I try to come up with some kind of tentative title for each idea/concept. Then I start a file for that title on my computer. If I come up with any new thoughts on how to develop the script, it gets dumped in a document in that file before it gets forgotten.

I have pitched more than one of my concepts that is waiting. In that situation, the script has taken over the number one position to be finished. It's awfully tough to get back to the original script after a year has passed and two others were finished.

I have stopped writing pages (which is probably a mistake) after reading your approach to writing a script.

Instead I'm currently working on 3 outlines, with one more percolating.

I'm reaching the end of two of them, and starting to spend too much time fine tuning. I think this means it's time to start turning one into a script.

I keep a file with notes for potential upcoming projects. Sometimes I'll TRY to work on more than 1 at a time, but through the years I've found that 1 story win out, and that's the one I follow untill I've taken the idea and resulting story to the highest level I'm capable of.

Your suggestion of always writing is a great one, Scott; "write one script while devoloping your next." Ultimately, I think that a winning formula for pre-pro writers. It shows those trolling the spec. script waters you're cranking out scripts at a regular basis.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

I think this is great advice. It's kind of what I do, just more structured. I use word documents to organize my thoughts and create and outline. I have several outlines going at once. And I do a complete pass of pages or revisions on one script at a time. However, once I've done a round of revisions on one script, I may move over to another script and do a complete pass or revisions - depending on where it's at. This is all for my own projects. When it's work-for-hire, everything else gets put on the shelf and I focus on one story for the duration.

Oh, and don't forget to add Movie outline to your arsenal. I don't know how I lived without it for 5 scripts. It gives you an easily accessible place to record every section Scott mentioned.

I used to keep txt files, note cards but that got too hard to manage. Then ScriptPIMP (it's an acronym) mentioned it in an ad. I'm glad I did. Now Final Draft is just something I hope I got my money's worth for.

As a matter of fact this is very timely for me as I have too many movie ideas.

What I like to do is work on as many as possible based on how commercial it is and whether it was written for established actors. Those usually move to the head of the line.

But admittedly with my job in software (40 hour week is on the low side), my blogging\training, and a necessity for sleep I'm not writing as many pages as I'd like but I can't feel guilty about keeping the lights on.

A film maker is in pre-prod on one of my InkTip shorts and I got my first opportunity to do requested rewrites...I digress.

The best thing is let your heart decide which one to work and let your head do the work.

I try to devote an hour a day to page-writing. Sometimes it's one project. Usually, more than one. Right now, I'm working on four scripts. That probably sounds a little crazy...

Two are nearly done, so it's a lot of polishing dialogue, working on pacing, tightening descriptions, etc.

One is in decent shape, but is still too long. So I'm doing a lot of trimming & tightening & tweaking of the plot.

The fourth one is in the "muscle draft" stage. I'm just trying to plow ahead and get to the finish line. I know there will be a lot of crap in there, but that will help fertilize the next draft.

During lunch at my job, I try to take 15-20 minutes and do specific prep-writing. I send myself emails with potential dialogue on future projects. Sometimes I do some general prep-writing then as well... ideas, concepts, character names, lines, etc.

I like having a few projects going at the same time because if you get stuck or bored, then you can move on to something else.

I have a sort of template I am using for a standard one sheet.

On that sheet, I have room for a title, genre, logline, synopsis, and summary of about 300 words.

If I can't complete that sheet, then my writing partner and I are not ready to write it. It goes to the outline stage after I can fill out the one sheet... OK, sometimes when the one sheet is 75 percent filled out. But I am really trying to have the whole thing complete before we go to the outline stage. :)

I have a similar method that works for me:

I have a folder titled "Media Projects". In that folder is one "master" document of all the project ideas I have. Every time I have an idea for a new project I log it - along with any story details - in that master document.

I then create sub-folders within the main folder, one for each project I'm "developing". In each sub-folder is a main "story document", so whenever I come up with details/ideas for that particular story, I log them in that document (you'd be surprised how fast those docs grow!).

I give each project their own folder because I'll also be creating a "research" doc for any research the particular story requires, "marketing" docs for marketing ideas and selling tools particular to that project, a "prodco/contacts" list of producers, companies etc. that may be good targets once I'm ready, on & on.

So although I may have 30 some-odd projects I'm constantly developing, they're easy to keep track of because every time I have a thought/idea that pertains to a particular story, I simply go to my "Projects Folder", open that particular project document and write it down.
Now I'm free to forget about it and when I'm ready to return to that story/idea I now have a document that includes all kinds of little story & character details I might have otherwise forgotten, as well as a pretty detailed story/scene outline.
I also go over my entire projects document @ once a year and weed out those ideas that were for whatever reason dead-ends.

So I don't go off chasing stories without finishing others I've started, I've also created a folder which acts as my own "slate" a studio would have, ordering my writing projects by priority according to my career goals (ex: I'm shooting for big budget films right now, so my "indie" ideas are at the bottom of the slate).

This is a great way for me to keep organized and focused on the story at hand, instead of jumping from this story to that without finishing any of them (which was my major downfall until I came up with this system).
When I'm done writing my current project, I know what the next one will be, and the next, and the next (until I get a studio gig, that is), and the beauty is, I'm never starting from scratch.

Deep & sincere apologies for the long post, but hopefully it helps someone with the same problem I USED to have!

I use the same method as Mr Dangerous, but it's a digital file system in Google Pages, so that I can access it everywhere where internet and a laptop or my iPhone are present.

You can add an infinite amount of navigation blocks in the left column and give each one the name of a project (Standard placeholder name for me starts with "what if…..") This is acting like a folder in which one can add as many digital pages as one likes, all accessible in the menu column. You can also add images, make tables, add excel sheets and so on.

I often have ideas while watching TV, or in bed, so I just use my laptop (with wireless internet connection) an enter idea snippets into the digital files. Practical.