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trike View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote trike Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2006 at 6:00am
Originally posted by Chris Messineo Chris Messineo wrote:

Last year, I spent the first 5 days desperately trying to compe up with an idea for a script.  Then with 2 days to go, it finally came to me.  I wrote the first draft in a day and then spent the last day tweaking it.
 
Chris


I think that's how it's going to be for me, too.

Stew, stew, stew... mull, mull, mull... again, again, again... mulligan stew, mulligan stew, mulligan stew....

Then (hopefully) inspiration and revelation and excitation and good vibrations.

Off to stew some more.

Doug
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trike View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote trike Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2006 at 6:03am
Originally posted by Chris Messineo Chris Messineo wrote:

I hate trying to come up with new ideas.  I don't like writing much either.  Mostly I like having written.  I love the sense of accomplishment when a creative work is complete.
 
Does that make any sense?

Chris


Yes.  Me, I love coming up with ideas, and I rather like writing, although the process isn't as fun as being finished.

Brainstorming is fun, writing is a challenge.  Rewriting... now that's work.

Doug
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AndyHeck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2006 at 8:06am
Hey.  Weighing in a bit late.  I just work on the idea for a day or so. Think about characters, plot, theme, etc.  Then begin on Sunday.  A few pages a day and finish by Wednesday.   Then I rewrite. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gmercer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2006 at 8:18am
Sitting down to write is one of the hardest things for me to do - there are so many more fun things I could be doing --
 
- like watching the food network
- and then there's one of the various bad David Arquette movies on TBS
- staring at the blank page on my computer screen
- "did the mail just come, I better go check"
- "damn I can't stand Chris Matthews, but I better watch the rest of his show"
- can a pill really do that?
 
etc, etc... - you get my silly point, but when I do get into the writing I just don't want to stop. So I guess the moral to my story is throw out your TV.
 
glenn 
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Peter Ramsey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Peter Ramsey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2006 at 2:45pm
Hey Joel,
This is my first contest, so I am a newbie as well. I was surprised at my genre and topic but now I am on my way and am almost half the way through my screenplay. Here is a little advice that has worked for me in the past. Look back in your life, your family and friends lives and you will most likely find what you want there. If not look at history and think about the future, Also release the thought of uninspiring and change it to a challenge. Best of luck to you. I hope I have helped a little.
PR
Never assume anything!
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Hairy Lime View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hairy Lime Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2006 at 6:11am
Originally posted by wenonah wenonah wrote:

My "method" is to just let everything simmer in my head for a full day - I don't write a word, I just do my thing and somehow, someway the idea comes.
This is excellent advice, but don't limit yourself to a single day. Last year I sat on the idea for 4 days without writing a word. Wrote the script over the next 2 days, rewrote on day 7, and won my heat. I was determined not to even submit a script unless I found a story I truly wanted to tell. I'll do the same thing this year. I've got too much going on to write something I'm not passionate about, entry fee be damned.
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Hairy Lime View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hairy Lime Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2006 at 6:12am
Originally posted by ABEAR111 ABEAR111 wrote:

That "not writing for a full day" could be problematic in the finals...
Let's not put the cart before the horse.
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Hairy Lime View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hairy Lime Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2006 at 6:14am
Originally posted by Chris Messineo Chris Messineo wrote:

I think another important thing to remember is to try and be unique within your genre/subject assignment. There are about 20 other writers given the same starting point and I the last thing you want is to writing the same basic story as 2 or 3 other people in your heat.
Dammit, Chris. That's golden advice ... not something to be shared with noobs.
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MisterWrite View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MisterWrite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2006 at 10:06am

I'm gonna find my hook. And once I get it, I'm gonna knock it out in one go. That's how I normally work with shorts. To me, it's like masturbating - if you spend too long on it, you'll lose interest very quickly. And it may take a while before you re-find your momentum. The only problem is that you can potentially leave a very large mess at the end of it. And it could take a while to clean up.



Edited by MisterWrite - 23 Jul 2006 at 10:11am
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ABEAR111 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ABEAR111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2006 at 10:54am
Originally posted by Hairy Lime Hairy Lime wrote:

Originally posted by Chris Messineo Chris Messineo wrote:

I think another important thing to remember is to try and be unique within your genre/subject assignment. There are about 20 other writers given the same starting point and I the last thing you want is to writing the same basic story as 2 or 3 other people in your heat.
Dammit, Chris. That's golden advice ... not something to be shared with noobs.


That's the spirit, Hairy!  That's why you can't be the bartender.
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