Writing Process

How important is the research process, and how long do you usually spend on
it?

–Adam Foster

The obvious (but not very helpful) answer is that it depends on the project,
and one’s definition of "research."

Most of the projects I’ve worked on haven’t involved a lot of research in
the classic sense, such as pouring through books, searching the web or interviewing
experts. For instance, neither CHARLIE’S ANGELS nor SCOOBY-DOO called for tremendous
historical or scientific accuracy. In fact, the best gauge of whether a detail
in your script works is usually the "Yeah, I’d buy that" believability
test — whether the average uninformed person off the street would accept that
item x could do y, or that historical event z coincided with with Korean War.
Even genuine, certified facts are useless if they fail the "Yeah, I’d
buy that" believability test.

Both Charlie’s and Scooby did call for tonal accuracy, by which I mean the
sense of being true to the spirit and rules of the original series. That meant
looking back at old episodes to remember the details that set them apart, be
it the hair-flips or the offsetting forces of Shaggy’s hunger and cowardice.
Technically, that’s research, but it doesn’t quite feel like it.

In the case of JURASSIC PARK 3, the producers wisely referred to an expert
paleontologist named Jack Horner, who was always on-call to answer dinosaur-related
questions. But it’s important to note that even he would fall back on a, "Yeah,
I’d buy that" test, although his opinion was much more informed than the
average person’s.

A few times, I have had to do serious research. A project I’ve been working
on for several years involves everything from evolutionary brain science to
cult formation, so that’s involved a lot of orders from Amazon and several
dinners with various smart people to discuss theories. Ninety-percent of what
I’ve learned won’t make it into the script, but the research process itself
has led to new questions and insights.

One technique I’ve found helpful for all my projects is keep a fat file for
each one, and add to it anything that strikes me as interesting or helpful.
Thus, my Fantasy Island file has articles and pictures of yachts, sea planes,
the Lincoln asssasination, various abstract sculptures and lots of scraps of
paper with ideas and snippets of dialogue. Again, most of it won’t be used,
but it’s the process that often helps ideas take shape.

Just recently
my friends and I have decided to make a short film. We have elected to individually
write several scenes for this short film, then combine them when complete.
Is this advisable, or is there foreseeable problems, such as writing styles,
continuity etc? How hard is it to co-write scripts?

–Mark B

I’ve never written with a partner, so my only experience in co-writing comes
from the two television shows I’ve created, in which I needed to work with
other writers to come up with episodes. In those cases, I was clearly the guy
in charge, so the experience was only collaborative up to the point where we
disagreed. Then, I always won.

Unless you and your friends are remarkably (dare I say pathologically) sensitive
to each other’s talents and feelings, I think you are in for trouble. While
filmmaking is ultimately collaborative, with up to hundreds of people working
on a movie, the writing process is inherently pretty solitary. You’re not just
pushing around words on paper; you’re pushing ideas around in your brain. And
the more brains you try to distribute this conceptual process between, the
more muddled the ideas become.

I’m not saying your short film is doomed. But I really doubt it’s going to
turn out better for this novel approach. I’d recommend you and your friends
talk through all of your ideas at length, and then let one person actually
write the script. Everyone can offer feedback and suggestions, but the best
writer among you should be the keeper of the keyboard.

Do you have a method to generate your ideas?

–Dean

Not really. I’ve never found it particularly hard to generate ideas. Most
of the time, I have far too many different things I want to write, and
the challenge is deciding which ones are actually worth the investment
of time and thought. So I don’t really have any methods for generating
ideas. I don’t brainstorm. I don’t draw mind-maps. I only outline if
I’m concerned about fitting the pieces together.
In fact, 90% of the time, I’m trying to find methods for shutting competing
ideas out, so that I’ll actually get my work finished. Or get to sleep.
I’m drawing a distinction here between coming up with new ideas (“a biker movie in space”) and figuring out how to solve specific problems with a story or scene (“how should the villain capture the Millenium Harley?”).
Obviously, every writer is going to have to find ways to get over these hurdles
when they come up. A few techniques that often help include:

• figuring out what the outcome needs to be, then working backwards;
• deciding what caused the problem in the first place, and whether it can be changed or cut;
• looking at the moment from another character’s perspective;
• quickly writing several different solutions, then judging whether one or a combination of several best address the problem.

For all the talk of high-concept comedies or big-idea action tentpole movies, a screenwriter’s daily life is almost entirely about coming up with the “little” ideas that help get the story told.