How to Write a Screenplay
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How to Write a Screenplay
Introduction
There is a lot more to writing a screenplay than I can put in one posting. However, I'll try to summarize the most important aspects of what I learned, as a script reader for Morgan Freeman and Ann Margret and while at the University of Southern California where I earned my Master's of Professional Writing in Cinema / Drama.
Remember a script has to be read first long before it is ever produced.
Remember a script has to be read first long before it is ever produced.
Instructions
Difficulty: Easy
Steps
1
Step One
Learn proper script formatting. There are dozens of guidebooks that will give you the correct script writing format, or better yet, pick up software like Final Draft or Scriptware. One of the biggest clues to a reader that a script will be lousy is that it simply doesn't adhere to proper formatting. Always use spell check, and make sure that you're grammatically correct in your descriptive passages. You are allowed to use bad grammar in dialogue, only because many people do speak that way.
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Step Two
Have something to say. Too many screenplays are dependent on special effects and visuals. There are the means to tell as story, not the story. Summarize the essence of your tale in a single sentence, a premise that draws a parallel between cause and effect. It helps to have a strong point of view. Go back to the classics for examples. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the premise is that unrestrained ambition leads to destruction. In Othello, unchecked jealousy destroys. Make the premise specific and hang all the action on it.
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Step Three
Drama is conflict. You need to strong opposing forces both wanting the same object to maximize dramatic tension. In a??Raiders of the Lost Arka??, both Harrison Ford and the Nazis wanted the Arc of the Covenant.
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Step Four
Begin with a bang. When I worked as a story analyst, I could usually tell within a few pages whether or not the script was worth reading. Since most of our audiences have short attention spans, you need to begin with a strong dramatic opening. Again, think of Raiders. Who will ever forget the boulder rolling after Indiana Jones?
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Step Five
Know your characters thoroughly. Write biographies for each. Remember, within the context of the screenplay, plot flows from the characters not the other way around. Dialogue should come from who your people are. When I'm in the flow, I can literally hear my characters talking in my head and I type down what they say. Read all your dialogue out loud. Make sure that your characters speak the way people talk.
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Step Six
Use a three act structure. Most plots can be summarized quite simply. Put your characters up a tree, throw stones at them and get them down again
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Step Seven
Employ turning points. One great way to hold a viewer's interest is to employ at least two major turning points in your scripts. Once you've put your train on the rails and set it going, after twenty pages, veer off in a different direction. Don't let your audience settle in. Do the same in your third act, about twenty pages before your finish.
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Step Eight
Keep your scripts to between 100 and 120 pages. Screenwriting is like poetry. Every word should count. Leave the shot choices to the director unless something specific is needed to clarify a story such as a close up of a bloody glove.
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Step Nine
Register your script with the Writer's Guild of America. It won't stop somebody from stealing your idea, but if you can prove access and prior creation, you might just have a worthy lawsuit if a movie is made that parallels yours.
More importantly, your title will be registered. I wrote an original prize winning play called a??Family Bonds,a?? that I never registered because it was produced for the theater. Today, I'd have a hard time turning it into a film of that name, because a few years after my production there was an HBO series with that name.
More importantly, your title will be registered. I wrote an original prize winning play called a??Family Bonds,a?? that I never registered because it was produced for the theater. Today, I'd have a hard time turning it into a film of that name, because a few years after my production there was an HBO series with that name.
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Step Ten
Don't be discouraged, but hang on to your day job. There are literally thousands of screenplays written annually. In this year of sequels, fewer and fewer original movies are produced.
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How to Write a Screenplay
Introduction
Richard Price, the writer of a??Sea of Love,a?? the book and screenplay for a??Freedomlanda?? and others, said that a screenplay should have a??a lot of white on the page.a?? Ita??s nothing like writing a short story or novel: ita??s a whole different animal.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You'll Need
- An idea
- A screenwriting program
Steps
1
Step One
First, read screenplays of movies that you like. There are a number of sites online that post screenplays (like www.script-o-rama.com). Go so far as reading the screenplay along with the movie. This might be a better education than reading a book about screenwriting.
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Step Two
This probably should go without saying: find a good story, something that hasna??t been told 1000 times before. However, mimicking a popular movie in the early going can help you get a hang of the process.
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Step Three
Get a screenwriting software program like Final Draft. There are other free programs or macros available for download online. Much easier than trying to format the screenplay in Word or other word processing program.
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Step Four
Outlinea??have some idea where the screenplay is going. Separate the screenplay into acts: Act one, act two, and act three. Also map out characters and theme ahead of timea??it will help narrow your focus.
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Step Five
Include INT. and EXT. for interior and exterior. Like INT. OFFICE - DAY. Most new screenwriters forget this format. Have very short descriptions of the scenea??with no camera directiona??but not so much that it is dry. Instead of camera direction, include info that a director might use: for example, instead of a??Close up on distraught woman,a?? write, a??The woman is cryinga?? (or something along those lines).
Overall Tips & Warnings
- The #1 problem with amateur scripts is too much description. The script should read as fluidly as if you were watching a movie.
- A note: scripts are generally around a page for a minute of screentime. So a 115 page screenplay would work out to a 1 hour and 55 minute movie. Scripts should usually be under 120 pages. Comedies might be as short as 90 (an hour and a half).
advisement
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