Screenwriting 101: Darren Aronofsky

“First, you start with an idea, then you start to flesh out the structure, and that’s a long process. I think that’s where we spend a lot of time, just figuring out the structure… all the acts… the beats of the story. And then comes the great leap which is the first draft, I call it ‘the muscle draft,’ where you just muscle it out. You don’t worry about what you’re missing, you just get through it, get to the end… You find that a lot of novice screenwriters will spend years on the first act and it’ll turn into the best first act in the world, but you need to have the whole picture. I think I read an interview with George Lucas saying that the best advice he got from Coppola was, ‘Just get through it.’”

— Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Pi)

From “Screenwriters’ Masterclass: Screenwriters Talk About Their Greatest Movies,” edited by Kevin Conroy Scott

If you want to do a “muscle draft,” check out the upcoming 2024 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge. 30 days. Fade In. Fade Out.

For 100s more screenwriter quotes on the craft, go here.

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