Hello, I am new to this friendly forum, so a quick introduction - Hi! My name is Anthony! I hope I get to know many of you over time. As for this thread, and I apologize if I'm posting it on the wrong board, but as for this thread. I have an idea, one that I have been developing in my mind for the better portion of a year or so. It is an idea that is suited for an online streaming platform such as Netflix or Hulu, and is a dry comedy/drama in nature. I have all these ideas, but, like many of my ideas, I have trouble translating them on to paper. I have a strong handle on my main character, and an idea of his backstory. I know who my secondary characters are, their general story arcs, hell, I even have a few ideas that I would like to save for later "seasons", if this show were to ever actually get picked up (at this point, obviously, that is insanely unlikely). My point here being, I have an issue, an issue I believe to be fairly common, where I have so many ideas and thoughts and goals, but simply cannot turn them into a whole, satisfying story. I guess the purpose of this thread, is to ask for a writing partner of sorts, someone I can throw ideas at and have some ideas be thrown back, just to get my story started. I don't want to post the majority of my ideas on this public post, and would prefer to talk to somebody on a more one-on-one basis, if possible. This person would, hopefully, help me fully develop the actual STORY of my idea, and find better ways to turn it into a working script. Having said all of that, and man I apologize if this is all just a bunch of rambles at this point, but having said all of that, if anybody here would have the time to discuss my ideas outside of this website (or even through the website's personal message service), please respond below, and I will get back to you ASAP. I apologize again if this is all very long and thoughtless, I'm also very tired at the moment! Again, thank you for even having read this post!
Hi Anthony. Welcome. I started with a story before I had developed writing skills that I was confident of. I just sat down and wrote the whole story out with all it's flaws. Then I got some help in a critique group and reading how to write books, I paid more attention to the writing in the books I was reading than I had before, and started learning technique. It takes a while. A year and a half later I have greatly improved writing skills and 3/4 of the book is in decent shape, still has a ways to go. My advice, for what it's worth, you need to start, put something down on paper and see where you're at and go from there to figure out what you need. Don't be afraid to put something flawed on paper, you can't go from idea to finished product without that step.
Anthony, Ginger is right - I think the first step, however daunting, is to put pen to paper and see what happens. Many of your ideas will work, many will not! For me, just writing some scenes, putting characters in them, and seeing where they went gave me some clarity to my own main plot. Some questions resolved, others turned up new problems, all of which was exciting (and still is!) to iron out. Good luck, and feel free to share your progress!
i've mentored many aspiring screenwriters for both film and TV, so you can email me if you want one-on-one mentoring/help... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
Wow, thank you all for the replies! I had no idea how speedy of a forum this was, on some forums I frequent I have to wait weeks for even a single reply. I've taken the advice of just "writing and writing" into account, in the past and present, and it's worked many times before. Now though, it's only helped me pin down character dynamics, because when I try writing this story, all I can get is back-and-forth dialogue. Which isn't a BAD thing! That's actually my preferred style of writing, lots and lots of character interaction. But without a strong story to hold it all down, it just feels empty. I will definitely continue writing, however, just for practice and to develop my characters. As for the three-act structure, that is another piece of advice that has heavily helped my writing in the past, but it doesn't really apply with this specific project. My idea is a bit experimental, and it's something I'm mainly attempting to write for practice and curiosity, to see how I can possibly try and write a television show for the age of media-friendly shows on such platforms as Netflix (think Arrested Development season 4 - there was definitely conflict and character arcs, but little in the way of conventional three-act structure. There was a beginning, middle, and end, though, but even that's a loose way of describing that season. Louie also kind of fits this criteria). Which is why I'm having trouble actually setting the story - it's such a weird idea, I've never had to write something like it before! Thank you all again for your replies! But, this seems to be a more daunting experiment than I thought.
i have a 'tools of the trade' list i'll be glad to send you, along with tips from the pros on all aspects of writing for film and tv... they'll help to make it a lot less 'daunting'... hugs, m
