A scriptwriting secret: taking it one step at a time...

I'm currently working with a script client who is agonizing over his strong sense that he's missing something critical in his plot outline for a screenplay--something that will be a key to his story lifting off and really hitting the bull's-eye.  In fact, it's been stalling progress on his project and has pretty much left him walking in circles around his writing room with little forward movement at all.  He wants to have as complete a road map as possible before plunging into draft (and rightly so), but is stuck as to how to make that happen.

A scriptwriting challenge: fighting the negative voice

So you're finally plunging into your first draft and all is going nicely for several pages when all of a sudden a little devil appears on your shoulder and whispers in your ear "this is stalling out...the characters aren't coming to life...who do you think you're kidding?...this is a disaster..." and suddenly you're frozen and everything grinds to a halt.

A scriptwriting tool for plot invention

My last blog post centered on the process of plot invention and a practical approach to accomplishing that end--namely using index cards (or the equivalent) and building your story one heart beat at a time.

To add to this, I recommend you take a look at a very interesting and well-written book by Daniel J. Levitin called The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload.  Among many other things, Levitin breaks down the index card technique and advances the reasons that successful creative people use this method of organizing their lives or, for our purposes, how writers come up with their stories.  What he presents reads like a textbook for how to invent the plot for your story idea.