No joke, before I begin writing a treatment I have a hundred little boxes checked off in my mind.
Things like:
- What’s the inciting incident? Who’s in it and what’s it entail?
- Where do we break into Act II, around what page, and what happens?
- What’s the tone? Describe it by using image references, scenes from other films, scores, etc.
- Do I have an audience? If so, who?
- What does my main character like to do in his/her spare time?
- What is my niche? Do I have one? (If not, I might be in trouble.)
Etc, etc, etc.
And yes, this absolutely is a joke.
I do have a list of questions but I don’t have them all answered! Are you kidding me? I’d never make it. Permission to sometimes suck, granted.
Many of the boxes are consciously checked off, but I try to tap into my subconscious for the rest.
I’ve found that if I have a perfectly answered list, with everything figured out, I lose that magical pixie dust.
So this is where I’m at with THE UNTITLED MIND BENDER, currently in TREATMENT phase, trying to crack one more cookie for the engine. If I can figure this out now, I might not have to dig out that splinter later. If I don’t figure it out, I’ll have to trust process.
Which is scary.
Have you ever created something magical when everything wasn’t planned out? Tell me about it!
If this were easy, everyone would be doing it. Right?
xx
AEJ
