tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post3042455218677992147..comments2023-10-19T17:34:21.067+01:00Comments on Jason Arnopp's Bloggery Pokery (RIP): Hooray For The First DraftJason Arnopphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07876042845400963850noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-2160141134182497902008-08-27T19:41:00.000+01:002008-08-27T19:41:00.000+01:00Good reason for detailed treatment? So, by the mid...Good reason for detailed treatment? So, by the middle of Act 3 you know who the miscreant is; how they did it; what the trail to their unmasking is… and generally how the thing may turn out. Oh, and tends to stop the taut 90 minute thriller turning into a slightly less-taut 240 minute thriller.<BR/><BR/>Good reason for not referring to the detailed treatment while writing for first draft? You’ve expended so much energy on it that you know the important bits by heart…<BR/><BR/>Well that’s my thoughts on the matter, for what they’re worth…<BR/><BR/>As for “You're no longer sitting in a pub, quacking on about how you really should set aside some time to get this screenplay written”… I know at least three people who’ve told me repeatedly over the last decade (or so) that they’re going to write their screenplay/ novel… so every 6 months or so I ask to read the first draft and every 6 months or so I get the same reply… ‘I haven’t had a chance to write it yet…’ Bizarrely, they always find time to search the internet, go the cinema, watch complete series of Buffy, 24, etc.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01957384209312857833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-77964198471831150342008-08-23T09:53:00.000+01:002008-08-23T09:53:00.000+01:00This is dynamite Jase, you've cheered me right up....This is dynamite Jase, you've cheered me right up.robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07526513814843569586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-62636518933133170072008-08-19T16:11:00.000+01:002008-08-19T16:11:00.000+01:00awesome post and one to follow... that baton trick...awesome post and one to follow... that baton trick was used by Ernest himself I think tooAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-35752423534939458282008-08-19T11:49:00.000+01:002008-08-19T11:49:00.000+01:00I'm with Piers - completing the first draft defini...I'm with Piers - completing the first draft definitely warrants champers. However much blood oozes out of my forehead while I'm rewriting, I always feel that 90% of the donkey work has been done by the time the first draft is finished (though I follow a fairly laborious outlining process). <BR/><BR/>In addition, you can't underestimate the psychological benefit of being able to print it off and riffle through the lovely pages of your COMPLETE screenplay.Tom Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18321494400861424580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-70694709077186464302008-08-19T11:46:00.000+01:002008-08-19T11:46:00.000+01:00Yeah, the main thing is definitely to write. What...Yeah, the main thing is definitely to write. Whatever it takes, and whatever feels right for you. <A HREF="http://dannystack.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">Danny Stack</A>'s just written a splendid post on this kind of malarkey!Jason Arnopphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07876042845400963850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-90900606325330508652008-08-19T11:41:00.000+01:002008-08-19T11:41:00.000+01:00I think I'm just too impatient. I find it hard to ...I think I'm just too impatient. I find it hard to plan everything out and detail my characters' lives on the offset when I hardly "know" them... Plus, my brain works in explosive, impulsive ways... So, for me, I find it fascinating to improvise and jump straight in, discovering my characters and their problems along the way. Of course, I'll have to learn how to write treatments at some point... But, for now, as a beginner, I think I'll stick with my method. At least it gets me writing. If I procrastinated any more than I do already I don't think I'd ever actually write any scripts! He he! I'll raise a glass of champagne to the learning process... :DSofluidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07275793997048798883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-16437309047690186372008-08-19T10:51:00.000+01:002008-08-19T10:51:00.000+01:00When I suggested that anyone who launched into a f...When I suggested that anyone who launched into a first draft without writing a 200-page treatment was insane, I was of course being overly dogmatic. There are no absolutes - it's just that I've found the treatment to be increasingly useful. Funny thing is, while writing Blood Red Sky, I referenced the treatment quite rarely - it had just helped to cement the characters and plot in my noggin.Jason Arnopphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07876042845400963850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-1009604055883100152008-08-19T07:24:00.000+01:002008-08-19T07:24:00.000+01:00Well done! I find that writing a first episode of ...Well done! <BR/><BR/>I find that writing a first episode of a serial I've conceived in as quick a manner as possible - churning it all out in one afternoon, say - helps me "meet" my characters and "get to know them". <BR/><BR/>I'm not one for planning in great detail. It's a skill I must learn, I know, but at the moment I like to outline a few characters, their ages, their personalities, their relationships to one another, a few plot ideas etc... And then I just go for it. <BR/><BR/>It's what I did with the first episode of a teen drama serial I was writing. I came out of it feeling like I knew the cast better than I ever could have done when "planning". Personalities, personal problems, relationships to the other characters and characters' histories came to me as I wrote. <BR/><BR/>Now I feel so much more in control of the whole concept and all the elements within it. It's how I went so confidently into writing a second draft. Granted, it's being totally re-worked. But now I have ideas to last a whole series. <BR/><BR/>I'll stop rambling on... Just thought I'd share my success story using the "quick-write" method you described :) It's thumbs up from me and I recommend it to anyone as a warm-up exercise!Sofluidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07275793997048798883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-62093920165896789112008-08-18T16:38:00.000+01:002008-08-18T16:38:00.000+01:00Hooray xxHooray xxAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07532657035761216045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-64257764500917604422008-08-18T16:22:00.000+01:002008-08-18T16:22:00.000+01:00I've always gone with the theory of having 2 first...I've always gone with the theory of having 2 first drafts. The actual first one, and the one that you're willing to let other people read. It also helps my ego when I read someone elses brilliant first draft to remember all the minus-figure drafts that no doubt went before.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04568355823817859204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-400514519057660990.post-71910638547898546562008-08-18T13:26:00.000+01:002008-08-18T13:26:00.000+01:00Hell, have champagne for the first draft too.Scree...Hell, have champagne for the first draft too.<BR/><BR/>Screenwriting's a precarious bloody career at the best of time. You might as well celebrate every chance you get the opportunity,Piershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04682054203119052550noreply@blogger.com