Writers struggle to sustain ideas into full-length books
13 posts across 2 communities in the last 60 days; 54% from r/writers.
“I'm writing this workplace comedy with a flavor of action. It's a very absurdist book in the likes of Christopher Moore with my characters doing mostly mundane things. Very meta in my approach. The problem is i'm already at 170k and my arcs are just at the halfway point. I'm…”
“Sometimes I would read some unproduced scripts that are pretty solid and even great reads, but I don't feel like they would make a good movie. I can't point out why and how it happens, do you ever felt that way about some scripts? or even with your own scripts?”
“Hello, I've essentially summarized my problem in the title. Ever since I was a child, I've been developing a vast inner film studio, which now has forty-six stories in development, ten of which are particularly strong in every respect. Perhaps 'mythopoet' is the term that suits…”
Aspiring authors find it difficult to expand a single idea into a complete 120-page screenplay or novel. They lack structured methods to maintain narrative momentum and develop scenes consistently over long formats.
SOURCES (17)
“Not sure if this is the right place to ask but here I go. I've been hoping to sign up for a creative writing course for the next year or so, ideally online (because I live in a non-English speaking country, and I don't intend…”
“I’d describe the plot as some combination of Dune, Code Geass and Arrival. The 19 y/o MC realizes a telekinetic ability in a narrow scope opening book, and comes to realize the story he was told of his father’s death and family history were lies. His path toward global revolution is set into after the death of his best friend, and subsequent abduction by his estranged family members. All this set in a world where “the presence”, an entity never laid eyes upon by any human, installed its own syst”
“I prefer writing in prose but I have always wanted to break into TV or theatre writing. I’ve attempted a few short playscripts since those always seem to be looser in format than TV and film scripts, it’s also harder to know where to start. With books you can at least contact agents but most explicitly don’t accept scripts. I keep hearing about spec scripts but I’m never quite sure what they’re for. I try and read about them but it never seems to click for me. Are people really going to want a s”
Heres the deal: I studied screenwriting in college and though I love film and the form a script takes, I've been disenchanted by the industry hustle and lost interest in pursuing a…
“Looking for recs for screenwriting residencies (besides Yaddo) where housing is covered. Thank you! submitted by /u/Ok_Tale_5363 [link] [comments]”
“I'm writing this workplace comedy with a flavor of action. It's a very absurdist book in the likes of Christopher Moore with my characters doing mostly mundane things. Very meta in my approach. The problem is i'm already at 170k and my arcs are just at the halfway point. I'm thinking it'll teach the 280k ish range. Am I crazy? Is this a thing? I mean a lot of high fantasy books are in that range but i'm not sure a book that tells similarly like The Office might be in that”
“Would love to hear the part(s) of screenwriting that once might have held you back but then allowed you to get read, repped, and sold. The thing that you focused on to push your writing to the next level, be it concept, tension, character, conflict, emotion on the page or anything else. Which part of the craft was the final piece that made it all click for you? submitted by /u/Filmmagician [link] [comments]”
“Sometimes I would read some unproduced scripts that are pretty solid and even great reads, but I don't feel like they would make a good movie. I can't point out why and how it happens, do you ever felt that way about some scripts? or even with your own scripts? submitted by /u/Embarrassed-Ad1322 [link] [comments]”
“Ive got this idea for a book (maybe more books) I've written loads of notes and ideas, story snippets and ive written some of the book. I feel like something is missing. Do I just keep doing what I'm doing or is there something I need to make the progress easier. Please!! is it just me or is it just in my head? submitted by /u/Tall_Connection_3199 [link] [comments]”
“Hello, I've essentially summarized my problem in the title. Ever since I was a child, I've been developing a vast inner film studio, which now has forty-six stories in development, ten of which are particularly strong in every respect. Perhaps 'mythopoet' is the term that suits me best. Has anyone else had a similar problem – struggling to find their way out of their own inner creative realm and unable to discover their true field of expertise? submitted by /u/Merwil0”
“I'm currently writing a script, it's not quite done and it's in its draft stage, written by hand. I'm being secretive about it (since it's not done), but I thought of something... I have 17 pages done so far. Give me a page number and a line number (Example: Page 5, Line 8). And we'll see what line you get! Will it be dialogue? Will it be an action? Funny? Boring? We'll have to wait and see. Note: My script is a fantasy script, so there's some... interest”
“This one kills me. I've had an idea that I've been kicking around in my head for over a decade, but I only figured out a way to make it work in the last year and a half. I finally wrote The Long Way and got a polished draft onto the page. I sent it to some competitions and was getting and implementing coverage on it... Here's the logline: Trapped on a looping highway with a relentless storm at her heels, a young woman and her estranged brother face a nightmarish gauntlet of supernatu”
“I currently have an idea that I’m currently working on and I’m tossing up between whether it would be better as a miniseries or a film. I’ve never written anything episodic before so I was wondering if there’s that much of a difference form wise? Like what are the basics/ standard of starting a tv/episodic project when I know very little? submitted by /u/Whole-Virus-3805 [link] [comments]”
“I've been doing this for 9 years. I've written over a dozen features and half a dozen pilots, plus a bunch of shorts. I'm in multiple writing/networking groups, been to a couple film festivals to meet people, read the trades/craft books/articles and watch videos/podcasts. I've had a couple features in development with producers, but it never worked out (and I never got paid... it was always 'later'). I've filmed some shorts, and adapted some scripts to books. Done a b”
“Hi everyone! I’ve been told that if I want to become a better screenwriter, I should focus on feature films and pilots rather than writing an entire series. I don’t expect to become a professional writer for sure, but I do want to follow my passion in the smartest way possible. The problem is that trying to be “smart” about it has started to take the joy out of writing. I have a series I deeply love, with the pilot and the whole storyline already planned, and I’m simply not ready to let it go. I”
“Hii, I don't think dropping my age is necessary but i am old and well, i like fantasy books a lot and i always wanted to create a romantasy, something to write that makes me happy but hhh the problem is well, i never wrote a fanfic, a story or a chapter, I don't count the ones that the teacher when i was a kid, asked to write to get a school grade but by myself I think I tried once or twice when i was a teenger and i hated it because its easier to hate yourself when you don't create”
“I'm confused about whether I should join the online UCLA Professional Screenwriting Program or not. I've read quite a few books on screenwriting, like Into the Woods , Poetics , Save the Cat , etc. I feel like I have a fairly good understanding of how stories work and how they're structured. My problem is not really the theory. I struggle with taking a good idea and turning it into a 120-page screenplay. I find it difficult to sustain the idea for that long and figure out what scenes”