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Tips on working with a writing partner?

Hello people
I am a young film maker amd i love writing scripts but i think it would be very beneficial to work with a partner. But i have no idea how, do you just sit around a table and share ideas and hope for the best? I don't know, the entire idea sounds very awkward! I have found someone who i would like to work with and i think he wants to work with me too but how exactly do i tell him that i would like to write a scirpt with him? He has great ideas and i can contribute my ideas to him and make a script. But how do we start?

Any tips would be much appreciated
Thank you!
 
It depends a lot on how you're comfortable working or what gets ideas flowing. For me, sitting around a table (or on a park bench, library, etc) bouncing ideas around is a lot of fun and gets ideas flowing much better than working solo. However it usually works best if you've both got some ideas already. If you have nothing except "let's write something!" you might want to both come up with some ideas independently first to fuel the discussion. If you've already got an idea, maybe pitch it over Facebook or something and give him time to digest it, then meet. While meeting, don't censor yourself. It's true that some ideas are good in your head and bad out loud, but some are the other way around. Actually writing simultaneously can be tricky. You could use a Google doc, or divide labor somehow (eg you write Act 1 and he writes Act 2, or you work on Monday and he works on Tuesday, or you write and he does corrections, or some nebulous mix of all of that).

how exactly do i tell him that i would like to write a scirpt with him?
"Dude, you want to write a script together?"
 
If your taste is the same and if you also can agree exactly what film you'll write together, what could become complicated? If you aren't sure, one of you better be the writer and the other the assistant.
 
I have experience writing with two partners. Just to be clear, there is no right and wrong way to write with a partner. If you're out there buying books or scouring the internet for blog posts on how to write with a partner, you've already in trouble!

1)
I co-wrote a script years ago with a buddy I met on a message board forum. He lived in another State. We never met. We never spoke on the phone.

It started out with e-mails back and forth, then it moved to a shared Google document. We both had a bunch of ideas over the years for story ideas. We tossed those into a Google document to see what we gravitated towards the most. After we picked the idea, we throwing ideas out left and right. No idea is a bad idea at this stage. Write down everything. You never know what you can extract from that "bad idea" that would work later on if at all. Once we had pages upon pages of notes and ideas we cleaned it up a bit so it was more coherent. We then started on the actual script. He would write pages. I would write pages. We would read each others additions and communicated if we felt something should be changed or altered and why.... This went on for months.

2)
I'm currently writing a new script with a buddy. He came to me months ago with an idea and it wasn't until recently we decided to jump in and write this thing. We meet at a diner and just throw out any idea that we have. We write down EVERYTHING. Again, There is NO bad idea and at this stage, write everything down. We don't worry about Act Structure or anything like that. We're just writing down ideas. Once we get to a certain to where we need to be with the outline, my buddy will take over and write the script. We're doing it this way because 1) he's an amazing writer. He's written and directed 4 feature films and over 100 short films. He just wrote a script for a BIG Hollywood player. 2) We decided we want the script to have one voice. Sometimes when two writers tackle a script and pass it off back and forth it sounds like there are two different voices. Also, writing the script (action and dialogue) is easy for him. He can crush out a full draft in a week. But his weakness is crafting the story. That's where I (both of us) come in.

So yeah, there's no right or wrong way to approach co-writing a project. You just do it.

Good luck!
 
OpusFiller makes a good point of writing Everything down.

The first 3 scripts I wrote are all with the same guy. We use to work together at a sh*t job had same interests and we said we should just start writing together so we did.

I also disagree with Opus "There is NO bad idea", defiantly are bad ideas but they are easy to point out I find (mostly)

To write with someone is easy to just start talking and take notes. I know it seems scary (was for me at first anyway) but when working in a group or with just one other person it is ok to say " I don't like that idea" or "I don't think that will work". That's part of it. Debate and have fun. Yeah sometimes ideas you think are great others will not like at all. Just part of it.

Have fun with it would love to see how it turns out!
 
I'd like to clarify what I mean by "There is no bad idea"

What I meant was that in the early stages of writing notes or an outline, write everything down. Don't question yourself with "Should I write this down or should I scrap it" - Write EVERYTHING down. At these early stages I say "there is no bad idea" because frankly, you shouldn't be worrying about if this portion is worthy or not. You should just be writing stuff down and seeing what evolves on paper. After you have this vomit draft of a rough outline, then you go back and refine.

What I notice is people never get over the hump of actually having a finished writing piece because they always are second guessing themselves. Worry about all that later. Just write down shit. Good, bad, whatever. Write it all down and then go back and refine, remove, adjust and give it some structure.

Again, there isn't any "by the books" way of working with a partner as I previously said. This is just how I have been doing it. It may work for you, it may not. And that's okay.

For instance, this is our logline:

When a dubious scientist begins tests of a machine that accurately predicts a person's date of death, he discovers all the test subjects will die in 9 days. Apart from one. A woman destined to live 45 years who may be the key to preventing an impending catastrophic event.

Last week I had a few paragraphs how our scientist meets this woman. It was good stuff. My writing partner came back and said, I like it but I don't think that's the best road to take. But there was some stuff we were able to pull out and use elsewhere. That's all I mean by there is no bad idea. You should write everything down because you never know what will work in other area and what you may be able to salvage!
 
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What I meant was that in the early stages of writing notes or an outline, write everything down. Don't question yourself with "Should I write this down or should I scrap it" - Write EVERYTHING down. At these early stages I say "there is no bad idea" because frankly, you shouldn't be worrying about if this portion is worthy or not. You should just be writing stuff down and seeing what evolves on paper. After you have this vomit draft of a rough outline, then you go back and refine.

AH HA!!! I see, in that case yes totally agree. Sorry I took it so literal at first. Opus Makes excellent points. Write everything down, and work it after.
 
I agree with others in this posting that stated you should WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. Whether writing with a partner, a team, or solo...just WRITE DOWN ALL YOUR IDEAS. You never know whats going to work or not so it's best to have a bunch of ideas then cut them down from there.

Also have an audio recorder handy. Record your writing meetings. Or when by yourself, take a walk and speak your script ideas out into the recorder. Later you can go back and listen and keep the ideas that work.

And write, write, and write some more. To be a writer you have to write. And don't forget to take breaks to live life. The best writing can come from personal experiences, life experiences and life's adventures.
 
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