List writing is a simple exercise that stretches creativity and improves free improvisation. Use unlined paper and write whatever comes to mind. Use this technique to develop new ideas or to further your work in progress.
Write a list of locations where a scene might take place. Choose random locations or write a list of possibilities within the context of a script you are working on. Set a goal, twenty locations in two minutes. Stick to one sentence each.
Make a list of characters. Use five to 10 words to describe them. Again, random characters for new work, or create a list of characters that might further your story.
Keep lists of ideas in a notebook or “slush file” on your computer. Write down everything that occurs to you. You never know what connections you might make.
Single scenes linked together are the building blocks of scripts. If you can write one good scene, you can write a script.
Write a scene based on an event that happened to you today. Boil it down to its basic dramatic potential. Write a stripped down version of the truth, then make it funny or scary or bizarre.
Pick a headline and write a scene based on the events and characters in the story. Write it straight, then find a way to exaggerate the dramatic or comedic elements in the article.
Creating characters that are believable or lovable or make us laugh hysterically is a big part of the screen writing process. So make yourself some new friends, or maybe an enemy.
Make a list of ten people you know. Write a one paragraph description of their personality. Choose at least one characteristic that audiences will find interesting. Build a character around it. This will be a caricature of a person you know and may not be flattering. Hide the list.
Choose characters from your favorite movie or novel and rewrite their destiny. Write a description of who they might be if they had made a different choice at their moment of crisis.