How I Write
Since I was asking other screenwriters to explain their process, I thought it was only fair to explain my own.
I wrote my first real script — or at least my first attempt at a script — on Microsoft Word on an Macintosh SE30. This was probably 1991. I don’t know if there even was screenwriting software like Final Draft at that point. I wrote everything up through GO on Word, then made the switch.
These days, I’ll write longhand, or type, or a combination. I strongly believe in not having a set routines or rituals, because they often become excuses for not working: “I would write, but I have to have a brand-new blue pen and natural sunlight streaming through that window over there.” I’ll do index cards if something is especially complicated, but usually a short outline will suffice. I generally don’t write in sequence. Rather, I’ll write whatever scene appeals to me at the moment. A lot of times, I can write a short scene while waiting at the dentist’s office. For all the fancy software and books about it, on a fundamental level, writing only requires focus and something to write on.
I can write any time of day. Nothing is better or worse for me. If I can get two hours of serious writing done, I consider it a sucessful day. But I don’t beat myself up if that doesn’t happen.
A lot of times when I’m first starting a project, I’ll go away by myself for a few days. To Vegas, San Diego, Hawaii, wherever. I won’t take a computer. Instead, I’ll just take a bunch of notepads. I’ll write scenes longhand, then once a day, fax them back to Los Angeles. My assistant then types them up and faxes them back. It’s a good system for me, because it keep me from editing the work too early in the process. Working this way, I can write 17 pages in a day. It’s exhausting, but very helpful to achieve that critical mass in such a short period.
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August 4th, 2006 at 6:05 am
Just read this post whilst scurting through the archives - really useful. I’m working on a screenplay at the minute, and I’m stuck at a scene that’s just stopped me dead. Can’t write it. I have scenes I’m dying to write from later in the script - and now I’m going to go write them.
September 20th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
I love your website; it’s so useful and visitor friendly. Your blog above really had me laughing at a most inappropriate time (middle of a meeting)…where you write: “I strongly believe in not having a set routines or rituals, because they often become excuses for not working: ‘I would write, but I have to have a brand-new blue pen and natural sunlight streaming through that window over there.’” The latter sounds so much like me in my procrastinating and often self-defeating moments that it’s just plain funny. What can I say? It’s good to recognize, acknowledge, and embrace imperfection. Truth is, I’m still looking for my brand-new blue pen and natural sunlight streaming through the window…then maybe I’ll sit down long enough to finish that script.