The Struggle To Write A Screenplay by R.L. Scott

Film Courage: Where do you struggle most with writing screenplays?

R.L. Scott, Writer/Director: Interestingly enough, it’s just writing. I think I’ve been writing for so long. I’m at the point now where I wish there was some good software where I could just talk and it would just write it in script format for me.

The physical act of getting it out of your head I think is the hardest part now because it’s usually most creatives (especially storytellers) there’s never a time when you don’t have stories just constantly coming into your head like ideas.

Even if you flush out the idea fully, it’s just the physical act of typing. I think that’s the thing, when I was young it was fun just being young and typing and everything is great. You can just type for hours and hours everyday. Because I do so many other things I think now I would just really have that be automated.

Some of the YouTube commenters have mentioned this software as a possibility

I’m getting to a place now where I have a few younger writers that I’m working with where I can sort of outline the story. Not for everything, there are certain films where I’m like this is just my baby right here. But certain projects where I’ll do an outline and then I’ll send it to them and then they can write the script based on my outline and then send it back and I’ll just like punch it up. So that’s been pretty cool.

I’m waiting on that magic thing where I don’t have to type anymore.

Film Courage: What about writing in long form? Is this appealing to you?

R.L.: When I started out it was on an old school typewriter with the big keys that come out…you know…[makes typing sounds]. That’s how I started out. And then moved to the electric and then the computer. But I want to talk and have something typed for me. If I could never physically type another script again I’d be great. That would be awesome.

Film Courage: Is this because you don’t like the screenplay format? You’d almost rather do it in novel form?

R.L.: I think it’s just the physical act because it takes so much brainpower to write. It’s very exhausting. It takes your soul. I think it’s just that part of it. I love telling stories and I still have a lot of things I want to say but I think because I still edit, I still shoot, I still direct, I still do sound design, certain products, because I’m doing all of that other stuff when I physically have to type a script, I might get a couple pages and I’m done. 

Unless you are so in it and you have to get it out of your head, that’s different but I try to set goals.

Because I’m older now and it’s harder to write as much as I did before so I set goals such as a certain amount of pages or that sort of thing. I try to do it where I break it into sections.

Right now I’m finishing up the ALMIGHTY STREET TEAM, adapting those comic books into a script and I’ve probably got 30 pages left. I’m almost there…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).




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