How Professional Screenwriters Outline 

Every writer seems to have their own style. There isn’t a wrong way to write a script as long as it’s good.

You did Tarantino dirty with the "foot fetish" part 😂😂😂

“It’s the fastest way to kill all my ideas” Man, this hit the nail on the head. As soon as you start trying to rationalise and logic out an exciting idea, you only see the problems and not the potential.

You know you’ve watched too many film essays and interviews when you’ve heard most of the audio clips before and even know where some of them are from.

"You must understand that when you are writing a novel you are not making anything up. It's all there and you just have to find it" - Thomas Harris

The important part of these videos is how different every approach is. I beat myself up from time to time that I'm not approaching my writing in the "right" way (especially in terms of outlining), but the important thing to remind yourself is that processes vary and as long as the end product is a finished script then there is no wrong way to make your first step toward that goal.

Structure is everything to me. I have ideas in my head but without a skeleton to put them on I just have a bucket of random organs

I like Tarantino's and Alex Garland's and Rian Johnson's idea's on outlining. I might actually try some of these.

I like Alex Garland's idea of writing out the story line by line, and then replacing each line with a scene.

Essentially: there is a method to the madness, yet being too methodical is madness.

I read a book where academy award winners talked about writing. One thing I noticed is that no one did it the same way.

So many young filmmakers don’t follow the most basic rules of structure cause their heroes didn’t and became celebrated for it, but the truth is even they had to start with the basics of scene and movie structure before they played around with it. Love this vid.

When Quentin Tarantino said you know the characters, they're in your blood was really touching. Great video for emerging screenwriters.

Outline or not, I think the most important thing is to know you're characters. I always start with characterisations, contradiction characters with similiar goals but different methods. Then it basically writes itself.

0:00 Vince Gilligan 0:20 Quentin Tarantino 2:18 Paul Thomas Anderson 2:47 Alex Garland 3:53 Coen Brothers 4:14 Rian Johnson 5:06 Greta Gerwig 5:34 Aaron Sorkin 6:07 Kenneth Lonergan 6:54 Michael Arndt 9:06 M. Night Shyamalan 9:34 Vince Gilligan & Breaking Bad Writing Team

I think writing a script is a hugely personal process and everyone seems to have their own methods. Hearing other people's process is always nice, especially if you're struggling to find your own.

I just love hearing how they’re all different from one another. It shows that it all really comes down to personal preference. You just gotta try out a bunch of techniques and see what ends up clicking for you

NGL, but Alex Garland's method of writing is fucking amazing. I'll definitely be doing this...

I love Quentin's idea of a checklist. An outline seems far too concrete. As writers, we do not know anything about our story until we're in it.

Gilligan explains things really well. Simple, to the point, and useful.

I really appreciate these videos. There’s a lot of contradictory advice out there, and this helps to sift through the bullshit.

I like how you showed many different approaches for different writers, some of which are contradictory - giving the viewer the opportunity to decide what might work best for their own writing based on the evidence than insisting that there is one way for everyone.

When Tarantino said “ the part when the characters are exciting me” that instantly hit.

I find it astonishing how all this great writers have incredibly different methods,which proves that only you can teach yourself how to write your own movie and develop your own method.

It’s midnight and I just got my eureka moment on how I should start writing. Thank you for making this.🙏

The key to any writing is just to write: plan, outline or no. Whatever works, get it on the page. Alex Garland was spot-on - getting something to work with and shape and refine further is the most important first step. If you need an outline to do that, go crazy, but remember, letting the story speak to you rather than seeing yourself as the 'author' of the tale is also very helpful in creating the most organic, free-flowing and sound story. In other words, don't think about your story or characters, feel your way through them. This is how Hayao Miyazaki tends to work and his characters and stories are some of the best in movies period. Learn from the best I say!

That day/night method is actually brilliant, especially when you're finding the structuring goes well and want to ensure you're flowing things. Imagining "oh this scene I already planned is now at night" can change the whole story and feel more connected.

Any time I've been told to outline first, it's come from people who went to film school, where they got taught all kinds of rules. I never went to film school, but I've watched a ton of movies since childhood. So far I have written 5 feature film screenplays in the last 7 years. One of which was optioned by a production company. My friends who went to film school have been in the "business" 10 years longer than me and between them have written 2 feature film screenplays, neither have been optioned. So yeah, it took a long time but I finally started trusting my own personal methods instead of theirs. Even though their ideas might lead to something it seems like they're forever stuck in outline and treatment hell, spending years on a script. I never outline in the classic sense with "acts", "structure". At most I write out a simple form of a beat sheet combined with a series of loose notes, and then I start on the screenplay itself. The only part of structure I like to make clear beforehand is a good midpoint, because a solid midpoint can really infuse a ton of new energy to your story (ex. the dinosaurs break out in Jurassic Park, Chief Brody goes to sea to hunt the shark in Jaws, the chestburster shows its ugly face in Alien etc). Most I've spent on a first draft of a feature screenplay was about 2 months, the fastest was 4 days (don't ask me how I managed that last one, I barely know myself).

