Screenwriting.

Is really fucking hard. I need to write a 30(ish) page draft.

I have block, i think, i dunno. I spent the last few days watching my faourite films, trying to get inspired, and all i came up with is...

Either

1. The story of a relationship failing (for reasons i have yet to identify) told through flashback, and narrated by two coffee shop assistants who watched the couple regularly come in for coffee.

2. A guy who hates being a superhero, but for ridiculously mundane reasons, lack of super villains, is used for sex by women, all the pressure of the media, language difficulties. Again, told in flashbacks as the guy whines to his psychiatrist (think Soprano's)

Idea's, opinions?

Script writing is fucking hard, no doubt about it. I've just finished writing my second film, which is 7 pages (7 minutes) long. Took me about a month or two and about 10 drafts before I got to something adequate.

I'd recommend the following:

Don't watch too many films. You need to tell a story yourself, watching others usually doesn't get you anywhere.

Write something personal that you can relate to. Too many people try to write Tarantino or detective films, and it rarely works because we're young and naive. If you write about someone your own age it will be much easier, trust me.

But don't just write about your own life. There's a fine line to tread between boring everyday stories and ones we relate to.

If you watched my earlier short I basically wrote a story where I took a scenario I understood and put someone my age in the main role. It worked and I managed to write something.

My second film is a comedy about three young men dressing in black cloaks and running their own cult. While the story is "high-concept" I can easily relate to their desire for respect and power.

Find the part of your story which is human and you'll be halfway there.

As for your two ideas, I've got to say I fucking hate flashbacks. I like the coffee shop setting though, and it reminds me of a friends script where we see a friendship slowly deteriorate while the camera never leaves the toilet.

I don't quite get your second one, why is he a super hero at all? Who is he? And chatting to ones psychiatrist is a terribly cliched way to set up a series of flashbacks imo.

Good luck!

Oh god

Thanks for the advice dude, im really like, wired on coffee and getting kinda desperate for some kind of illumination!

Thanks very much for your help, i did watch your short and i were well impressed!

In a worst case scenario grab a bottle of whisky and wander around alone in town during the middle of the night, recording whatever morbid thoughts enter your head. It works!

I genuinely like the sound of that.

and the Superhero thing came from reading Kick Ass last night It was an awful idea But the comic is great!

What kind of story do you want to tell? What kind of characters would you like to write about? Do you have any personal feelings that could translate onto film?

I love the story about how the script for Taxi Driver came about. The writer had for many years written other peoples stories and felt like he was just being used to take other peoples ideas and turn them into scripts. Hence the birth of a story about a guy who transports people who don't care for him from a to b. Genius!

LSD, dude. LSD.

as major's already said Dangly, don't let other people dream for you - i.e. don't purposely watch films / read comics etc other than a source of research. I.e. Don't watch the usual suspects and think zomg kaiser sosay! Think how did that piece work? How was the narative structured to carry the story along those lines? Were the characters believable etc?

Then i'd recommened doing an excersise that used to help me. Go for a walk (Around 20 mins) and just casually think of anything that could possibly tie into the story. Be it character ideas, snippets of dialouge, ideas and themes that could be included in the story etc. and as soon as you get in, sit down infront of the computer (or at a desk if you write on paper) and type EVERYTHING up.

Don't be limited by your own preconceptions, if things are stolen from other films just get it down. It doesn't have to make sense even. If you havn't got much done, repeat the process. If you have, got for another short 5 minute walk and try not to think about it. When you get back, edit the document you've just created. Not so much as I HATE THAT IDEA! I R NOT REMAKING TEH PINK PANTHERZ! but put them into a readable order.

Then when you've got some notes down, you'll generally find that you've got a starting point and the core of what you're trying to create. After that, it's all about fleshing it out.

Duglas Adams came up with the hitchhickers (how the hell do you spell that) guide to the galaxy lying drunk and naked in a field, my advice is copy him because his books are amazing