Preparation: More is more!

Yes, that would the next step in crafting your meal ticket. Lets do a quick review of last weeks post. The 5 W's. Yup, I added one.

1) Who? Protagonist. That's who.

2)What? This is his/her's goal or objective.

3) Why? Why must your hero set off toward the climax of your story. What happens if they don't get it? What is at stake?

4) Where? Be specific. The more you know about the place, the more it will let you in.

5) When. RIGHT NOW!!!! This is a constant. No one wants/likes to wait during a movie. Bring the action to your hero or bring your hero to the action.

That's a pretty simple review of what I went over last post. Moving on, after you have answered these questions your next step is to write it down. Obviously. But what are some of my options. I've been schooled in the two page movie.

This is where you write down your story in two pages, double spaced, 12-font. The purpose of this is to get a loose idea of where you're going and be able to communicate it in two pages. I don't quite agree with this.

Why? Because I don't believe in limiting yourself when you write. In fact while you're writing why not make in five, or ten. Heck if you can churn out 20 pages of ideas before you even get to outlining you're leaps ahead. Why do I stand by this? Because in pre-script prep More is more.

While many screenwriters follow the rule of less is more, in this stage you want as much creativity and information you can give yourself. Think of it like this, a first draft is like a block of ice. And your job is to pick away until you have created the ice sculpture you desire. But if you haven't thought out your sculpture thoroughly you don't really give yourself the time to think outside of your work. And well because we all know ice melts. What does he mean?

What I'm trying to say is the more work you put in pre-draft the less you will have to stick to it. As in many other areas of life, writing is no different outside of the fact you are by yourself 99% of the time, and it can be a very lonely experience, just you and the blank page. But preparation is a HUGE key to success when it comes to anything you expect to accomplish in life. How many hours did Michael Jordan put in the gym before he could make it looks so effortless? I really don't have the answer, but I can imagine a shitload.

I implore all ofyou to give yourself that head start before you remove that block of ice from the freezer and begin to create your masterpiece. However, I also am a firm believer that there is NO RIGHT WAY to WRITE YOUR MOVIE. It's your job to find a pattern that fits your style where you get the most out of the time you put in.

Write on:)