OMG THE FOOT FETISH SHOUTOUT FOR TARANTINO!!! IM DYINGGGG!! Bravo!

I always hated it when in school they would tell you "the way" to write. Everyone is different and develop their own methods.

Love hearing experts and professionals talk about their craft.

I'm with Greta, I hate outlines. I do story beats spread across act structures but outlines kills my sense of wonder in my own scripts.

Listening to this is sooo reassuring

Before this video I was trying to complete a story and I blueprinted the starting and endings in my mind but I was stuck in the middle and I can confidently say this video helps me out.

How I do it (and no, I'm not a famous producer or anything) *First.* Get the most basic info of the story. Genre, setting, theme, moral of the story. etc. Gotta know what framework I'm working within. *Second.* Like what is said at 4:52 "Draw arcs and split them out into sequences." Start listing _multiple_ arcs. Not the main arc (usually). Start with the small stuff. Character arcs, sub-plots, chronological events that need to happen in a set order. The more the better. Because you'll cut out any that don't fit well, so its good to have plenty to choose from. For example: a character's life >> baby, child, teenager, adult, old man, dead... and (usually) can't escape that order. Love story sub-plot >> Dislike person, grow to like them, fall in love, convince them to like you, get married. Betrayal character arc >> work with person, trouble happens, try to find who did it, discover it was your best friend, confront them Redemption arc >> Character does bad thing, realizes its bad, vows to do better, tries to fix their wrongs, gets forgiven by people he hurt. *Third.* Each arc has a list of "beats" that need to happen in that order. Now try to link as many beats together as you can. Does the betrayal happen at the same time the other character falls in love? Does the person die shortly after discovering the truth? Does the big reveal happen before or after the fight scene?... and so on. This serves as a framework to build the story around. EG If Plot A goes A,B,C,D,E \ Plot B goes W,X,Y,Z \ Plot C goes 1,2,3,4,5 Then the full script might go A, B, 1W, X, C2, Y, 3, DZ, 4, 5, E *Fourth.* I do what I call the "caveman draft." Sort of like what was said at 3:17 in this video. Use the above story beats as the framework, and then write out the first draft of the story. Except, My first draft is with no frills. "character does thing. Other character enters room." Just to get my ideas of the scene onto paper. Then after that I'll write the first proper draft. With more poetic language and stuff.

HAHA the Tarantino checklist!! I love it.

2:47 Paul Thomas Anderson sounds like text-to-speech Microsoft Sam.

Man I wish I had Garland's mind. His outlining sounds so clean and not tedious at all.

Even though I’m not on the level of writing as Tarantino, I did remember having an outline for my short film, and somehow, the ending of the film is entirely different than what I had in mind originally.

Aaron Sorkin always has the best analogies to explain what he is saying

Would love to see tips on 2 vids: Writing Character Backstory (as some writers don’t), and dialogue

The Coen Brothers are some of my favorite filmmakers of all time, but I almost wasn't able to understand what they were trying to say LOL.

I love how many different methods can lead to such great results, totally love this art.

You have such an eye for minimalist aesthetic... the visuals were stunning.

this is the best and most informative docu-style video about other screenwriters and what they do well. some other channels just post nonsense, so this was a refreshing change. thank you

thank you for this long video of writers contradicting each other and ultimately giving very little advice since everybody's creative mind works in a very different way. real useful content

Wow Alex Garland’s approach really resonated with me as well as Michael Arndt. Thank you for putting this video together.

7:30 seems like a good way to do it. Having the acts/arc summarized over 4 pages looks manageable.

"....outline only after a great deal of material..." That did it for me

Michael Arndt & Vince Gilligan’s advice was pure gold!

Love that you highlighted different types of writers and different exercises! I'm a huge fan of what Alex Garland and Michael Arndt suggested and definitely will be trying them out.

This was so helpful. I am writing a script thought to the 3/4 mark. I will let the characters write the end

Vince Gilligan's all-hands-on-deck style payed off big time. It was awesome.

Really needed this today. Thank you!

Hats off to the whole team for compiling such a delicate area, solely for the betterment of fellow writers around the world. Really appreciate the effort. Keep up the good work!

This is wonderful, Nehemiah. Thanks for such a compelling video for screenwriters!

This was a huge help! In screenwriting university we were taught to keep action lines to four consecutively, but I always think In beats, not shorthand so several of these methods have been a huge help in showing through my action sections! Thank you!

Kenneth Lonergan’s advice rings in my head from this video all the time. I get caught in rules and craft.

Brother, you are KILLIN' it with these videos lately. Well done. Great resource. I'm in the "outline first" camp. Worked on a pilot with a partner who was a free-writer and, holy hell, did that suck. 😂 Never again. 😑

Always get excited when I get a notification for a new video from your channel. Outlining is such a subjective method of writing too, some love it, some hate it. In my case, I loved it for my shorts but when I wrote my feature, I started from page one with just an act breakdown instead of outline because I had no idea what the beats were going to be.

