Comments on: First draft

By: Raj

Raj — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 06:11:33 +0000

I still say, detailing is easy. Just close your eyes and you will see the rush! (Its probably difficult to capture that detailing- and so u must be prepared with a dictaphone, or a typist right next to you- who can type real fast.)

By: Shripriya

Shripriya — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:57:26 +0000

@ Blue – interesting that you write the middle first. I often find what my characters do in the beginning informs the middle… maybe I should try out your method and see if it gets any easier.

@ Striker – don’t know if I am in any way qualified to help, but I’d love to see your work!

@ Raj – Thanks – I think you are talking more about a treatment as a “first draft” and I agree, that is easy. The devil is in the detailing!

By: Raj

Raj — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:34:28 +0000

Writing the first draft is the easiest Here’s what you may wanna try:

1. Try not to think of a beginning, middle or end. Just let the thoughts on a subject that you have chosen, flow.

2. Try keeping a dictaphone next to you, as sometimes the speed of thought is much much faster than your typing speed; in fact flashes will be faster than your speach speed too!

3. Keep the first draft manageable… no more than a few pages with just 3-5 key points. More like a precis.

Then get to work on this… detailing!

By: striker

striker — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:47:51 +0000

i suppose my thought process is somewhat similar, but my thing is.. (and this is in all probability owing to the amount of laziness in me when it comes to writing).. i have to write it all at once.. and only stop if i hit a block, and choose to revisit it. the first script i wrote with a friend, was a featurette (a spoof actually).. and we didn’t worry about structure, style, plot etc.. we just wrote and wrote. and the film never got made due to lack of resources, and people dropping out. the second script which i wrote entirely on my own actually ended up getting selected to be performed as a play.. again, i just sat down and wrote dialogues. no screenplay, no structure.. i just wrote whatever came to me.. and now that i know how a screenplay is different from a script, i’m giving in and actually thinking more about the structure.. putting it down as a screenplay first.. then turning it into a script. might actually seek your help when i roll around to finishing up the screenplay

By: Blue

Blue — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 03:42:59 +0000

I let the idea generate, much in the same way that you do, probably… when it’s started to take a definite shape, I sit down and write a couple pages of notes on character and a detailed plot outline.

Then I jump right in to the part I’m most excited to write. Even when writing non-fiction (”research”) papers — I’ve always started with the gritty middle first and then worked my way out towards both ends.

For me, writing the middle part allows me to deal, right away, with the reasons I’m trying to write the particular piece. Then I can work in either direction to make all the puzzle pieces fall into the right places.