[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: Do great writers plan out their stories or do they discover them as they write?
Wade Patterson, Filmmaker: I think there’s two kinds of writers.
I think some writers tend to plan more than others. I’m more of that.
I have to get into the story and sort of discover it.
I think on the conceptual level when I’m trying to figure out what is this story about?
I’ll do some planning, but when you get into the nuts and bolts of this happens and then this happens and, you have a progression of scenes. I kind of have to get into it and write it a little bit to really feel like, okay, is this working?
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What’s happening?
And then sometimes you get surprised because a character is making choices throughout the script and they might make a choice that you get to the end of the scene like, “Oh, they have to go this way in the story.”
And I wasn’t really expecting that.
So, I got to go off in this direction and see what that does.
I find that for my writing it feels more like I can discover more unique paths if I jump in and discover it as I go.
Film Courage: Is there any kind of structure to your brainstorming process?…(Watch the video interview on YouTube).
About:
Wade Patterson grew up in Jackson, MS, and has been making film projects since he was a kid. However, after taking a break from film to go to India to work with a non-profit, he rediscovered a passion for writing in Asia. He returned to America with an expanded worldview and a new focus on telling stories that explore the full range of the human experience. He works in Los Angeles as Freelance Director of Photography. His latest project is about a disgraced journalist discovering an online puzzle that causes people to disappear (Death Cipher).
WATCH ‘DEATH CIPHER’
On Tubi here
CONNECT WITH WADE PATTERSON
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