Stop Worrying About Business and Write an Imaginative Screenplay!
I can’t help but notice that screenwriting continues to be approached more and more from the business side of the trade rather than the artistic and expressive side these days.
Whether you’re skimming the UCLA extension program for screenwriting courses, reading blog posts such as “Marketing you Screenplay and Securing a Rich Deal,” or books on packaging elements into your work, they’re all focusing on the business aspect of the trade.
While this might be a bit naive to be writing, I simply think it’s necessary for screenwriters to remember what makes storytelling, in any form, so much fun …
Your imagination.
Here are a few ways to break through the mind-numbing business side of screenwriting and focus on the imaginative side.
Don’t Take the Advice of Those Who Set Rules
Whether they’re authors, bloggers, professors, and even screenwriters, rule-setters are just plain silly. You have to realize that these poeple might be great sources for inspiration, tips, ideas, and guidelines, but everything they write, teach, share, or sell is merely their individual opinion based on their individual experience.
One of the best and worst aspects of the film business is that while it’s all business … it’s very much art at the same time. Business is made of formulas, solutions, and answers … the film business doesn’t have any of those because the business is based on theory and luck. Studios, producers, and others can only hope their latest project will be well received by the audience.
In essence, there are no rules. Learn to become comfortable knowing that there is no direct path into Hollywood (only out of it), nothing is set in stone, the film business is very much luck, and therefore, those who set rules are silly. Let that inner rebel out and smash those rules. Write a thousand page screenplay if your story demands it! Use camera direction if you feel it enhances the visual understanding for the reader! And break even the one rule I stand by (be concise) … share your sweet, flowery prose to reveal the action of your screenplay.
Overall, just be creative, do what you want, and your talent will shine.
Have the Courage to Imagine
Don’t be afraid to let your mind go and explore dangerous new territory. Push the boundaries if that’s where your imagination takes you. Reveal things audiences have never experienced before — this should be a no-brainer, but surprisingly, screenwriters tend to play it safe and include the same old scenes we’ve all experienced before.
Your imagination is your strongest asset. Use it as much as possible — if you don’t, you risk merely writing scenes you experienced as an audience member or reader. Take on new ground and invent your own path through your world of story.
Unlearn What You Have Learned
This is closely related to number one — In order to progress as a writer, you need to unlearn what you have learned (thanks Yoda). Take everything you’ve learned at school or from books, and throw it out the window. This might be considered learning the rules in order to break them, but I think there’s more to it than that.
Unlearning the basics will allow you to push the boundaries of the medium as so many of the successful screenwriters and filmmakers have done in the past.
Again, do what ever you want to do and do it however you want to do it. This takes courage, a basic understanding of the foundations of the craft, and the ability to create something that goes beyond the norm.
Overall, the idea here is to simply re-activate that imagination of yours. It’s easy to fall into the business trap and consider screenwriting a way of earning a large pay check, steady income, or whatever your financial goals are; when it comes down to it, the screenwriters who make it are those who discard the rules and business aspects of the trade and allow their imaginations to truly roam while creating story.
Now, just to be clear — the professional screenwriter will be able to balance both business and creativity simultaneously; but this article isn’t for them … it’s for you.
So before you focus too hard on business aspects of the screenwriting trade, consider allowing yourself to grow into what the business side of the business needs to succeed … an artist.
Stop Worrying About Business and Write an Imaginative Screenplay!
Great Article! I enjoyed reading this stuff because I might say that this is where I am now. Sometimes I knock myself out just to try and write something, and every single day I am always faced with the notion that whatever story I wrote is just going to be a piece of crap. But I’m still gonna just do it, for the love of it.
Still, I am always in doubt, and this is something I couldn’t get over because I can see what I want to write, but its just how to get there is the problem. Sometimes I can’t be too lateral or overly creative that it ignores the importance of logic, so I don’t know, what do you think about that? do you think that it should be balanced between the lateral (creative) and the vertical (logic/control)?
Sometimes when I put myself into my own stories too much, it becomes hard to believe for others because it just doesn’t sound credible enough or truthful. But at the same time, too much truth or too much facts and control will take away your original creative craft as well.
So what is your view on this?
Excellent! This is just what many screenwriters today need to hear. So many people get bogged down in the details of the business side, over-analyzing what people ‘want to see’ in the theaters, looking at trends, and taking the budget into account. While those are all important, they can really stifle creativity for the writer. I think screenwriters should go all out when they write, and then consider all of those other things, and (if necessary) perhaps write another version of the same script. Then you can compare. You can always send someone the other version (if they think it’s too expensive or some other reason; but at least then you’ve gotten your original vision out there and whoever reads or plans to produce your script has now seen those original ideas. They are much more likely to keep them in there, no matter what some businessperson thinks.
William – You can put yourself into your stories and still have them ring true for millions. Perhaps try putting yourself into your stories as many different characters, with each one being a particular aspect of your personality. That will help take away some of the subjectiveness others may be feeling. Try to make your plot and theme as universal as possible while still having a specific story to tell. Universality always resonates true with people. I hope that helps.
TRUE INDEED!!
Often enough, the voices inside my head keep shouting their critiques during the process of my writing. Each voice with different aspects; all opposing each others methods. I have a style that I’m comfortable with but sometimes I end up doubting the worth of my screenplay, concerning structure. The business aspects pop out, with red flags and megaphones. Since my last bout with doubt (which was last week) I’ve canned the voices. Tuesday, is trash pick-up. I can hardly wait…
Jonny – whas up man? I can understand because thats exactly what I go through everyday before sitting down to write. Sometimes it can get you exhausted easily because your mind’s been split into two. But, one of the things that I do to help myself is basically going over some of my notes on characters and their personality (their backstories), because even though it may be alot of work, but you may be able to think further on into the plot of how they would react to certain situations. How does their personality react to some things that are happening? and how does it come in conflict with other characters that results in certain consequences? and what happens after that consequence?
I think if you try to refresh your understanding about the characters, then maybe it’ll help you to have some idea of what will happen further in your story. Hmm..I hope this helps.
Areya- Thanks for the reply, actually I was surprised because of what you told me here was actually the thoughts that I have everytime, like a small liner that goes through my ears as if I didn’t even notice. But you are right…I think sometimes I just get too overwhelmed at myself for worrying too much. But the way you said it, really reminded that its time that perhaps I should review my characters. It’s actually what I’ve felt as I wrote my characters, as if they are part of my personality. I think this might also help other people too, which is to look deeper into the personalities of our characters.
That’s great William! It really is about the characters; the characters, and the story. If those two things are strong, everything else will fall into place easily. Just let your imagination run wild, let it go on tangents, even if the thoughts are slightly off-topic, because they will always lead you back to your story and characters and make them stronger. Some limits are good, but only the limits that come with the nature of your story, not the ‘invisible’ limits of the business of film. Like Chris said, the scriptwriting process is not the time to think about things like budget, politics, and trends. Liberate your mind and imagination and your script will thank you. Good luck!