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Note to Self

How to Write a Movie in 15 days

When I think back to my earlier days of writing, one of the things I always got caught up on was structure, both in writing and time management. I would run circles around myself, working on characters, plot-line, descriptions of the rock in the third scene... everything.

In time, I've found that the very first step to writing is to write your plan of attack. In this case my plan of attack is to write a screenplay - 120 pages in less then 3 weeks. In fact, write one in less then 15 days. Here's what the plan looks like:

Day 1	Write blurb/pitch line - what this movie is about.
Day 2	Write outline, 3 acts. Create main characters.
Day 3	Act One - Write scene by scene description.
Day 4	Act One - Break down each scene by scene description to stage commands.
Day 5	Act One - Fill in dialogue.
Day 6	Act Two - Write scene by scene description.
Day 7	Act Two - Break down each scene by scene description to stage commands.
Day 8	Act Two - Fill in dialogue.
Day 9	Act Three - Write scene by scene description.
Day 10	Act Three - Break down each scene by scene description to stage commands.
Day 11	Act Three - Fill in dialogue.

I know I said 15 days and obviously I've omitted 4 days. They'll show up later. Now, let me go over these with you. I've decided it's best to work on the individual acts for three days in a row, as opposed to doing all 3 act scene descriptions, then all 3 breakdowns, and then all 3 dialogues.

I divided the plan like this for two main reasons. First, it maximizes focus on a particular act. You'll have less information to remember and less information that will confuse you. Also, I like to work on different things at once, so creating all the dialogue in a 3 day period would eventually cause me to lose my concentration and devotion.

Day 1: Blurb/Pitch line

We've all seen movies about people making movies. We've heard the pitch lines. Well, you're going to pitch something to someone someday, so you'd best get your practice.

What you want is about 3 to 5 lines that describe your script and a pitch line. For example:

This is the story of a young boy, David, who lives in the big city. He is forced to grow up too soon and has many tough decisions to make. In time, he will become strong and independent, but will still feel he's lost his childhood. "This is Basketball Diaries meets The Fisher King, with a Morgan Freeman-esque child".

Day 2: Outline/Characters

Let's focus on the out line. What you're going to do is expand the blurb you wrote yesterday and break it into 3 parts (Acts 1,2, and 3). Example:

Act 1: David is the middle son of a single mother. His youngest brother has his mother's constant attention. His older brothers out-age him by several years. He is alone at home. His friends at school are beginning to experiment with drugs. David tries hard to resist but falls to peer pressure.

And so on for the following acts.

Next, write one sentence description of all the characters you think will play somewhat major parts: Example:

David - main character, 10 years old
Dave's Mom
Brother 1 - oldest brother, heroin addict. Steals from family.
Brother 2 - etc.

A list of 12 - 20 characters is good.

Day 3: Scene Description (Act 1)

At this point, you're going to stop looking at the script as a whole and focus only on Act 1 (and later, the respective acts). You can assume that a scene lasts about 2 minutes. That's 2 pages. Personally, I make the first and third acts about 35 pages, and the second act 50 pages. That's 18 and 25 scenes respectively. Doesn't seem like a lot, huh?

Write 1 to 3 sentences for each scene in the act in which you're working. Example:

Scene 1: David and his family at the breakfast table. Mom running about, trying to get everyone ready for school. Scene 2: David sitting in the backseat of the bus with one of his brothers. David is looking out the window. His brother is popping pills.

Day 4: Scene Breakdown

This may seem like the oddest part. I'm sure you're dying to just get onto the dialogue, but I've put this step in specifically to torture, make you think about dialogue just one more day.

In this step, you'll break elements down into a screenplay format. Several books are available on current formatting standards. One of my favorite screenplay gurus is Syd Field. You can find some of his books through the WVU Bookstore. Just put his name in the amazon.com keyword prompt.

Scene description is simple. It is what you see and hear. Example:

*EXT: Roosevelt High School
DAY

Two boys are sitting outside talking. Bus pulls up. David and his brother get off the bus. David's brother makes a "transaction" with the boys and leaves. David sits down with the boys. A girl walks by, one of the boys makes a pass at her, and tries to tempt her with drugs. He is rejected. The three boys go inside the school.

FADE TO BLACK

Day 5: Fill in Dialogue

Here's the day for which I know you've been waiting. This day will be the biggest rush. You've already had this thing running through your head for days and it's dying to get out. So do it! Get that dialogue down!

The rest of the days follow above pattern. By the time you finish, there are still 4 days left. So here's what you get to do with them.

Many people like to write by hand first. Take three of the remaining days and type everything up, potentially after you've finished each act. Or use a day for rest, one for research on a topic, one to review and edit. The fourth day? Go out and celebrate!

Enjoy and good writing.

*EXT is an abbreviation for "exterior". INT is the same for "interior".