How/When do you write?
Printed From: NYC Midnight : Creative Writing & Screenwriting
Category: GENERAL DISCUSSION
Forum Name: Screenwriting Bar & Lounge
Forum Description: Discuss NYC Midnight Screenwriting Competitions or Screenwriting in general.
URL: https://forums.nycmidnight.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=49
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 12:14am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: How/When do you write?
Posted By: keyeski38
Subject: How/When do you write?
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2006 at 8:59am
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Hey All,
This is my second year in the contest. I'm wondering from those of you who've competed before, how and when did you do your best writing last year. I finished my script on Thursday and hated it. After calling in sick to work on Friday, I wrote a second script I was happy with and won my heat. Any similar experiences? |
Replies:
Posted By: Suzie Q
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2006 at 9:11am
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I spread my work out pretty well all week long, before and after my regular workdays, then did a mad sprint on Saturday. I remember being all jacked up on Dancing Goats coffee and it took a l o n g time to unwind once I got the script in the mail... ------------- continue to learn. appreciate your friends. do what you love. live as if this is all there is. - mary anne radmacher |
Posted By: Chris Messineo
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2006 at 12:37pm
First, that is an amazing recovery, pulling out an entirely new script on the last day. I tried to write mine all week, but didn't start writing until Thursday. I'm hoping this year inspiration will strike sooner. Chris |
keyeski38 wrote:Posted By: ABEAR111
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2006 at 7:47pm
I'll let you know next year. |
Posted By: Kyle Milligan
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2006 at 8:08pm
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I find the key is a workspace that is free of clutter and distraction... which is why I've had my most clarity up at a cottage where there's nothing of my regular life to distract me.
Also, my best ideas come to me in the bathroom in the morning when I'm barely awake and/or not preoccupied with anything else. I don't generally find it easy yet to read out my entire scripts aloud, but you'd be surprised what doesn't sound natural once you try saying it. |
Posted By: gloriana1999
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2006 at 9:31pm
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Hi everyone. I find my inspiration late at night, after everyone else has gone to bed. There I not only unwind, but I put on some soft music (Michael Bubel is pretty good), and I can generally get something written. Not always good, but something, anything is better than nothing.
I also dream a lot.
One day, I hope one of the 20 or so scripts I've written will find their way to the screen (big or little).
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Posted By: MeaningLess
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2006 at 11:33pm
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I write best like Thoreau says - I think it was Thoreau, "...when the iron is hot..." I walk with digital recorder, pen and pad and whenever the inspiration hits me - no matter where I am or what's going on - I write. I'm blessed enough to have a night job; so, there's no one working with me and I have slots of free time.
I always research my topics to some degree. I need to feel like I know something about what I'm writing and I love splashing a little fact in my fiction. Once I research, I start brainstorming. The idea usually stands out way above the rest. Then I start writing. Almost all my stuff is character driven; so, I come up with some interesting characters next. I come up with the ending, then the beginning, and just fill in the gap(s). I have bad habit of rambling or taking one or two points too far, making the story too long which hurts when I'm on a deadline because I end up having to cut out a lot of stuff and cramming the ending. That's exactly what happened to me this time around. This is my 1st screenplay contest, but I've done some peotry and short story contests. Screenplays are more difficult for me, by far. ------------- "Meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless, says the teacher..." |
Posted By: duduckindy
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2006 at 3:09am
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This is my second year as well. 2004 - Received the genre/topic and brainstormed four different loglines - then brainstormed who each of them might develop. Went with one and had it completed within 24 hours - just had basic editing and trimming to make it fit the 20 pages.2006 - Brainstormed my story line driving home from a friends after I received my genre/topic. Fell asleep thinking about how the script would develop. Wrote the script on Saturday, with some revisions on Sunday, then I put it away until Wednesday night when I re-read it and made some last minute adjustments.
So - I guess the meat of my work comes immediately after the topic is released - and my revisions/adjustments come later. I guess if I make it to the final round - that strategy might pay off?
:)
Have a good one everybody!
Jeff
------------- "A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, nothing more." |
Posted By: richke
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2006 at 5:15am
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well i didnt particiapte last uyear, but now that this comp is underway i can tell you how i did it :)
Well i wrote, sunday, tuesday and wednesday and came up with a pretty good sotyr...but i was hurting after writing it...ended up having to start over and i wrote my second story of 20 pages in less than 10 hours...so i think in this case i wrote better under pressure...not that my fiurst was bad...but it wasnt as easy to write.
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Posted By: durden7
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2006 at 12:36pm
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I read my assignment as soon as it was posted, then researched to make sure I understood exactly what I was writing about. I had a fairy tale... which sucks, so I headed to Wikipedia online and got as solid a definition as possible. When I felt as though I understood, I wrote my understanding down ina journal and started adding notes.
I kept the journal with me at all times.
I started with possibilities. I spent the first three days jotting notes and a basic story arc, then on Tuesday I wrote the into and came up with character names. I had everything but the end written in about 2 days, and then started polishing it bit by bit until the end rolled around. I was finished Friday.
Then I realized I misunderstood that the competition wasn't done Friday night, but Saturday night.
I gave it more time on saturday. I felt pretty good about it (as good as could be expected) and submitted it around 11:00 on Saturday.
I guess I was well spaced out. Very comfortable.
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Posted By: tomshipley
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2006 at 2:03pm
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I wrote a script the first weekend. Got feeback from my brother that he didn't like it on Tuesday. So wrote another, the bulk of which was done Saturday because, like many of us, the 9-5 (or 8-6) job takes up a lot of time.
