Have you noticed that writing a 100-plus-page script seems like it can take forever? And then you finish it and you have to re-write the whole thing again, again, and again. At that rate, you could only write so many scripts over the course of a few years, so how are you supposed to have enough scripts to interest an agent?
On the other hand, maybe you’re a screenwriter who has only one script and one idea, maybe two ideas at the most. And you know that most literary agents are going to want more than that. So what do you do?
My first bit of advice is NOT to sit around and do nothing. It’s also not necessarily to sit down and write another screenplay. Instead it’s to sit down and start brainstorming more ideas. It’s good to always be working on scripts, ideas, and outlines at many different phases.
As a writer, one of the most important things you have to offer is your creativity in the arena of making up stories. If you aren’t coming up with ideas and making up stories, then you’re not doing what you are here to do.
As part of your schedule, set aside some time to brainstorm possible story ideas. If you don’t have many ideas yet, you might want to set aside time to do this for a few minutes every session before you write.
Most importantly, is very important to practice tapping into your creative center, that place where ideas are born. When you do that on a regular basis, not only does it give you more ideas for future stories but it also helps you in the script that you are working on right now.
Ultimately, the ideas that you come up with may be ones that you could eventually sell. Or one of them could be the seed for your next script.
Or if you have so many ideas that you’re on the verge of overwhelm, then for you, it is time to to step back from brainstorming and start to develop your ideas at their next level — pitches, treatments, outlines, and on up to screenplays, for the same reason above.
Whether you have tons of ideas, only one, or somewhere in between, your writing is your product, your inventory, your self-expression. The more you tap into it and begin to give shape to your ideas as possible products, the more interesting you will look to a prospective agent or producer.
If you feel you need more information on how to do this, or if you would like more information on how to prepare your treatments, outlines, and pitches, you may want to consider a strategy session. Or if you have developed ideas and are ready to market them, consider sending out a query letter mailing.