I don’t think it’s for me. Though at the same time, I recently got feedback where the main criticisms were the inciting incident didn’t happen where it should’ve - which really annoyed me. I always feel like it inhibits you to have it land on a certain page but at the same time you do need it to flow a certain way.

I know Eric Roth rewrites and rewrites until the structure is just natural/organic. I’d love to get to the point of it being second nature.

Thank you for your input.

STEVIE -
I’m trying out something similar to what you’re doing - with the notebook anyways. Admittedly, I can’t help but think my process is different every time. I’d love to have a more streamlined process. Something that works every time.

MAX RUDDOCK -
Yeah in times of trouble I go to Brian Koppelman and Creative Spark. But I dunno, I know most screenwriting books are bullshit but at the same time - I like to fill myself up with different perspectives on it all. See what works for me.

SAM -
“Into the Woods” is a good read. I recommend Billy Mernit’s “Writing the Romantic Comedy” (regardless of if you like the genre, it’s a great screenplay book) and “101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters” (for when times are tough).

Okay, thank you for the input everyone. I hope something really good happens to everyone today.

Quoted from The Dark Horse ELDAVE - I started using grammarly too. I thought my grammar was fine with word then I used grammarly and discovered how atrocious I’ve been. Some other things people do (during the proof read stage): reading it backwards word by word and reading it word by word with your finger underneath. I also look at the PDF and search if I’ve used certain words more than once. I keep an eye on the amount of times I use: then, silence, beat, moment. I’m definitely a “then” guy. All great tips here though. DREAMSCALE - Ha I expected at least one person to say “cocaine and hookers” or along those lines. ANGRY BEAR - Apparently that’s what Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah do. They watch movies with a yellow legal pad and make notes of the structure while they do it. But yeah - at the end of the day, watching movies and reading screenplays is probably the best way to learn. As if by osmosis. Admittedly, I have tried your technique before and I don’t think it’s for me. Though at the same time, I recently got feedback where the main criticisms were the inciting incident didn’t happen where it should’ve - which really annoyed me. I always feel like it inhibits you to have it land on a certain page but at the same time you do need it to flow a certain way. I know Eric Roth rewrites and rewrites until the structure is just natural/organic. I’d love to get to the point of it being second nature. Thank you for your input.

Yeah, Grammerly is very useful for me.

Quoted from eldave1 Yeah, Grammerly is very useful for me.

Grammarly...   :o ;D :P

This is a great thread. I think Dave's advice should hang somewhere on the site, separately. But how to do that? Too bad there's no special place for gold advice collection. Or maybe we could create a thread for it or something?

I'd put there Dave's response and add what Pia said about timing - if I'm not mistaken, that's how I understood that post. Because I do something similar - watch for the super long scenes and super short scenes and cut/add to even the scenes out. Short don't bother me as much as super long scenes. I think they might wear the audience down.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Grammarly...   :o ;D :P

Case in point :)

Writing ritual -- After finishing a script, I put it away for a month or so, so that when I go back to it, it's with a completely fresh perspective.  I tend to live with a given script for months and months (see next paragraph) so when I'm finished with a first draft, it's time for a brain vacation.  I have to cleanse my mind of it.  This typically involves starting a new script.  When I do finally go back to it, it's with a completely clinical eye.  Even if there's a scene I absolutely love, if it doesn't move the story forward or reveal any kind of vital plot or character information, I cut it.

Plotting -- I'm a lazy screenwriter; as much as I enjoy creating stories and characters, I find the actual physical act of sitting down and transcribing what's in my head onto the page tedious and irritating.  I don't want to have to type one single word more than I absolutely have to.  Because of this, I tend to mull a story over in my head for months, sometimes upwards of a year, before ever writing the first word of it.  During those many months I work out as many details in my head as I can, so that by the time I do sit down to write it, I already have pretty much the full movie in my head.  Because I spend so much time working out the story before writing any of it, I am far, far from prolific.  But, also because I spend so much time working on the story before writing any of it, when I do finally write it, the writing process goes very quickly, and I don't tend to need a lot of revisions.

Clearly this is not an approach I would recommend to anyone who has any hopes of being even moderately prolific, but it works for me.

Lon - Your process reminds me of Dustin Lance Black. He has the work ethic of an art. It's ridiculous ha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrvawtrRxsw

I wouldn't worry too much about being prolific. I've done 8 scripts in the past two years and I often feel like I spread myself too thin and bounced from one to the next. This year I want to do what you're doing and be more meticulous with just one project. Be more streamlined. Less messy.

Thanks for the input.

Some amazing editing tips there from Dave. I really hope they incorporate Grammerly into FD at some point as it is invaluable. I tried copying the whole script into word and it was too much, it never occurred to me to do 10 pages at a time – doh!

My ritual after I’ve finished a script? I don’t have one. I breath a great sigh of relief and satisfaction and that is it.

