Jul 2018
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Jul 2018
Jul 2018
Devika
Jul '18

Ok so I tried my best to write out my story, and spent quite some time doing it (as in, months). But what happened was that it got waaaaay out of hand. I completely lost interest in the story as I was trying to make it "good", eventually only focusing on writing theory and mechanically fitting everything together.

So I scrapped everything, let it rest for some more months and I now have stripped it down to three characters I like and a general idea, and I really don't want to get stuck again once I plan out the actual chapters. What I'd like to do is write down the bare bones and then jump into thumbnailing, but... I'd like to at least have my sister read through it and give me feedback eventhoughitscarestheshitouttame.

So my question is essentially, how do I prevent myself from being swallowed by the script and at the same time make something that I can get feedback on?

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    Jul '18

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    Jul '18
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keii4ii
Jul '18

I relate to this so much :'D

Instead of trying to get feedback on scripts, how about getting feedback on a bullet point outline? That would be useful for catching plot holes, identifying beats and such, but not so useful for "does this dialogue sound natural" etc.

LortiaMJB
Jul '18

The best I found, is to finish it first! Just go over it once the first time, then leave it be for a while. Just a few weeks at most! You want the story to still be fresh on your mind but still have let it go.

Then just go over it one more time, preferably with a proofreader, then just start. :slight_smile:

Devika
Jul '18

Woah fast responses!

@keii4ii That format could work! Plot holes would arguably be worse for this story than wonky dialogue, since I want to try to make it a mystery story :'D I'm always doing it the hard way!

@LortiaMJB Ah yes, finishing... Haha. One piece of advice I read was "you can always make your story better! Revise!" so I never actually end up finishing it. Your approach sounds much more realistic. I'll just have to give myself that kick in the butt and set the goal on finishing instead of improving.

LordVincent
Jul '18

....and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how writing theory kills writing. :joy:

Overthinking and perfectionism will be the end of you and might actually lead to a stiff result. It's good to doublecheck yourself and get feedback, but after a while you need to just let go and go with your heart.

Devika
Jul '18

Don't be like me, folks!

Yeah it was... like a brick in the end...

Would it be sensible to set a limit to the number of revisions perhaps?

Loved your post on productivity btw, maybe timing myself with the script would be sensible hahaha

LortiaMJB
Jul '18

Setting a limit to yourself always helps, yeah. ^^ Go for "Finished, not perfect" :wink:

I had most of my comic already written without a script, just couldn't keep on going in that form so I started a comic script.

So now I script a chapter panel by panel, then just make the pages and tweak the dialogue. Then just got a proofreader going over it, and that's all.

J.Z.Castillo
Jul '18
keii4ii

I agree with the bullet points! The way I write is by creating story arcs and getting the general idea of what I want to happen in them, very rarely do I write a full script. I tell my brothers or friends about them and it has been so helpful at catching plot holes and gaps in the story.

I find this way of writing to be really good for my story telling style as I have less problems connecting the arcs and writing dialogue comes easily to me as I spent a long time developing characters before writing an entire story.

SeraphicMayin
Jul '18
1

Heya I can totally relate to this. I can sort of give a summary of a method that works well here but if you REALLY want to get a good grasp on storytelling visually I recommend reading Story by Robert McKee. (Apologies in advance for how long this is)

The best method I found this far has been working from the inside out of the story. Writing theory is great but only during revision not story creation. It's two different modes of thinking.

Making the story should be imaginative and expansive and revisioning is where you cut things down and make them more precise. But to do that you need to create an excess of content to work with. In my pitch for the Tapas Incubator I cut out 70% of the material I came up with.

Working from the inside out means starting from your characters and constantly asking yourself, "If I were this character in this situation what would I do?" and you ask that whenever any of the characters makes a decision to act or say something.

To start you can make a step-outline. That's using either index cards or a spreadsheet or something like Scrivener to make short summaries of scenes and where you think they ought to go in a story (setup, inciting incident, increasing progress, crisis and climax etc.). The best stories are found after you've scrapped like a lot of possible scenes and since its all brief summaries of what happens and changes in a scene you can make a lot over a good period of time while you also just keep a side pile of information you think of for the characters and setting. Always keep in mind to think through your characters eyes.

Once you have a workable step outline you can tie it together int a reasonable synopsis that should tell the whole story in a maximum of five paragraphs. That is what you can present to people you trust to see if the story is solid. It's a good way to catch plot problems early.

Then you move on to a Treatment which is an expansion of every scene in your outline into a description of everything that happens and what's going on. No dialogue allowed here, this things like "Frank wanted Judy to stay but she decides to leave". The story will continue to reveal itself to you here and transform as you expand each scene.

It's only after the treatment is complete and you can really see the story that you make the Script. And by this point you know your story inside out so the pace at which the script gets made tends to be explosive (even though the story outline phase is the longest of the three cause that's where you generate the maximum content of ideas). The script also finally has dialogue which you can write in a wonderful way cause you know the subtext of what the characters want to say and thus the dialogue gains a layer of dimension that you would not get if you went straight into the script.

This is just a summary of the basic process and its the very last chapter in the book I mentioned at the top of my post. Reading the book will honestly give you all the tools you need to develop a story.

I hope this helps and best of luck with your story!

Wumbl
Jul '18

Writing theory is important but it shouldn't be your focus! It should just be a guideline for how you structure stuff right at the start. Don't get too stuck into following the theories because they're only loose guides. Feel free to use some wiggle room and break the rules here and there if you think it would work better.

Don't get too obsessed with theory all the way through basically... or you're not going to have fun anymore and you'll lose motivation.

And remember a first draft isn't meant to be "good" because you're obviously going to go in and edit it later! Focus on getting that script done and enjoying it, and then make corrections later.

If you want feedback on the plot but don't want to submit the whole thing to someone just write up a one-page plot summary or something. If you want feedback on the writing style give them just one scene to read.

I'm literally publishing the third chapter of drawn pages right now but my script is still a work in progress lol I redraft each chapter before I do the pages.... I literally wrote in a few scenes last minute recently because I thought "huh maybe I should bring the sub-plot in sooner".

Devika
Jul '18
Wumbl

So simple and sensible, and still I didn't do that xD I should pin that on my wall.

Wumbl
Jul '18

Don't sweat it pal it took me a few long and stressful years to figure out a good balance... I abandoned so many ideas that could have become something great but then I ruined them by overthinking it lol

Devika
Jul '18

Sometimes we just need to learn it the hard way I guess!

strohlchad
Jul '18
LordVincent

Agreed. My own writing theory is that writing theory typically takes great stories and reverse engineers them and presents the argument that you should do it like they did it. That can get you started, but it won't get you far.