My problem isn't so much a lack of ideas. My problem is that I'm great at coming up with plots and characters, but I seem incapable of coming up with enough scenes to stretch the plot to the length it needs to be.
Isn't that plot?
But isn't "incapable of coming up with enough scenes" lack of ideas?
I will often visit Wikipedia, Youtube, a news site. Often one idea will lead to another. I end up bookmarking tons of stuff to my "Inspiration" folder. Periodically I'll check that folder and start writing up some idea sketches. I'll go back and revisit some of the idea sketches.Hello guys.
What do you do when you are in your writing schedule (writing your feature, short, documentary, etc.) and have no ideas? When that happens, do you still insist and keep writing random stuff hoping good ideas pop in your head?
Thank you.
... I seem incapable of coming up with enough scenes to stretch the plot to the length it needs to be. ... employ the Hanna Barbera method: break the story down into sections that would be 7-9 minutes in length, then focus on writing one section at a time. ...
Television programs work in a similar fashion. Minor conflict every 4-5 pages, a major conflict every 8-10 pages. TV is film as rhyme scheme is to prose. What I often find is that most writers have their main plot (A) but don't give enough thought to their subplot (B). Even seasoned writers will follow their A plot straight through. Yes, the A plot in a sense is the movie but the B plot gives definition to the characters and situation. While writing 7-10 pages may help you get down your A plot, it's your B plot that helps fill out the script in a meaningful way as suggested by Ray and others. I appreciate what you're saying about being concise and bringing in a collaborator. It's not a deficiency or weakness. What you might ask yourself after you complete a scene is "What are the characters I'm not seeing doing right now?" Often they are planning, plotting or doing something which will impact decisions in your next scene. If you apply this, you find yourself interpolating your B plot with your A plot in the second act.... I've always been a very concise writer and even if I have a complete story, I personally am not good at doing the character-based filler scenes that most movies seem to have ....