Outlines/ Pre-writing

[CanadianVampire]

what do you guys usually put in the pre-writing stage and your outlines? Just wondering, since I usually have trouble doing that kind of stuff..




.. plus theres lots of threads popping up about that, so I decided to make a general one.

[Maestro]

Here's a very rough summary I posted a while back:

The two basic ways to start are: theme and character. In other words, pick a character that will illustrate your theme, or pick a theme that suits your protag. Then come up with your antag (if you have one) and supporting characters who will accent different aspects of your theme/protag.

Once you have that, determine your act breaks (and Act II mid-point). Then decide what you need the scenes in between the turning points to accomplish. Then think of several ways for each scene to accomplish what it needs to accomplish and pick the best one.

At this point you should have a strong enough outline to script from.

Maestro

[HorrorIsMyGod]

Maestro -- Please tell me you've sold a Script! I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- You know your Shit! When It comes to writing a Script, or in General Guidance to others! If not then It doesn't surprise me. Thats Hollywood's way of saying, "I got my Movie out before you did yours!"

[Maestro]

I appreciate the complement, but it'll make the mods life easier if we take personal stuff like this to PM.

That said, I haven't sold anything yet because I try to practice what I preach; I'm in the process of rewriting several scripts to get them to a professional level before going out with them.

In the meantime, I'm here to learn from the folks who have more experience than I do, and if I can pay a little of that back to the community by helping someone else, it's a win-win situation.

Mahalo - Maestro