addiesin
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Hey, I thought this might be a cool idea. Post ideas for writing exercises, or post the results after doing one (and the criteria if it didn't originate here). Also feel free to generally talk about writing; the ups and downs, successes and failures, anything like that. This thread is for getting better at writing.
Inspired by a reply I started writing that would have been off-topic elsewhere:
Sounds like writing an outline could be helpful. Something to guide the final work without actually being the final work, where you can experiment freely. You could try numbering the lines first. Set rules for yourself, like restricting yourself to one line (without a line break) to describe what happens that page of the actual script. Start with page/line 1, then page 10, then page 30, page 60, page 90.
Example:
Line 1: We open on a pool of blood coming from an elevator
Line 10: Inspector accepts the case after finding second body himself.
Line 30: With the drunken final flashback of his dead wife we see why he didn't want to take the case.
Line 60: On the rooftops, with a wounded leg, he barely makes the jump.
Line 90: Though he solved the case, the inspector goes home alone to drink.
Then just fill in the blanks between the lines you already wrote, starting from the middle, line 5 or 6, line 15 or 20, line 45, line 75. Then fill those leftover empty spaces in. I highly doubt you'll allow yourself to go off-track with restrictions like these, and you can hopefully find the core of your story, and how to make each page, even the ones between the big moments, contain something necessary to provide context, setup, or payoff for the surrounding material. Edit each line as necessary after reading and while coming up with ideas for the new lines. No need to keep what you wrote, all of it can be rewritten over and over if you want.
Heck, try it with a new story idea if you're not sure you want to cram your personal story into such a structure. But on the other hand, it's just an outline and couldn't hurt. Happy writing!
Inspired by a reply I started writing that would have been off-topic elsewhere:
suspiciouscoffee said:I'm stuck on my semi-autobiographical screenplay because I want to put in way too many irrelevant moments of my life just because I feel like they deserve to be mentioned.
Sounds like writing an outline could be helpful. Something to guide the final work without actually being the final work, where you can experiment freely. You could try numbering the lines first. Set rules for yourself, like restricting yourself to one line (without a line break) to describe what happens that page of the actual script. Start with page/line 1, then page 10, then page 30, page 60, page 90.
Example:
Line 1: We open on a pool of blood coming from an elevator
Line 10: Inspector accepts the case after finding second body himself.
Line 30: With the drunken final flashback of his dead wife we see why he didn't want to take the case.
Line 60: On the rooftops, with a wounded leg, he barely makes the jump.
Line 90: Though he solved the case, the inspector goes home alone to drink.
Then just fill in the blanks between the lines you already wrote, starting from the middle, line 5 or 6, line 15 or 20, line 45, line 75. Then fill those leftover empty spaces in. I highly doubt you'll allow yourself to go off-track with restrictions like these, and you can hopefully find the core of your story, and how to make each page, even the ones between the big moments, contain something necessary to provide context, setup, or payoff for the surrounding material. Edit each line as necessary after reading and while coming up with ideas for the new lines. No need to keep what you wrote, all of it can be rewritten over and over if you want.
Heck, try it with a new story idea if you're not sure you want to cram your personal story into such a structure. But on the other hand, it's just an outline and couldn't hurt. Happy writing!