Why do you write screenplays...

satyesu · Nov 10, 2011

...as opposed to other things?

Hillgate · Nov 11, 2011

Because I love doing it. And I love seeing it translated into a film that a distributor enjoys enough to buy and release. There's some money, but it's not huge unless it's a massive film. Back end? Tricky.

Architectus · Nov 18, 2011

I do it because it's a great way to outline a novel. It helps me see plot issues and figure out set up payoffs, etc. But also, once I have a really good script, I want to submit it to contests.

Miss Plum · Nov 18, 2011

Because I seem to "see" my stories rather than "hear" them.

Hillgate · Nov 18, 2011

Miss Plum said:
Because I seem to "see" my stories rather than "hear" them.

Silent films are indeed making a comeback

WriteKnight · Nov 18, 2011

Because apparently I can't NOT write them. I understand there's a twelve step program for recovery.

I just haven't admitted I have a problem.

Yet.

SummerSurf57 · Nov 22, 2011

I used to be able to write them, when I was thirteen or so, but now, a few years on, I can't.

GRAHAMdotter · Dec 15, 2011

For the money.

Seriously.

cameron_chapman · Dec 15, 2011

I write the other things, too. But I find screenwriting to be a whole lot easier than novel/novella writing. If I'm on a role, I can do the first draft of a screenplay in a couple days. That kind of speed just isn't possible with a novel.

I've written more novels than screenplays, but I like to mix things up.

Plus, I'm a lot better at dialogue and action than I am at description.

screenscope · Dec 17, 2011

Because I'm lazy and screenplays are so easy to write

bluntforcetrauma · Dec 21, 2011

Miss Plum said:
Because I seem to "see" my stories rather than "hear" them.

cameron_chapman said:
I write the other things, too. But I find screenwriting to be a whole lot easier than novel/novella writing. If I'm on a role, I can do the first draft of a screenplay in a couple days. That kind of speed just isn't possible with a novel.

I've written more novels than screenplays, but I like to mix things up.

Plus, I'm a lot better at dialogue and action than I am at description.

All of the above. I abhor wordiness.

SakuraReyna · Dec 21, 2011

Miss Plum said:
Because I seem to "see" my stories rather than "hear" them.

I write short stories and novellas, too, but I was told that I was a visual writer (Cause I read manga and have a fault for being overdescriptive) so I've been outlining some screenplays to publish next year.

Jendrick · Jan 19, 2012

Why a screenplay? Because I got offered more money to write one than I did the book project it was for.

Just being honest

totopink · Jan 20, 2012

I find in this day and age a book is considered successful if a film is made out of it. I found myself writing books in the premiss that one day they could be created into films. Why not just try screenwriting instead?
(That said I do still enjoy writing books)

aikigypsy · Jan 23, 2012

I've been wanting to write screenplays for years, but this is the first time I've gotten around to it. My ideas seem to come in 3 lengths: micro-fiction, novella (or screenplay!) and multi-volume fantasy epic.

The story I'm currently working on lends itself more to screen than to novel format. I have ideas about making the film as producer, with other volunteers rounded up locally, but it's also something I think I could submit as a screenplay, then hopefully write more.

rayten · Mar 28, 2012

Architectus said:
I do it because it's a great way to outline a novel. It helps me see plot issues and figure out set up payoffs, etc. But also, once I have a really good script, I want to submit it to contests.

I'm doing that too: writing a story as a screenplay first, then turn it into a novel. Why? Same reason as you, and also because screenplays are faster to write.

My question is this, is this common among writers, that is writng a novel as a screenplay first?

Jonathan.Bentz · Mar 28, 2012

The fact that it's my fastest writing method, the fact that a pay-out on a script is heftier in some cases than when you get an advance on a book unless your a NY Times regular, and the fact that I've always seen my writing more in a visual medium than in any other.

sharpyetblunt · Jun 3, 2012

because its the desire to make a movie, not write something which drives me. I do take enjoyment from the writing though.

Stijn Hommes · Jun 4, 2012

satyesu said:
Why do you write screenplays...as opposed to other things?

I write both actually.

I generally choose to write a screenplay when I like a filmmaker and want to offer them a screenplay or when I have a story that is so visual I can't imagine it not being a film. Other than that, my stories go onto the printed page to be read without any filmic intervention.

DB Curtiss · Jun 5, 2012

Because that movie projector that's constantly running in my head demands it.

sunandshadow · Jun 5, 2012

I write a mix of formats, but some ideas are just a shape and type that would make for a good screenplay but not such a good novel, or vice versa. Movies are actually more comparable to novellas in terms of size than novels, IMHO. And a visual format is naturally suited to external conflict with cool special effects and fight choreography, not so much to getting deep inside one character's head and heart.

Esper · Jun 6, 2012

I write them for the rhythm.

And the pacing.

It's really satisfactory to skim across a clean-looking page filled with white space - to experience just as thrilling of a story as something written in prose.

Panzypanz · Dec 8, 2012

I want people to enjoy something for 2 hours. I love escaping reality for a while and I want people to do the same. Movies make you not care about anything while you're watching them, that's why I love them. And the fact that some are so enjoyable.

max929 · Dec 11, 2012

Because I'm a movie junkie and i need the fix

Verbal · Dec 18, 2012

It's a bit like asking someone with a gambling addiction why they play poker.

When an idea makes a nuisance of itself, more often than not, it's in movie form. As I explore whether it's worth a toss, characters introduce themselves, or a good movie title, or sometimes a scene that I think would be amazing to see with a bucket o' popcorn and JuJu B's on my shoe. As the idea grows and refuses to leave me alone, there's a point where I'm kinda like Fred Flintstone when he'd go all meth addict and say, "Bet-bet-bet-bet-BET!"

Then, there's no stopping me. Time to pawn my DVD player and lay down my bet by writing that damn thing. At the end, sure, I'm proud that I finished it, but there's probably some sense of relief that it will now leave me alone to some degree.

Why do you write screenplays...

satyesu

Hillgate

On location

Architectus

Miss Plum

Hillgate

On location

WriteKnight

Arranger Of Disorder

SummerSurf57

GRAHAMdotter

cameron_chapman

Makes Things Up

screenscope

bluntforcetrauma

Esquire

SakuraReyna

Writing once, twice, and forever.

Jendrick

totopink

aikigypsy

rayten

Jonathan.Bentz

sharpyetblunt

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

DB Curtiss

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Esper

Screenwriter

Panzypanz

max929

Fear is a only a barrier

Verbal

Suspicious of Bunnies