Fishing for ideas

Hello, and before you say anything, I know I’ve been away for more than a month. And you are probably wondering why? To be completely honest, it was a combination of factors. First off, it was Christmas, and I was focused on being with my family. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is the fact that I still don't have any idea for my feature film. I know. But let me explain why.

Where am I currently at?

So I kind of lied there when I said I didn't have any ideas because, in reality, I’ve had tons of them. What I meant to say is I have no good idea. But what do I mean by a good idea? I mean one that will get me excited, one that I really want to write about and one that I think will make for a great movie. And I know some of you might be thinking that the idea is not that important and I should just get going. And although I agree that execution is far more important than the idea, the reality is that writing a feature-length screenplay is no easy task; it is a marathon. So I want to have an idea that gets me excited to write, one that I know I'll want to finish, especially when the road gets tough. I also believe that taking the time to find a good idea with a strong conflict is something that will pay off down the road. But honestly, this decision has not been easy, as it has caused me to fall even more behind some of my classmates and, more than anything, feel like I have to rush.

How am I approaching this challenge?

Well, to be completely honest, for a lot of weeks, I just kind of gave up trying to find ideas, thinking inspiration would fall from the sky. But as you can see, that did’t happen. Now some techniques that I did try were thinking of ideas with a limitation. For a few weeks, I tried thinking of ideas with a chamber film element, which is a film that only has one or two locations. It kinda worked; I had some ideas, but nothing really convincing.

My strategy now is to go back to emotion and story. I'll go back to movies I love with one thought in mind: Why does it speak to me, and what movie would I want to see? I know it is a little vague, but the reason why I’m doing is that I have been too focused on making a “good” film. but in reality all I can control is to make a movie or write one that I like, one that I would like to see. As opposed to what people might or not consider “good”. Asides for that I’ll try and brainstorm ideas for a set time a day, be generally open and ask "what if" about any and all scenarios I encounter and look for help in friends and fellow writers to talk and bounce ideas with.

I’ll keep you posted

I hope you like this update, and I promise to keep you updated. I know I said I didn't write because I felt I had nothing to write about. But I realize now that this too is part of the progress. I promised to share the entire journey, and this is part of it. So no matter what, idea or no, I'll see you again next Sunday.