A creative writer should add some creative concepts to his work. Read this post: Script, Art and Concept

Let your creativity have a concept

There is a lot of creativity in the world today; ranging from art, technology, entertainment to sciences. These creativities belong to 3 categories.
Many of them are in the "general" category; 
some others are in the "regular" category; 
while a few are in the "selected" category.

The "selected" category is very exceptional and the creativities in this category have something in common, that's why they are different from all the others in the other categories. 
They have something in them, a pattern which makes them outstanding and consequently very acceptable to their users or consumers. This pattern is known as the concept in them and with which they are created.

A concept is the core idea about a creation. It is that which extensively defines a creativity to naturally make it what it is; and to also enhance it, give it an applied meaning and upgrade it to a superfluous level of understanding.

It is simply an extra ordinary idea about a creative work.

A script-writer should have a concept in his work. Your screenplay must have a concept which will allow it to be listed in the "selected" category. You must create an idea that will make it not to look like the ordinary screenplay.

A concept in a screenplay pertains to its theme. You must first of all know what the appropriate title of your screenplay is. From the title, and from the overall message in the story structure, you create your theme. The theme will now help you to brainstorm for a spectacular concept which will be lovely in the eyes of your script readers and audiences. 

A concept has a sequence that lets your audience gradually understand what your creation is all about.

The sequence is in such a way that one thing will vary and the other remains constant, and vice versa.

It pops up and down throughout the course of your creativity.

It is a process.

It has a pattern.

It embedded in the creativity.

At the end it would be a two way "audience perception", in the sense that your audience will enjoy two things; the message from the story structure, and the thrills of the concept. It may even be a three or four way 'thing'.

If you are asked to write a short screenplay on; 
"child abuse and hope for a good future to the leaders of tomorrow", 
you should be rejoicing because some part of the job has been done for you, the theme. It has been provided for you already!

What you now have to do is to draft/scribble down a story structure. With the two; the theme and the drafted story structure, you will now insightfully and carelessly seek ways of getting a nice concept which will be fixed into your screenplay.

I say "carelessly" because you may not be inspired to getting a good concept if you are two rigid with your thinking and search. You have to decentralize your thoughts from just the ideas rotating around that already produced theme. 

More often than not, script-writers stick their thoughts on the words in the theme. They tend to follow the sentences sequentially to draft and finally create a screenplay to it. 

With the theme (RE: "child abuse and hope for a good future to the leaders of tomorrow") already provided, all they may end up doing is just to create a screenplay: Where a little child is in her aunt's home. Her aunt maltreats her severely, knowing fully the kid's parents are no more alive to stop her maltreatment on the kid. Days pass, months go by, and perhaps after some years, the kid will now get some succor or whatever. From here, the kid will now begin his journey of transformation which will allow her understand she may have a great future. And eventually, her great future comes.

Yes, a screenplay of this sort is nice. But it's not nice enough to be listed in the "selected" category.

This screenplay may go on into production by independent producers. It may even generate some money for the production crew; but then, it is not what the audiences need. It is just a common story anybody can easily tell and write.

There is need for differentiation. Differentiate your script from the rest. Put up a concept.

You can write the same story, fine! But there is need to add a concept to it in order to spice it up.

A concept is a trend in the story; a trend which should be bent to make the story take a different route, but yet reaching the same conclusion. It is an off - shoot of an issue in the story.

What of if you make the screenplay go this way?:

A 9 year old kid wakes up and checks the date on the calendar hanging on the wall. We see the day’s date 9/9/2013.

She checks the smart card in the TV and then switches it on. She starts changing the channels and we begin to see the forms of child abuses today, 9/9/2013; yesterday, 8/9/2013; days back, 6/9/2013…, 3/9/2013…, 20/8/2013.

She looks very moody.

She then inserts her own smart card and starts changing the channels again, and we begin to see forms of good child nurturing tomorrow, 10/9/2013; future, 11/9/2013…, 1/10/2013

She now looks happy!

This is shorter, better and has a better concept.

The kid now believes there is hope for people like her in the nearest future. But this may be possible if people like her can have the belief that they can control the future and make a good out of it. She changed the child-abuse-channels into good child -nurturing-channels with her own smart card.

This concept is an off - shoot of the issue in the theme. It has all the characteristics of a concept.

Again, certain elements in the script also show the characteristics of a concept.

The calendar and the dates popped up and down throughout the course of the script. It was a process. It was a pattern. It was embedded in the whole process.

The various films about the child abuse and good child nurturing in the TV also has the characteristics of a concept. 

Getting a concept for your screenplay is easy if you can free yourself. You can get more refined ideas from the normal ideas you have. You can get ideas from the things that just happen around you.

A lady who wakes up in the morning and runs to the calendar to make an ink mark on that day's date signifies she is counting down to the days to an event. If she stops this routing act, shows off moody countenance for days, and then resumes the act, and then stops again; you can easily note that the event didn't happen and somehow she is disappointed. She tries again and gets another disappointment. This can serve as a concept in writing a screenplay about: ''how long it takes a woman to have the right man''.

Without even using any dialogue, she can continue that sequence until at last, one day, she opens her door and a smartly dressed handsome man enters and the two embrace affectionately.

This sequence can take place in that same room. All that may change would be her clothes, her mood and the scene settings.

What you have to do is to make sure that on the last day, her cloth will be a fine one; her countenance, a happy one; and the scene setting a more organized one.

With this, you do not even need to start writing a story where the lady meets the first man, the second, the third, stuffs like that; unless you are asked to write a feature film. But in the case of feature films, you have to include concepts in between.   

Check out this concept where a man smokes once in a day. 
He smokes every early morning. He can only smoke twice every early morning if and only if the day's whether is cold. Some other tenants in that compound now use him to measure the temperature of each day. The little kids use the man to know if they would wear their school cardigan to school in a particular day or not.

Using this concept you can go ahead to write a screenplay with its story structure centered on the activities of the tenants in that compound, hinging it on the humorous activities of the smoker.

This is why I said that a concept has a sequence which is in such a way that one thing will vary and the other remains constant, and vice versa.

It pops up and down throughout the course of your creativity. It is a process. It controls the course of the story. It's like a control mechanism, you go back to it, and then it will help you forge ahead.

Advert scripts are so advanced these days that without a pleasing concept, the brand being advertised will be hard to make its way into the consumers' minds.

It's not just about videoing characters where they are making use of the brand; it's about creating a lasting impression about that brand.

What about the advert screenplay that can make your consumers love your brand more by watching the advert video? What about the screenplay that can give your audience a greater idea of what your brand is all about? The answer to these is simply; the way you present your concept in the video from you screenplay.

Greater concepts are ruling. If you want to rule in your creativity, you must have greater, better concepts. 

Written by Winston 'Winny Greazy' Oge 

Follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/winny_greazy 
Facebook: https://facebook.com/winny.greazy