Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Do screenplay writers work by an established plot, or do they improvise without one?

+0
−0

In writing in general, there are discovery writers and outliners, planners vs. pantsers.

I am very curious to know how screenwriters create screenplays.

Do writers start with a basic plot and then add the scenes and arrange them, expanding on the plan? Or do they have a very very tiny basic plot and write the scenes in a more freestyle way?

Is planning/discovery significantly different when the goal is a screenplay instead of a short story or novel?

One reason I wonder about this is that a screenplay is meant as a collaborative tool, while a novel/short-story is the finished product.

Is more planning needed if more people will be involved, and because the goal is a fixed amount of pages/minutes? Or can you "pants" it, and then use the editing/collaboration time to bring things into focus?

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/25614. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

1 answer

+1
−0

Whether to outline a story thoroughly or not at all is a question that's been asked for a long time. But some general information may help.

If you're writing on your own, you can write however you like. There's no reason you can't just start typing a screenplay and, when you're done, edit what you've written into shape.

There are a couple of advantages to outlining. You'll get a more cohesive script in the end and you'll work more efficiently. While some writers are able to outline every detail and only then write, others find this to be a bit of a straitjacket. There is no single method that applies to all writers, and you'll have to find the answer that best suits you by trial and error.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »