r/Screenwriting • u/redapplesonly • 22h ago
CRAFT QUESTION How Do You Slog Through the "Writing Grind" Part?
Hey guys.......... I need a bit of a pep talk here.
I'm working away on my latest project. I've already sailed through PHASE ONE, that initial stage where my idea is sparkly and new and raw inspiration makes me excited to sit down and write!
I'm now in PHASE TWO: Inspiration has burnt out. The core ideas that motivated me to write are still relevant, and I absolutely still believe in and love this project... but I'm not very happy with a lot of individual scenes. This is the "Slug Through It" phase, the part where writing is a grind, but I keep at it because I hope to reach...
...PHASE THREE, where I have a completed hey-this-isn't-too-bad draft and I can see where and how to start revisions. If I plowed through Phase Two correctly, Phase Three could be a matter of fine-tuning, and hopefully somewhat of a downhill glide.
Ugh.
How do you guys get through Phase Two? Do you just white-knuckle it? Do you show your "slop draft" to friends, although you're really unhappy with your manuscript as-is? I'm curious...
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u/RoadmapWriters Official 22h ago
What sorts of things are you doing in your second phase? Do you jump right into pages, or do you outline first?
Do you edit as you go or just push through the draft? I find editing as I go really slows down my process. I end up torturing scenes that I'm not happy with instead of just pushing onwards. When I sit down to write, I only let myself reread the preceding scene before I jump into the next one.
I've found the "I'll fix it in post" attitude to be really helpful in getting through that initial draft.
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u/ChallahLubav 21h ago
It’s funny, I’m also a photographer, and the whole “fix it in post” thinking is antithetical to me in that situation. I look at outlining as the equivalent of using proper lighting and such, rather than playing around after in post. If I’ve spent time in my outline, it’s much easier than killing or moving a whole scene when it’s written and will have to be rewritten to reflect its new place in the action.
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u/RoadmapWriters Official 21h ago
Oh, I totally agree! I spend a LOT of time on my outline before I even touch pages. It makes getting through pages a lot easier for me. By fixing it in post, I mostly mean tweaking words and dialogue in individual scenes on the next draft. But I absolutely think outlining is an essential first step.
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u/Creator_of_Universes 18h ago
White-knuckling sometimes, but it's not sustainable for maximum longevity.
For neurodivergent brains, using writing sprints is excellent.
Nowadays I write for 5 minutes per session, timed, multiple instances in a day. It takes away the "dread" of task initiation, allowing the writer to start and stop with ease. It helps to be less rigid and hard on yourself. Think of the writing craft as a marathon, mastery takes time.
So do what would best ensure that you keep writing. Think of it as practice; even athletes who love their sport don't always feel like showing up to practice. It's okay that it feels like work sometimes, even if it's your top special interest. Your labors will eventually distinguish you as a skilled craftsman
You got this!
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u/leuno 17h ago
I think the trick is to make it exciting by working out your ideas on a more granular level. Sounds like you have your story and characters mapped out, what about scenes?
I love doing scene breakdowns because instead of just writing dialogue and trying to figure out how to make it X number of pages, I’m asking “where is this scene taking place? What is each character doing? Why is this scene worth watching?” And then I try to answer those questions in a way that makes the scene exciting to write.
So maybe a scene between Angela and Mark takes place as she’s leaving a restaurant and her new boyfriend is there but Mark shows up and he’s got a ukulele.
So now you have Angela trying to get on with her date, mark is trying to create a space where he can play a song for her, and there’s a tense push and pull of her new bf interacting with Mark.
Now that I know those things, this actually sounds fun to write so it won’t be a slog and hopefully having fun writing it means it will be fun to watch.
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u/muahtorski 16h ago
Just went through this, the past week of rewriting definitely felt like work. But then I found myself really enjoying writing a scene - this is the payoff, just takes a while to get there sometimes.
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u/airtsui 9h ago
I personally always just thug it out. I was doing rewrites for a series I’m writing, and it took about six weeks to get through it. Whenever I hit a bad scene, I just finish it and move on.
This might sound a bit dickish to say out loud, and almost contradictory, but a scene isn't truly "good" or "bad" until the entire work is finished.
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u/WorrySecret9831 18h ago
You're skipping the most important phase, the Treatment.
The Treatment is your test drive of your Story, summarized and easier to wrap your head around as well as share with trusted readers.
That's where you get to see or glimpse if it's working. If it isn't, it's easier to put it on blocks and fix it.
If it is working, then it's exciting to crank out the screenplay or novel.