Eyes In Your Window: Blog #02...

See the first post in this new blog series here.

The actual writing of this new screenplay is almost about to begin, but before you can get to writing, you have to come up with an idea and flesh it out with a whole slew of ideas. I find that old unused exercise books or journals from school are the ideal thing for this - you can gradually fill a book up over time with new ideas as they come to you, and when you settle on your next chosen project to pursue, everything you already figured out is right there where you want it to be, and then you can add many more details.

Now, the one downside is that ideas don't pop into your head in a linear fashion, nor at any pre-determined time (hence why I'd often come up with a great idea just as I was beginning to fall asleep, and would then have to spend ten minutes writing it all down - at which point I'd be wide awake again). As a result, your book of ideas won't be in any sort of order, and you'll be jumping back-and-forth through the pages to find what you're looking for.

A great way to organise your ideas though, is to use record cards, like in the above image.

Click "READ MORE" below for more info on organising your ideas, and the episode titles for the planned arrangement of three episodes for Eyes In Your Window...


Students often use them for exam revision, but they're an ideal way to physically map out your new script. You can lay out the scenes or segments of your screenplay (one per card) with some basic information - providing yourself page numbers from your original comprehensive book of ideas for reference to the detailed scene/character/whatever information that you'll need when getting into the nitty gritty of the writing process.

What's great is that you can lay these cards out on your floor and identify from a bird's eye view, exactly where there are any gaps. Simply fill in the gap and re-order the cards accordingly. Then number them in-order and you've got your whole script - in its simplest, reference note form - all ready and waiting to be used for producing the final article. In the above image, the first row details the "Teaser" and Act One, while the middle twelve cards are for Act Two, and the final four cards cover Act Three. In a 60 minute drama, these three acts would be split accordingly - 10/40/10.

Finally, as mentioned above, here is a list of the episode titles - Eyes In Your Window will be a three-part post-watershed television drama serial.

Episode 1: "Mug"

Episode 2: "Knife"

Episode 3: "Stump"

This series of blog posts will continue as the writing process moves forward, with tidbits of info about Eyes In Your Window, as well as helpful tips and observations on the screenwriting process.