I have been trying to write a screenplay for some time now but i don't have the knowledge to. I am looking for an experienced writer that could give me some tips, maybe even partner up. Leave a reply if interested, i would very much appreciate help. Thank you
I can't partner up but I can offer you some advice. There's a lot to know, so really you just need to jump in and get started. My first question is, why screenplays? They are a very specific type of writing 'animal' and unless you are buying into that for its own sake, I'd advise against trying to write screenplays. Meaning, dabbling in it will likely just frustrate you. Are you a movie person? Or are you not a movie person but just looking for a one time thing with screenplays, for whatever reason? Believe me if you are a movie person you already know that you are. For those of us with that affliction, movies are life, lol. (I recommend watching the Hugh Grant movie "The Rewrite" as a good primer) Okay let's assume you really do want to write scripts. The first thing to do is immediately internalize William Goldman's famous quote "screenplays are structure". Style and grammar and colorful lingo have nothing to do with screenwriting. It's all written to be filmed, which makes it just one stop in a line of processes. Screenplays are mathematical, rhythmical, mechanical, visual, kinetic. Screenwriting is like a new language, and one must learn to 'think in screenplays.' Regular writing rules/rudiments do not apply here. And letting go of all that 'other' writing stuff you've learned is difficult to do. In a screenplay the WHAT is happening counts more than anything. There is nothing else. Next I'd say you should start reading screenplays, many, and varied, to learn the formatting. I recommend picking movies you already know very well by heart so that when you read the printed version you will be familiar with the scene enough to compare the two in your mind, make connections, and learn a great deal. When you are ready to begin I recommend you write a complete detailed summary of your whole story before you ever begin the script. You can break each scene into a paragraph. Generally a movie is gonna be 40 three minute scenes, roughly speaking. By writing out this summary you will help yourself immensely. This will save you a ton of headaches. Also it's where you can analyze and adjust the structure if need be: Do scenes need to be moved around? Do we need more scenes here or there? Do some scenes need to be deleted or combined with other scenes? etc etc You can also make an outline before you do the treatment, which DOES make things even easier. Some people don't like to outline, but it's a fact: nearly ALL screenwriters do use outlines, because it's hard to draft a scene you don't know yet. 'Pantsing' is popular with novel writers but it just doesn't work very well for screenwriting. Once you have the summary done (officially known as a treatment) you can begin the script. Just bust out the first draft, and don't get hung up on making it perfect, since it's all gonna change anyway. Just type it all out in script form. I'd say do this very quickly, so as to not bog down in your own perfectionism. Remember, the STYLE DOES NOT COUNT as much as the STRUCTURE of what is actually happening, and when it's happening, and to whom, and WHY it is happening. Structure is by far your trump card in screenwriting. (as Goldman has said so famously) After you've done the first draft, you just 'rinse and repeat' the whole process over and over until you continue refining the manuscript, making it better and better each time. Every change should be made with the goal in mind of making it clearer and clearer, less nebulous, more and more specific, more lean. Remember that every word you write has to either be SEEN or HEARD because there is NO INTROSPECTION IN A SCREENPLAY. So if it can't be shown with a camera, it must be spoken in dialogue or indicated by sound somehow. After you do all this and are up and running, just keep at it. Come up with a second story and a third, and read more and more famous scripts of movies you like, and also very important is GET READERS TO GIVE YOU CRITIQUES. These can be painful and hurtful sometimes but you learn from them so in the end it works out for the best, makes you stronger, better, wiser. I 'would' say join a screenwriting forum but sadly they all seem to have died in recent years. Ten years ago they were raging around the net but now, I can't find one valid one to join, and believe me I've been looking hard for the past few months. Also, do you have screenwriting software? If not PM me and I can help you with that. And again, I can't stress enough the importance of the psychological aspects of keeping your own perfectionism at bay during the early drafts. You can derail yourself if you don't stay on track with the actual goal of finishing the damn thing. EMBRACE THE MISTAKES, early on at least, lol. One thing that helps with this is to look at it as wearing two separate hats: the OUTPUT stage and the REFINING stage. (refining = editing/polishing) What you want to do is wear one hat at a time, and NEVER put them on together. You can alternate them in separate sessions, but CLEARLY define which one you are wearing during any given session. This will keep you from endlessly editing words and lines when you should be busting out the first draft. Well, that is enough for now. If I think of something else I may come back and add it here. Good luck. And don't forget to HMU.
