maisolle

INT. ROOM - 2 AM

WRITER is sitting in front of a laptop with 27 tabs open. The active tab is a Google search: "how does a rocket work." They rub their eyes and look at the screen. Their eyes widen. They realize they've lost their train of thought.

They switch back to the screenwriting software.

The WRITER sighs. They bury their head in their hands as the story fades away.

The WRITER scrambles through their notes to find the beats they had written down. They look at the whiteboard. The structure on it is three months old.

Frustrated, they throw the notes in the air. Papers fly in front of the window, rain starting to drizzle outside.

The WRITER squints as the notes gently settle on the floor. They look at the window. They see something.

Clarity.

A blank canvas. A space for translating their thoughts onto an unstructured board.

Notes, images, story beats, world rules and a personal research assistant.

The WRITER pieces the ideas they have together. The questions are asked, answered and pinned on the board for reference. The assistant is genre-aware, offering better answers than a generic Google search.

It comes together. The WRITER wonders about the genre space they're operating in. What could they gather inspiration from? What are they competing with?

The WRITER clicks on KNOW YOUR TURF.

Ten films are listed, each with the reasoning for why it sounds similar to what the WRITER is trying to create.

The WRITER looks at the list. They feel confident, inspired.

A blank page. The sound of rain helps the WRITER focus.

The WRITER starts typing. The page grows.

In the middle of a sentence, the WRITER wonders if the timeframe they are establishing makes sense for the scene.

They hover to the right side of the page and click. The rain intensifies.

They ask the assistant if the action that takes place works in the timeframe they have set.

Clarity. The WRITER adds a longer timeframe, builds tension in between.

(Beat.)

The page grows further. The WRITER notices a highlight on the text they just wrote.

SARA notices that there is blood on her shirt for the first time.

They hover over it.

"SARA talks about the blood on her shirt to JULIAN in the previous scene. She can't notice it for the first time if she has already spoken about it."

The WRITER goes back to the storyboard to look at some reference images. When they return to the WRITE screen, they forget how one of their characters sound.

They click on BIBLE. It lists all the characters' voice and arcs, highlighting reference points for their character.

(Beat.)

The WRITER leans back in their chair. They have completed their first draft. They look at the time - 4AM.

The WRITER wonders if they should call their friend to take a look at it now. They look at the time again - 4:01AM.

The WRITER doesn't want to lose a friend.

The rain intensifies, lightning illuminating the dark room for a second.

Everything the WRITER needs to go back and flesh it out. Tension analysis, mock reviews, inconsistencies. The flow is coming back to the WRITER again.

No notes on the writing, no nudge to suggest a story beat. Just analysis from a reviewer. Not to offload creativity, but to help the WRITER focus on the story they want to tell.

But something else stands out to the WRITER.

Comparative Analysis - a more comprehensive list of similar films from all over the world and reasoning for why they are similar - storylines, plot points, premises.

The WRITER goes back to write mode. The rain and the WRITER go into a sleepless night.

END.