ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXHow do you make sure your screenplay sticks to its theme?
1 year, 1 month ago - George Wright
Hi folks,
How do you ensure your screenplay stays true to its theme? I sometimes find my story drifting away from its core message, especially during rewrites. One thing I’ve started doing is writing the theme at the top of each page to keep it in mind as I work.
Do you have any strategies to keep everything aligned? Maybe you have a particular method during the outlining phase or specific questions you ask yourself about each scene.
For context, I'm currently working on a sci-fi focused on environmental justice and climate change. I want to leave a lot of signifiers throughout, but I keep getting caught up in character development :(
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1 year, 1 month ago - James McCann
Hi, sounds like you're not doing too much framework before writing.
Sort the framework out first, as in you know pretty-much scene-to-scene what's going to happen.
Then draft that, several times. All you have to do then is fill-in the dialogue.
Hope this helps,
James
Response from 1 year, 1 month ago - James McCann SHOW
1 year, 1 month ago - CK Goldiing
Hi George.
Are you familiar with Film Courage on YouTube? Exceptional channel with endless educational videos about all elements of filmmaking.
Use Search terms like 'Film Courage Scriptwriting' and prepare for big breakthroughs.
Good luck with your script!
Response from 1 year, 1 month ago - CK Goldiing SHOW
1 year ago - Lindsay Clift
Hi! Sounds like a great story. Congrats on finishing a draft. Themes are super important to me as well, though more recently I’ve begun to allow my characters to lead me. When I’m developing characters I tend to express the theme through them. When in rewrites I will make a thematic pass to be sure I don’t have extraneous storylines that distract from my end goal/message, but character passes always come first for me. If they aren’t living breathing truthful beings there is work to be done there before anything else. Also- if at any point I am uninterested, impatient or distracted, I consider cutting that entire section and usually do. (Always retain previous drafts in case you miss that section.) I find I rarely miss those bits.
Response from 1 year ago - Lindsay Clift SHOW
1 year ago - Dhruv Sarin
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Response from 1 year ago - Dhruv Sarin SHOW
1 year ago - Peter Spencer
I must be honest, I never even think about 'theme' when writing. I think themes emerge at some point but I spend time on keeping the story and characters on track.
Response from 1 year ago - Peter Spencer SHOW