[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: When you’re writing your first draft, do you write it all the way through or do you go back and tweak a scene here or a moment here?
Collin Watts, Screenwriter: With the first draft, this is a little bit what I mentioned earlier about perfectionism, I start, I’ll write something and then I’ll go back and edit it. I’ll find myself trying to edit. I think every writer can relate to this, trying to get every action line to be perfect on the page and everything looks great, but that can slow your process down too.
For me with a first draft, I think it’s important to try to have a good outline, know where you’re going and try to really blast it out as fast as possible. Keep a lot of momentum in creating pages whether it’s daily or weekly:
-Get to the finish line of the script
-Set it down for a little bit
-Let it breathe
-Forget about some of it so you’re not so close to it
-Then pick it back up a week or two later
-Or get some feedback on it a week or two later
Then kind of figure out Okay, this is what’s working, this is what’s not, how can we attack these issues? How can we come up with a new game plan on it?
I think that you write your outline for your first draft but I think also when you start getting feedback it’s important to almost have a new outline of how you’re going to attack all these notes so you don’t get overwhelmed with all that. Sometimes there can be a lot of notes you’ll get or feedback that’ll take it a different way than you expected.
Film Courage: What’s your usual time frame or maybe there’s no usual time frame but of churning out a first draft, how long?
Collin: How long does it take to write a first draft? I’ve done it anywhere from a couple weeks to if it’s something that’s a really personal script that I’m not in a rush on, it can take me months.
I think ideally you can finish a first draft in probably four, five, six weeks if you’ve got a strong outline. I think that’s a fair amount but I’ve written them in a couple weeks.
Film Courage: Do you have a regular time that you write?
Collin: When I started writing it used to be I was like a late night guy. I would be up all night writing. Then maybe I don’t know if it’s getting older or wiser but I don’t stay up all night anymore doing that. I feel like you’re just kind of wrecked the next day. For me the best time for writing is…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
Collin Watts is a Los Angeles based screenwriter with a focus on creating genre films with a personal touch. Originally from Illinois, he is a graduate of Florida State University and the UCLA professional screenwriting program.
Collin began his career by writing several successful short films that premiered in over 30 festivals worldwide including “The Wretched” and “Sunnyvale” which both premiered at Screamfest Los Angeles. Four of his feature scripts placed in top screenwriting contests including the Austin film Festival, the tracking board top ten, and the Cinestory Foundation.
Collin wrote his first feature, “HOT SEAT”. The film was released theatrically in 2022, and starred Mel Gibson, Kevin Dillon, and Shanon Doherty.
In 2023, he wrote and produced “THIS LAND,” a topical horror film that was released on VOD from Terror Films.
CONNECT WITH COLLIN WATTS
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
Join Film Courage for a 2-hour online Zoom class
9 Steps To Writing A Great Scene – Story Questions Writing Workshop
Sunday, April 27, 2025 11am – 1pm PDT
More info on Eventbrite here.
New book from Film Courage – Now on Payhip!
Camera we use for interviews – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
Sound we use for interviews – https://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
Other books on Amazon that Film Courage recommends – https://buff.ly/3o0oE5o