My gosh. In terms of a Helpful Response to a Forum Question, this rates very near the top. I'm not interested in learning to write screenplays, but I learned a lot from this. Thanks for helping the newbie so thoroughly.
Thanks, @jannert These are a few things I wish I had known in the beginning but which nobody was around to offer, key elements which (ie the psychology) are quite invisible yet with potential to derail one's effort, & eventually derail morale. And from reading his post it seems he's already reached that point. I hate to see this happen to someone starting out. I know these frustrations first hand, so thought I'd chime in with a few thoughts.
Tea@3's message is really all you need, but to echo a bit of that, I recall an interview with Gene Wilder where he said screenwriting was like building a house, except that after you've framed it, you take a sledgehammer and knock down everything you can -- all the weaker elements. Then you build it up again and repeat, until, try as you might, you can't knock down anything -- and that's when you know you're finished. I've been working with a script consultant for years, iterating on the same project. However, I've just been working with a treatment. Initially, I submitted a full script, but he recommended getting the treatment right first before fleshing it into a script, as it would be a huge time-saver. (In fact, first he had me write my script as a 12 page treatment, then write the treatment as a single-page summary, and then work with that before moving on to the treatment again.) The exercise of shrinking it down to a single page really helped me to streamline the story and focus on what was most important. And, while working with the one-page summary and now the treatment, I fear I'd be overwhelmed making big changes to a full-length script. This is the only area I'd think of questioning. But, apart from my consultant's feedback, I have zero experience. Tea@3, since you seem quite experienced, what's your take on this?
Hey @bdw8 thanks for the thoughtful reply. I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you talking about a complete rewrite of your original feature, the one you did before the treatment-summary etc?
Basically, I was told to iterate on the treatment, and not to flesh that into a script until the treatment was rock solid. This means all of my critiques have been on the treatment, not the script. This has been very effective in improving my story's structure, as it's a smaller document that's easier to work with and easier to get feedback from others. So, based on my limited experience, I'd recommend doing the same. However, I understand you were saying there's value in developing it into a full script multiple times along the way... And I'm curious why? One argument I can see is that, currently, I often end up writing a scene to see if it works, and then taking the extra step to summarize it before including it in the treatment. Skipping that extra step would save time -- although, I'd fear it could make future rewrites more difficult. But, are there other aspects I'm missing? I'm just looking for ways to streamline the process, as it's been a very slow process for me so far. Thanks!
Thanks for clarifying, Tea@3! Indeed, it sounds like I still have some work ahead of me (no one ever said this was easy), but at least I'm on the right track. To the OP, there are some good books, and I'd recommend to start with one such as The Screenwriter's Bible, which is a pretty quick read covering the format and giving some screenwriting-specific writing tips. But, if you ask me, there are too many books on the subject, and I wouldn't get too hung up on reading -- the best thing you can do is to practice and get feedback... And when that feedback stings, persevere. Good luck!
My advice is learning how to format a script is important. Its not as different from writing a story as most like to think. I've written a lot of scripts (non published sadly). Its more of a hobby and something fun I like to do to pass the time. There are some great books out there that help with script writing. Remember, there is a difference between Screenplays and Stage Plays so make sure you know what your looking to do. If you want some more personalized help, I'd be happy to team up. Feel free to message me if you want to work on something. I have some examples of work I'd be happy to share with you.
