Friday, August 22, 2008

Screenwriting: The Incremental Method

I’ve been busy reading an inspiring and wonderfully written book by Tom Lazarus called Rewriting Secrets For Screenwriters. The book is chock-full of very practical tips and humorous, familiar-sounding anecdotes.

Among the techniques Lazarus describes, is the way he sets about developing an idea for a story, using what he calls the incremental method.

This basically involves writing down, off the top of your head, a shorthand list of all the scenes, events, characters etc., that are involved in your story idea. It doesn’t have to make any sense to anyone other than yourself, and it doesn’t have to meet any kind of standards at all. It’s just a rough list of thoughts about an idea you have for a story.

This way of working isn’t revolutionary, it’s completely intuitive and logical, but what’s so good about getting the idea for your story down on paper this way, is that you avoid the trap of thinking too much, too early on in the process.

There’s nothing that can nip a potentially good story idea in the bud more effectively than a bit of premature rational, critical brain work. Especially if (mis)guided by official structure manuals that tell you on what page to put plot points and act breaks.

Not that screenwriting manuals aren’t extremely valuable, but focusing on structure too early on can be devastating for the creative process.

Once you have the list, it becomes the starting point for elaboration. A place from which to ask yourself questions about what might have happened to cause a particular event, what the consequences could be, what the characters want, what their emotions and conflicts are, what locations might look like and why, and so on.

As you add more details, scenes and characters begin to emerge, and it will become clear whether the story is viable or not. If it is, perhaps a more structured outline is called for. If it’s not, better to know now than half way through the first draft.

The reason the incremental method works so well, as does the rewriting method Lazarus sets out, is this: By going back over the same list again and again, you gradually notice and adjust more and more detail every time. It’s a great way to avoid writing clichés and stereotypes, because when you come back to the same beat for the tenth time and it still feels fresh and surprising, you know it’s good writing. If you come back to a scene and it feels tired and too familiar, you know you need to move it up a gear or two.

Another great (re)writing tip from Tom Lazarus is to check what new information the scene is delivering. But more about that next time.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

great tip, thanks

Raving Dave Herman said...

You're welcome!

Dave

Halo: Best Video Game said...

Hi Dave,

In his book does he talk about rewrites on this level --

1. rewrite strategies for one's un-optioned and optioned scripts
2. rewrite techniques when someone is a staff writer and gets those development notes from hell


Regards,
Benjamin Ray
Screenwriter/Commercial/Graphic novel writer
www.hollywoodtoronto.com
brscreenwriter@gmail.com
writer4graphicnovel@gmail.com

Raving Dave Herman said...

Hi Benjamin,

Tom Lazarus certainly does cover both situations. He has knows first hand what it’s like to write spec scripts, and he also has plenty of hair-raising stories to tell from his extensive experience with studios, producers, and so on.

His point is that whatever you’re writing, there are certain very specific ways to fine-tune your script to ensure it reads as well as is possible. These are distinct and separate “passes” on the script, each addressing a particular aspect (transitions, new information, etc.)

Hey, don’t take my word for it. Pay a visit to Tom’s website, or go to Amazon where you can pick up a good-as-new copy of his book for the price of a couple of beers ...

Keep (re)writing,

Dave

Synthia Rose said...

I know Tom. He is absolutely awesome.

Raving Dave Herman said...

I couldn't agree more.

Dave