This was awesome, thank you!!

it’s so interesting how all of these extremely successful screenwriters all have totally different strategies

I'm experimenting with a bunch of different methods. I plan (lol) to try a bunch of techniques in one novel and see which sessions come up with the best ideas. Don't be afraid to experiment and "waste time". That's what experimentation is.

Amazing! Great collection from master storytellers! Thank you for your hard work!

As someone who finds it nearly impossible to outline before a completed rough draft, this video feels like vindication. Thank you!

I don’t say this often, that was one of the most helpful storytelling/novel/screenplay advice videos I’ve ever seen. Thank you

LOVE THIS CHANNEL. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK

Outlining, over the years I have honestly gotten to the point where I have a story and I know where it starts, where it will go and how it ends. Planning everything out. But in the process of making it many of the thing I made and plan are just going to the chopping board, I know the beginning and the ending but the way getting there keep change everytime I write a line (also How They Wrote House M.D)

Some of the outlines that some of these filmmakers follow are quite interesting, especially those of PTA, Tarantino, Johnson, and Garland.

In design, there is a concept known as Macro to Micro. Essentially you start with the big elements and slowly build up layers of detail. If you start with the micro details, you will mess up the proportions somewhere and have to restart the whole thing. If you start with the macro and mess something up, it's far easier to fix or start over. I'm not saying you have to do this for writing, but it's an approach.

Rian Johnson’s perspective is my favorite. It inspires me to think of outlining as training for a marathon or cross country race, and the actual screenplay is the race.

This diversity is really interresting. It seems the most important is to know yourself well, and specially your weaknesses, and how to exploit them !

Thanks for sharing. We don't need Schools or Masters anymore. Knowledge is finally available to all.

This is exactly what I needed to hear this morning. Very inspiring!

You have put this together in such a stunning way, it is a whole learning tip/tutorial for people to adapt for themselves, thanks for all the work you put into this, love it👊

I just wanna say, THANK YOU. Your channel is amazing man. Northing but goood things to say from me. Keep up the great work. Industry needs people like you informing and inspiring people like me.

As a writer myself with 1 book and a few short stories completed I loved this video. Great compilation, nice variety in ideas. When i started writing i had always sort of categorized writers into either outliners or pantsters. But the more i wrote the more i realized im a bit of both. after watching this it sounds like even though writers may tend towards one extreme or the other they are always a bit of both as well. Can totally relate to the outline changing multiple times

Really helpful... thanks for posting this.

This is truly informative. Thank you

God... I love "Behind the Curtain"... so enjoyable.. so entertain... so educational ... Love you guys!

Everyone has a different style. What I got from this is just keep writing.

I just gotta say... this was a great video! Keep up the great work 😊

Thank you so much for these videos, so helpful and inspirational

It’s great to hear how each one of them uses their own technique!

Very helpful. Thank you.

I do so much Pre-Work on my scripts. I have 56 Notecards, separated into 3 piles (Act 1, 2, 3), then the notecards are expanded into an outline format (generally 50-60 pages). this way i've basically written the script and just fill in with dialogue. Since I typically try to write dense story with a lot of interaction, this helps me keep motivations and snippets organized in such a way that I don't lose my favorite parts. I agree, you really need to know where the story is going. Loved this video.

Absolutely Amazing Video... OMG... This Video Is GREAT!! ... and don't get me even started on the video and editing... Fantastic editing... I love all the graphics... "Amazing" This is one of the most enjoyable videos I have ever seen... Seriously... I feel like a kid in a candy story... I was hanging on every word. Thank you so much for sharing this video. This video shows how much time and work was put into it... every detail. "Bravo Darling"... "Bravo"

This is really helpful and encouraging. I gleaned from several of these directors. Thank you. Will join the Behind the Curtain club when it's up.

I feel like it's incredibly relieving to hear all these acclaimed writers talk about how they don't know everything from the beginning. One of my biggest anxieties was trying to figure out how to organize my ideas and get coherent sequences on paper but to know they're just kind of trying their best too and figuring out what works for them is pretty freeing.

i think every writer has his own way of building a script. btw video is very help full. thankyou❤

This was fantastic thank you

Great video! I've been brainstorming my next script idea, so this is right on time.

8:18 this is the best method of organizing i have ever heard of! i can't wait to try this with my own scripts.

Is like the algorithm is inside my head! I was just saying I needed some motivation today to sit down and write my film and this video showed up on my feed!

I LOVE THIS CHANNEL

Great video. Really helpful for us emerging screenwriters. Can you drop the link to the full interview with Alex Garland?

Bosses. Thanks for posting, very helpful.

This video is really great. Thanks a lot!

Everyone has a process and it’s not the same for everyone

A great channel. Getting first-hand advice from the greats! :)