Evaluating concepts a.k.a. how to pick what to write next?

You're saying that one idea/concept does not grab you more than any of the others?

Okay...

Decide what you want to get out of the script. Do you want to attempt to sell it? The most "commercial" script. Do you want to shoot it yourself? The "cheapest" script. Do you want personal gratification? The script that has the most personal meaning to you. Do you want to get it done "fast"? The script that has the simplest concept and requires the least amount of research.


Or you can put all the ideas in a hat and just pick one at random.


Work on two or three simultaneously. Piers Anthony, according to his authors notes, works on three (3) novels simultaneously. He writes fresh material for novel Z in the morning, revises novel Y in the afternoon, and incorporates the editors notes for novel X in the early evening. As he's written well over 100 novels I guess that method works for him.

AnonWriter said:

I have a bunch of concepts / log lines for features and I'm having hard time picking which one to work on.

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You are not passionate about even one of these concepts/log lines
for features? That means none of them are good enough to warrant
spending hundreds of hours working on it.

You'll know it when you get it. Your concept will be something you
can stop thinking about, something that keep you awake at night.
You won't think of what your friends think. That's the one that will
be worth the hundreds of hours working on.

One thing you could try is creating scene outlines for each one, and as soon as you get stuck or don't like what you've come up with then move onto the next one. Through that process you might end up gravitating towards a certain one which will hold your interest.

I think I get where the OP is coming from, though I have no idea if we're in the same shoes. I also have struggled with choosing which concept to write, and it's not a lack of being passionate about any of them. I have a handful of stories that I'm very passionate about, and that I've pitched to friends/acquaintances to get reactions from. For me, it's never been a question of which one I'm most passionate about (I can answer that question instantly), but which one can I shoot.

I don't know if the OP is also planning on shooting what they write, so I'm not sure if this applies to them, but I ultimately decided on the concept that is the easiest for me to shoot, without compromising the story.

Alcove Audio said:

You're saying that one idea/concept does not grab you more than any of the others?

Okay...

Decide what you want to get out of the script. Do you want to attempt to sell it? The most "commercial" script. Do you want to shoot it yourself? The "cheapest" script. Do you want personal gratification? The script that has the most personal meaning to you. Do you want to get it done "fast"? The script that has the simplest concept and requires the least amount of research.


Or you can put all the ideas in a hat and just pick one at random.

Click to expand...

Excellent Post!

I couldn't say it better or more complete, so I'm sparing you any waffle.

directorik said:

You are not passionate about even one of these concepts/log lines
for features? That means none of them are good enough to warrant
spending hundreds of hours working on it.

You'll know it when you get it. Your concept will be something you
can stop thinking about, something that keep you awake at night.
You won't think of what your friends think. That's the one that will
be worth the hundreds of hours working on.

Click to expand...

True, but not everybody has something he feels about like that.

Then again, the question is if it's worth at all going through all of the hazzle.

Do it right or don't do it at all... at least that's my take.