Ask HN: What to do with a unique and coherent movie idea with a great twist?

2 points by Mutlut 3 years ago | 5 comments

Hi HN!

i don't have anything to do with writing but for trying to sleep, i tried for years to come up with a story.

Last week it made click and i have now a basic story line, coherent and with a great twist at the end.

I benchmarked it already with friends and family (while telling them pls be honest) and one of them even said "And you just came up with that?".

I'm now lost on what to do. I checked out screenplay websites but it feels like the wrong place. They expect some screenplays and i don't even know what this is. I can explain my story in 5-10 minutes but i'm not good at all in writing dialogs etc.

Is it a valid screenplay if its just a handful of dialogs and scenes and not like a 30 minute tv show?

Do screenplay websites like black list expect to be for screenwriters who actually want to write a screenplay?

Thanks!

WheelsAtLarge 3 years ago |

It's like any startup. You have to convince someone that the story has value. That usually means putting up the time and work-effort. You could try to get someone to listen to you and hope they can produce the movie but that's very unlikely. It's more likely that a 5-10 minute story will get you a head nod and a smile.

Your best bet is for you to outline your story, work out the structure and get the bugs out. Write a killer synapse and then start writing a screenplay. Screenplays have a very structured format so you'll need to read up on how to do it. Once that's done rewrite it until it's golden and then try to find an agent that will shop the script around. If you can't get an agent then you'll need to go further on your own but that's way in the future.

Bottom line, you have to get started with the work.

Mutlut 3 years ago | |

I will try to write / formulate a screenplay. I have started to look into it a little bit more and thanks to YouTube it acutally feels doable for getting more feedback.

Lets see :)

AlbertCory 3 years ago |

I'm not a screenwriter, but to be honest: ideas are a dime a dozen. It's the realization that matters.

lusus_naturae 3 years ago |

Is there any chance you could find a writer or filmmaker in your network?

Mutlut 3 years ago | |

I will try to ask around. Not that far fetched, tx :)