Plotting. I can plot a lot in my head and that works for shorts and even TV pilots to some degree. I sometimes write a 1 or 2-page outline before I start just so I’m sure of the story from a high level.  However, for features I find I have to do some outlining first. The trouble is I have very little time to write, weekends only. I found using this book helped, “The Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time” – I follow the brief exercises in this book to get the story outline and the characters nailed down before I write Fade In.

Bravo Dave! Great stuff there -- My greatest downfall is that I am incredibly lazy, but I should really try and pull my finger out and use some of these tips.

After I have finished a script- I print it, try and read it again, get about 10 pages in and despair about how shit it is. I then lock it away in a dark cupboard, grab a bottle of wine and have a good inner debate with myself about how crap I am and whether I can actually do this.

Fast forward an indeterminate amount of time - I find the script in the cupboard, read it again, get overcome with a new sense of "YES I CAN!" and begin re-writing.

Plotting - I do something similar to Angry Bear - I start with 10-15 important plot points putting them in order - Then I expand on these, what happens in these plot points? how many scenes make up this plot point? then I expand again, what happens in between, what leads them from one plot point to the other, then I expand again, with actual scenes - more detail about what happens, who is involved, how it should start and end (emotion/information etc)
By this point I have about 40/45 detailed bullet points in a list order - Then I start writing

Using the above list, I don't generally write in a linear fashion. Sometimes I will skip to the important plot points, write them out (not too detailed, dialogue at this point is stale as hell, if there at all) - Then going back to the beginning, write out the "in-between plot points" scenes, leading me to the next one - most likely things change from my original list as I am getting to the next plot point too quickly, or not quickly enough. If I ever get stuck anywhere, I skip ahead and carry on writing later scenes.
Once I have all my scenes done, I go through with more detail adding in dialogue, better descriptions, and actions, look at where I need/want to reveal information blah blah blah

Works for me as I never really sit there twiddling my thumbs with writer's block as there is somewhere in the script I can jump into and expand. And this way I have never really felt overwhelmed by a feature, as I feel more organized

I read a famous screenwriter once (I forgot the name) who said if he’s writing a script everyday - he waits until he gets a great idea fOR WHAT’S NEXT UNTIL HE CUTS IT OFF FOR THE NEXT DAY. NEVER WRITES IT. THAT WAY YOU ALWAYS START  OFF writing and without no ideas that leads to writers block. I have tried to follow that. Always end the night with a fresh idea NOT written and start it the next day.

PS I don’t know where or how those capitals got in there. But like many of you stated - I am a lazy writer and refuse to go back and correct. Lol

Fillet steak and a good red wine. But currently I have a couple of rewrites and notes so annoyingly can’t finish something i’m Nearly there with. Like others I tend to work things out in my head before I write. I have got stuck a couple of times but when that happens, I work on another story, and when I come back to the trouble maker, i’m unblocked. The mind works on problems unconsciously I find.

Quoted from eldave1 We may have a different definition of "finish". Anyway - these are the things I do after typing FADE OUT. First - Take a breather for a few days - week. Then do what I refer to as my mechanics:(Note - I write using Final Draft so these tools may not be available to all). 1. Copy and paste the script ten pages at a time into a Word File and run "Grammerly"  A nice tool for finding typos and grammatical errors. 2. Run the script in audio (i.e., FD will read it to you) - many errors are discovered by listening to the script (note - this was a tip I got from Warren and it is a good one). 3. Run a word search on a list of pedestrian verbs (e.g., walks, enters, stops, goes, etc. etc.) to see if they can't be replaced with a more descriptive verb. 4. Generate a scene header report to make sure that I described a single scene in a consistent manner throughout the script (amazing how many errors I can make in this regard). 5. Revisit all named character descriptions when intro'd to see if I can do better. 6. Finalize an outline for the entire script. When I write the first draft I use a very rough outline if one at all. I create a detailed outline (I use Excel or the FD  index cards for this) of a completed draft.  Each outline entry has these elements: Scene number Scene Location Scene Purpose Character's in scene Did I enter scene to early - yes or no Did I exit scene too late - yes or no Comments: Example: Scene number: 1 Scene Location: Medical Office Character's in scene: LOWELL and DR FERGUSON Scene Purpose: First intro of LOWELL and DR FERGUSON. Establish something medically wrong with Lowell and establish his friendship with Doctor. Did I enter scene to early?: Consider eliminating having  Lowell in the room by himself. Start scene with Doctor Ferguson still there. Did I exit scene too late? No. Comments: It's seven pages - needs to be trimmed more.  Some dialogue could be deleted/replaces with action/reaction. Then I print the outline and use that to start the next draft. It's a tedious exercise for sure, but for me it moves me from staring at script pages to doing something active and somehow that gets the creative juices flowing. Anyway - that's what works for me.

I'm late to this thread, but I can't see you going too wrong following this method.

I think the main take-a-way from this is the detail in which a script should be polished. I certainly read a lot of scripts that don’t even seem to have the most basic editing. I think there is something to be said about a writer who agonises over the tiniest detail of their script and then presents it in a way that you really can appreciate the work that has been put into it.

Thanks for the mention, Dave. I live by this feature, it's amazing what it picks up.