Choosing an ending and consequences it has on the 2nd act.

So a little bit of background - I started writing/directing short films with friends back in the early days of high school. In the past few years, I've been working predominantly as a cinematographer while vigorously watching and studying hundreds and hundreds of movies spanning multiple genres and decades. In turn, I've developed a deeply rooted love for film as an art form as well as a collaborative medium that brings people together under a common goal. After a series of experiences that really lit a fire under my ass, I decided to return to the writer's chair with my new found tastes and perspective. Right away, I wrote a script that was a whimsy little love story that was very reminiscent of some of the films that I was obsessing over. Without putting very much pressure on myself, I was able to breeze through the process of writing this script. I even built up the confidence to share it with one of my good friends who is a writer/director. In doing so, I proved to he and myself that I can actually sit down and do this whole writing thing. Moving forward, I decided to put that script in a drawer (as many redditors on here advise), and I pondered what to write next. They say "write what you know," and miraculously I figured out a premise that allowed me to do just that. I decided that some of the experiences and people I've encountered in life we're worthy of building a screenplay around and now, It's become a world that I am very passionate about realizing as a writer/director.

So on to my problem - I've read some amazing advice on here regarding the 2nd act of a screenplay (specifically from u/HotspurJr; I have a saved comment on a thread regarding 2nd acts that I've referred back to a few times now). My biggest take away has been that it is very treacherous to start actually writing a script without having the 2nd act somewhat outlined ahead of time. I've experienced this first hand after the success of writing my first script without an outline and then attempting to work my way through the 2nd act of my current story without an outline, causing me to quit 2/3's of the way through on multiple drafts. These failures have lead me to outline/brainstorm vigorously, in attempt to nail down a second act that I am happy with. It's been quite a struggle. This may be stupidly obvious for most, but it hit me like a ton of bricks that the easiest way to develop my 2nd act would be to know my ending. This has made things tricky for me because part of the joy I had writing my first script was being able to find the ending by writing it out. It happened quite miraculously and in my opinion concluded the story just the way I never knew I wanted it to.

Now, with my current project being a rather personal story/characters that I am heavily invested in, I'm having a very, very difficult time nailing down an ending that I know will satisfy me. Has anyone else had this problem before? I assume my best bet moving forward is to choose a f-ing ending and build a 2nd act around it so that I can finally get back to writing the goddamn script. My only fear is that I'll end up changing my mind about the ending at some point half way through and I'll once again be doomed to hitting the "restart" button. I guess that's a possibility you're always setting yourself up for when you set out to write a script.

I'll also add that this script is definitely an indie, "slice of life" drama for which I have amassed quite a pile of scenes/scenarios that intrigue me in different ways. I've been closely studying films like "Lady Bird" - which wonderfully balances character building and entertaining plot, but also manages to have a definitive ending. I must assume Greta Gerwig knew the ending going into the writing process (it's autobiographic, I believe), so at least that part must've been easy for her. On the contrary, It seems that other auteurs actually find the ending by "writing through it." Has anyone here done this successfully? Is it a process that you know works for you or do you change your process for different stories/premises?

Thanks in advance for those kind enough to throw in their 2 cents.

Submitted January 24, 2019 at 08:23AM by moneyshit http://bit.ly/2B0PMc6