Wondering what to do next?
Some writers begin with rough notes, which may get turned into a “treatment.” This is a good way to organize your thoughts and harness all the ideas you have toward carving your story into a workable structure. This could also be turned into a “synopsis” for the eyes of an industry player, if required.
It all begins with a concept or a “what if?” The best first step is to formulate your idea and just get going with writing down your thoughts. Let the ideas flow onto paper/screen.
Next, you might be having doubts as to your premise and whether it is worth progressing and investing your time and effort. A number of clients have come to us to ask if we can look at their ideas and get feedback.
We don’t want to give you false hopes and pussyfoot around, as often seems to be the case these days. We’ll give you encouragement where it is due and help you get on track with your story.
Often, writers are so close and passionate about their ideas that they can’t see their own mistakes. This is where it’s crucial to have a third-person perspective.
In this situation, we can help ensure you are hitting the general requirements of story, character development and three act structure.
Maybe you need prompting to furnish your ideas or help with padding out your second act. Either way, our Story Planning Service is aimed at helping you develop the best story you can.
Our service is also useful if you need someone to check the finer elements of your story to help you develop a solid screenplay.
This would involve identifying sub-plots, tone, character, intensity/relief and conflict within your story.
What You Submit
Your ideas may be at varying stages of fruition. It is worth spending a little bit of time gathering your ideas so you submit a decent thread upon which to receive useful help.
What you submit to us can be as rough or presentable as you like. This is the early stage of your screenplay project and not about being ready for the eyes of an executive.
Too often we see screenplays which tell an impassioned story of such a personal nature that the story doesn’t translate well onto the screen. Either too much is missing or there simply is no story there but part of a very personal diary moment, only meaningful to the author.
The good news is that this kind of a submission can be rescued, and benefits from an outside opinion and expert input. Being so close to the truth of your events, it can be difficult to see the bigger picture and inject the necessary dramatic elements to form a successful story relatable to a movie-going/TV audience.
Make sure to include your main characters to help flesh out your story. Include your protagonist, antagonist and supporting characters.
Therefore, when you submit your story as a document (Microsoft Word, PDF, Text File, Apple Pages etc…) you can include a rough Log Line at the beginning and then rough notes, paragraphs or a list of how you see your story progressing. It could even be what you see as a treatment.
This is a planning document. It will be enough for us to look over and point out where things might be going wrong and more likely lacking. This could be anything from one to roughly twenty pages (negotiable).
What You Will Get
A written report that includes:
- A polished or suggested log line (one sentence summary of your main concept)
- Comments (details of strength and weaknesses of the idea)
- Summary
Relevant feedback could include:
- Story arc issues
- Character concerns
- Story interest
- Readability
- Conflict
- Dialogue
- Theme
- Turning points
The “Log Line” is significant as it is a great place to start when forging your story idea. It can help give you a beacon to aim at, as a good log line will carry the idea of your story in a sentence or two.
A log line will usually present the protagonist and the antagonist (or opposing force) and what is at stake. It doesn’t have to mention names and often resembles what you see in a TV guide along with the show name. Here’s an example log line:
A precocious stock broker whose life revolves around his financial business competes with New York’s best for the affection of the president’s daughter.
This works well because it sets up the characters and conflicts. On the other hand, this is not so good:
Comic strip moppet plays pranks on Mr. Wilson.
This shows no depth, and gives no indication of the dramatic stakes involved in the story.
By establishing your log line before you start writing, you create a very simple and brief framework to aim for. This is your guide to staying on track and completing your story.
It should be relatively easy to get a rough log line written without even reaching the screenwriting stage. There is room to help you with improving your log line in the second service package. Just get something down if you can.
What You Will Not Get
It is not part of this service to determine whether your idea will definitely get picked up by a studio. Timing is not something that can be predicted in this industry.
Remember that Star Wars was laughed at in the beginning, and that the Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, was turned away by a major book publisher.
There is also no need for a rating system here. It is way too early in the process to be looking for scores. Your productivity is better served through constructive input.
The Service
There are two levels of service, depending on what suits your needs.
1) Basic Story Planning Service: Read through of your material followed by an email response with general impression and a “proceed/needs work/not worth” it conclusion, with reasons: $50 (2 day turnaround)
2) Full Story Planning Service: Read through of your material followed by a PDF response with development notes on what needs work and questions as prompts for the writer to continue. Suggestions may be added, too, depending on the submission. This is a constructive document as long as is needed. One email follow up from the writer is included, to give an opportunity for questions: $135 (7 day turnaround, approximately)
If you have any questions or would like to use any of these services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by sending us an email.