Where to go from here??

[rnbrewer]

Here's the thing about "your baby": It's YOUR baby. I'll be perfectly honest with you, I don't generally agree with this whole idea that you shouldn't make a script your baby. The truth is, every writer has that ONE script or idea, that one obsession that no matter what happens they want to write it and see it get made or published. As screenwriters we don't always have that luxery, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a baby somewhere in your archives. What's important is that you still keep your eye on the prize which is making it in the world of film. Chances are, you won't be riding your baby's back through the Hollywood gates when you do. You still need to play the game if you want in, but that doesn't mean you can't keep your baby stored away somewhere on a hard drive. You never know, maybe your baby will get a chance to grow up someday, but that can't happen unless you write it.

More importantly, you're a writer. So write. Write whatever you want. If you're talented and the right people read it there's a good chance you'll make it.

[aj1981]

Nice reply. Cool tip. Thanks for your input.

[ScriptNurse]

Consider only the avenues that will provide the greatest conflict for your protagonist.  People go to movies to see how other people get themselves out of a jam ... and that's the reason producers and studios buy stories.

[aj1981]

I have no idea. That's where I am.

[Queen Mab]

Hello everyone! I, as I have been told not to do, have made a screenplay "my baby." I have been working on this one screenplay for about a year or two, constantly putting it down when I don't have time to work on it or when I get frustrated with it because I don't know where to go with the story, and then not coming back to it until I feel newly inspired. I know this isn't the best practice for a screenwriter, but I figured I haven't sold a script yet so I am not working on any one elses watch but my own.  I have been writing and rewriting the same pieces of this screenplay a hundred times (I have also been told not to re-read it until it is finished, but it seems I have a complex about rules hehe). I keep getting to the same part and realizing I have about four or five different directions in which I could take the story. I am really not sure which one would flesh out the best in the end. I have tried a brief synopsis of each scenario, but each sounds as good as the one before it. HELP! I really, really want to finish this screenplay, and oddly enough not for myself or so I can sell it; because I want the characters to live out their story. I want to complete it so they (the characters) can finally have closure, and I guess in some aspect me as well. The story is not based off of anything from real life, it is totally fiction, but I have grown to know my characters and therefore they are kind of real to me (is that weird?). So, what would be the best way to pick a scenario when there are so many choices? Thanks for your help!