Overall, I tend to write at night after work or early morning on the weekends. While I'm at work, I often get ideas and will email them to my home account. Usually when I get home from work, I'm so mentally spent that I'm not very creative. So I just take what I've emailed my self and put it into the script, sometimes expanding on it. That seems to work best for me.
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Posted By: swhiteley
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2006 at 2:12pm
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I rent a hotel room. Room service and Mickey Mouse PJ's are essential to the process.
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Posted By: Willie
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2006 at 4:32pm
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I write in the shower... and since I take my showers at the local Y, I do get some strange looks.
Once, having left my waterproof goods in the car, I carved a touching scene in my Irish Spring. Proud of the moment, I lathered up whilst whistling the Irish Spring melody. To my utter disappointment, Reginald's words did not survive the cleansing.
Rewrites are a bitch
 . |
Posted By: ABEAR111
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 5:44am
| I think someone's fibbing... |
Posted By: aurora68
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 7:32am
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Last year, my husband came up with an idea Saturday morning, we outlined on Sunday, and had a first draft by Tuesday night. The rest of the week was pretty much spent in re-writes and proofing. We ended up as fourth runner up in our heat.
This year, our process was remarkably similar. My husband had one idea, I dreamed another. We hashed them out a bit and decided to go with my idea. We outlined for the rest of Saturday and Sunday, then drafted Monday and Tuesday. Results to be determined. ------------- Check out our script: http://www.nycmidnight.com/forums/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=763&PID=9681#9681 - Au Jus |
Posted By: Willie
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 7:47am
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I write when I can. Time is difficult to come by. As my kids get more involved in extracurricular activities, it becomes more difficult - though my daughter is a year-round swimmer, so when I take her to practice, I take my laptop with me. I want to invest more time in writing... though, don't we all?
Bill
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Posted By: ABEAR111
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 8:11am
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When I have something to write, I just don't sleep. I'll stay up till 3AM then get up at 6:30AM to go to work. I can do this for a week if I sleep late on Saturday, but after a while it starts to take a toll. Still, it's better than keeping it all bottled up inside. |
Posted By: Willie
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 9:10am
I was able to do the same a long time ago. My commute is 75 miles to work. If I tried that now, I would not survive the drive.
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Posted By: Chris Messineo
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 9:21am
That's not a commute, it's an expedition.
Chris
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Posted By: Willie
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 10:24am
Chris - you are correct; it is an expedition. Luckily, I only make that expedition Mon-Wed-Fri. Telecommute on Tues & Thurs.
I'm rarely in traffic, so it's not so bad. I have to sacrifice to live out in Northwest NJ... and it's worth it (most of the time).
Bill
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Posted By: Chris Messineo
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 10:41am
Where exit are you in NJ?
I am 14C off the Turnpike, 142 off the Parkway, and 43 off of 78.
Chris |
Posted By: Willie
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2006 at 10:53am
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I'm the last exit off of 78 before you hit PA - and 13 miles from that exit, due north. Or if you choose to take Route 80, I'm just about the last exit before you hit PA as well. If you've ever been to The Land of Make Believe in Hope, NJ, I'm about 7 miles south of Hope in a beautiful town called Belvidere. Bill
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Posted By: SavageG
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2006 at 8:49am
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This year i went the even division of labour route. I spent Saturday coming up with the plot. Sunday the first couple of pages, the title, and the log line. Then 3-5 pages the next few days leading to revisions on Friday.
I'm not the most organized person so I can't say I have a clutter free environment to work in, but I do keep my brain clutter-free by blasting music through the headphones. What kind depends on the genre. heartfelt drama, maybe some Dire Straits, action/adventure, perhaps the Red Hot Chili Peppers . My most shameful moment: completing my first feature while singing along to Avril Lavign's "Let Go" album. ------------- Not all who wander are lost, not all who wonder without wisdom. |
Posted By: johnnyd
Date Posted: 19 Aug 2006 at 4:45pm
I drive past you every day to and from work, Chris. Live in Spotswood (exit 123, roughly), work in Fairfield (Exit 145 and then some.)
Plus, I hear it rumored that you know Jeff Maschi. Jeff and I go way back.
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Posted By: durden7
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2006 at 9:39am
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I write whenever I can steal a few minutes. I keep a journal with me pretty much all the time, so I just flip it open and start at it. Sometimes I only get a few sentences, but it's something. The hand-written work is basically my rough draft. I try to type at night, and when I type from the journal it's like getting a free edit right away. It works for me.
I like to write with a fountain pen (I have a small collection that I rotate) and in a journal of some kind. I grab a different looking journal each time I start a new one, and I date it when it's opened, and when I close it.
At the least, it lets me see how much progress I've made in terms of volume. It helps me keep going.
I've filled up 15-20 journals I suppose, from 120-250 pages each. It feels good to look at them, and if I don't know what to write, I can sift through them for ideas.
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Posted By: Chris Messineo
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2006 at 6:51pm
Jeff is awesome. I directed him twice, once in "The Crucible" and more recently in " http://www.offstagefilms.com/River.htm - The Riverbank " a short I did for the 24 Hour NYC Midnight Contest.
Chris |
Posted By: johnnyd
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2006 at 7:35pm
I'm directing him right now in the stage version of "A Few Good Men" in Piscataway. Just about to hit tech week. I've directed him three times before as well. A friend of mine at work raved about "The River" and sent it to me, and there he was again.
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Posted By: Chris Messineo
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2006 at 5:11am
Are you doing it at Circle? I'd love to come see it. I've only done one play there, but I love the space. Chris |
Posted By: johnnyd
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2006 at 4:51am
That's the place. Opens this weekend. LOTS to tech this week, but we'll get there.
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