The hardest part of writing a screenplay is everything. If you’ve never started one, the hardest part is starting. If you’ve never finished one, the hardest part is finishing. If you have written one, the hardest part is knowing how you did it and how you can make that one or the next one you write better. The invisible part of writing screenplays is being able to see, identify and understand the process, your writing process that is personal to you. But that’s a different topic for a different day.
I remember when I was trying to write my first screenplay, I just had ideas, they might’ve been scenes, lines of dialogue, what a character was like or thinking. They were just bits and pieces, like a dream I could barely remember. And no matter how I much I thought about it, I couldn’t put the puzzle pieces together to make it out into a story. That was probably the biggest technical obstacle that prevented me from being able to even start writing the script. Maybe I would write outlines, treatments, whatever notes I had but it just wasn’t enough to get me confident to start writing and know that I’d finish. Which, I think ultimately comes down to I was afraid of it being bad, or others thinking it was bad, or scared that I’d find out I wasn’t any good or not talented enough. Which I’ve learned, going through this process of being a writer, is an unfair way of looking at yourself and your progression. The beginner’s mindset is a beautiful thing.
The script I was trying to write, was about a single-father raising his daughter, working at the Oakland docks and taking one-last shot at a baseball career. So I’d watch movies, break them down, try to see how they did it. Good Will Hunting was a huge inspiration. As in I just loved that movie, not that I could or can even write at that level or comparing my work to that. I just loved the sense of discovery, self, connection, friendship and hope that movie left me with. Not to mention, it’s one of Robin Williams’ most inspiring performances.
One of the books that really helped get me out of my head and onto paper was “How to write a movie in 21 days” by Viki King. After going through books like “Story” “The Writer’s Journey” or any of Syd Field’s books. This relatively small book was just a nice kickstarter to get things moving, instead of feeling the need to over-analyze and map out everything. The book does have easy actionable step-by-step outlines but the biggest takeaway from the book or at least how I interpreted it was, preparing your mindset – trust your instincts, trust your intuition. Lay down a loose framework, roadmap for your story but rely on your intuition when it comes to filling the pages. The book helps you setup some rough outlines and structure before you write but really the most important theme is “just write”, first by putting yourself on a schedule to write everyday and second don’t judge it while your writing – writing a screenplay in 21 days means just getting it done, and more importantly to be able to finish it in 21 days you have to withhold judgment until it’s done. There are a lot more strategic and actionable points in the book but those were the two most important mindsets I learned.