“How do I stay focused on one idea?”
The cutesy answer to this is “you don’t.” To be a prolific writer, you should probably have one script in the outlining phase, one in the first-draft phase, and one in rewrite phase. The problem is if you don’t finish any of them. And that brings us to the real answer:
I think 90% of the time, you can’t finish a script or you get distracted with another idea because you started writing before the idea was fully fleshed out. You aren’t fully connected to the story.
The solution is quantity.
Here’s what I mean:
Before you decide on an idea, you should have at least 10 other ideas. That’s 10 complete movie ideas where you see the plot, characters, and themes.
You’re going to sit on these ideas for WEEKS and let them play around in your mind. This is how you decide which of these 10+ ideas to write: you have to pick the one that you just can’t stop thinking about.
Once you decide on that one movie idea, you’re going to sit on that one idea for WEEKS. I think first drafts should be written as quickly as possible, but don’t rush the brainstorming process.
Instead, you’re going to be coming up with ideas non-stop: driving to work, in the shower, on the toilet, before you go to bed, when you get up. You’re not going to start writing your script until you have at least 50 ideas that support your movie.
That could be character ideas, scene ideas, dialogue ideas, theme ideas (and you will throw many of them out) but quantity is important because it allows you to get all the bad ideas out. The most talented writers in the world have mountains of bad ideas in the way of their good ones.
Once you have your one movie idea that won’t leave you alone, and your 50+ ideas, then it’s time for your outline. Don’t overthink it. Just write those 50 ideas out on note cards and move them around until they make sense. Don’t worry about structure too much at this point (I think structure often kills our creativity and you usually already understand the story on an unconscious level anyways).
But it is important to have a clear beginning, a clear middle, and a clear end, because you’re gonna need key moments in each of those acts that you are EXCITED about writing. This is what’s going to keep you writing.
Finally, you’re going to write your first draft as quickly as possible.
Here’s the trick: you can write it all out of order. I usually start with the first scene to get a good idea of my main character, but other than that, I write whatever scene I’m most excited about because that’s what keeps me writing.
Don’t worry about continuity, don’t worry about it all making sense, don’t worry about set-up and pay-off, all of that can be fixed in the rewrite. If you want to stay focused and finish what you start, you have to write it as quickly as possible.
While you can take your time on your brainstorming process, I think first drafts should take no longer than 3–4 weeks, based on how much life you’re juggling with it.
And that’s how you go from initial idea to finished first draft without getting distracted. Hope that’s helpful!
Oh, one other thing: if you are in the middle of writing a script and you are bogged down and you aren’t excited every time you sit down to write, don’t be afraid to drop it and start on an idea you do love.
Go through the process above to start over and get a better grasp of the story before you start writing. It’s so important to fall in love with the process. If you don’t love writing the script, readers aren’t going to love reading the script.
Of course, if you’re dropping every script halfway through, then the problem might not be the idea, it might be you.
What if you could write multiple screenplays every year and have a clear path to getting those screenplays sold?
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