OK. How do you write a screenplay? Here's ten headlines. Ten rules of thumb. Ten stepping stones I follow religiously. Follow them conscientiously in order and you WILL see results. I promise.
1. You need one person at the heart of what you are writing who is very much loved by at least one or two people in the world of your story. They should really love this person in fact, because you're going to really hurt this person, hurt them badly, and the reactions of the other characters are what will power the story.
2. Make sure you are writing in a genre. Understand whether you're writing a thriller, a comedy, a ghost story, and make sure you understand what the audience likes to see in these types of stories. You don't have to give them it, but do that from a position of power, not ignorance.
3. Happy endings stink, right? Wrong. They're harder to write well than the average load of gloom dished out by the average amateur writer, they tend to deliver better word of mouth, and they tend to make people happy. I strongly suggest you plan for a happy ending.
4. Love your hero, and force them to choose between two equally powerful alternatives at the end.
5. Design your villain so they can attack your hero in the most personal, damaging, agonising way. Love your villain as much as your hero.
6. Always, always, always know at least the broad shape of the story, from beginning to end, before you go to script. Know where the act breaks are, know how it starts, how it ends, what happens to your hero over the course of the story. Then write that up into a prose document that is called a treatment before you ever create a word of dialogue.
7. Think about getting a gang of your friends to read the treatment. If three or more of them pick up on a point independently, you might have a problem there. If enough people say something it is probably true.
8. Pick the first paragraph in your treatment. Think about it over and over again, visualise it in the bath, when you wake up, when you are walking along the street. Visualise what happens until you can run it through like a little movie in your mind, seeing what happens, almost hearing the dialogue. This will be your first sequence.
9. Get out your word processor, or your script writing software, whatever, doesn't matter. You can format it later. Get that little movie down on paper now. Write the scenes. Make the characters move, and talk, and feel.
10. Do 8 and 9 over and over, paragraph to mind mini-movie to sequence on the page, until you reach the last page of the treatment.
There you have it. You've got to page 100. That's your first draft, sitting there, beaming at you.
All that's left is (if you haven't already) to format it up like a real screenplay. Use one of the screenplay layout software packages that's out there, it really doesn't matter which. But do make sure it looks like a professional script - that's very important nowadays. And finally, press Print. Heft it in your hand. It weighs something, eh? And it all came from your imagination. Allow yourself to be proud. What's more, if you've followed these 10 rules, then I know you're going to have a pretty readable script there.
1. You need one person at the heart of what you are writing who is very much loved by at least one or two people in the world of your story. They should really love this person in fact, because you're going to really hurt this person, hurt them badly, and the reactions of the other characters are what will power the story.
2. Make sure you are writing in a genre. Understand whether you're writing a thriller, a comedy, a ghost story, and make sure you understand what the audience likes to see in these types of stories. You don't have to give them it, but do that from a position of power, not ignorance.
3. Happy endings stink, right? Wrong. They're harder to write well than the average load of gloom dished out by the average amateur writer, they tend to deliver better word of mouth, and they tend to make people happy. I strongly suggest you plan for a happy ending.
4. Love your hero, and force them to choose between two equally powerful alternatives at the end.
5. Design your villain so they can attack your hero in the most personal, damaging, agonising way. Love your villain as much as your hero.
6. Always, always, always know at least the broad shape of the story, from beginning to end, before you go to script. Know where the act breaks are, know how it starts, how it ends, what happens to your hero over the course of the story. Then write that up into a prose document that is called a treatment before you ever create a word of dialogue.
7. Think about getting a gang of your friends to read the treatment. If three or more of them pick up on a point independently, you might have a problem there. If enough people say something it is probably true.
8. Pick the first paragraph in your treatment. Think about it over and over again, visualise it in the bath, when you wake up, when you are walking along the street. Visualise what happens until you can run it through like a little movie in your mind, seeing what happens, almost hearing the dialogue. This will be your first sequence.
9. Get out your word processor, or your script writing software, whatever, doesn't matter. You can format it later. Get that little movie down on paper now. Write the scenes. Make the characters move, and talk, and feel.
10. Do 8 and 9 over and over, paragraph to mind mini-movie to sequence on the page, until you reach the last page of the treatment.
There you have it. You've got to page 100. That's your first draft, sitting there, beaming at you.
All that's left is (if you haven't already) to format it up like a real screenplay. Use one of the screenplay layout software packages that's out there, it really doesn't matter which. But do make sure it looks like a professional script - that's very important nowadays. And finally, press Print. Heft it in your hand. It weighs something, eh? And it all came from your imagination. Allow yourself to be proud. What's more, if you've followed these 10 rules, then I know you're going to have a pretty readable script there.
About the Author:
Philip Gladwin has battled evil TV execs on a daily basis since 1995. He's a screenwriter and editor, and has created a useful screenwriting website that is packed full of essential information for the ambitious screenwriter. He's also written a great piece of screenwriting software that helps you build your story along fully professional lines.
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