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. Create a character at the very centre of your story who is loved very much by a couple of the other characters. Then hurt them. Hurt them badly. Design your story so horrible events hit them hard.
2. Be sensible about genres. Don't go writing cowboy rap movies with horror elements, a bit of slapstick and a great political thriller narrative. No-one's going to like that. Ram one or two genres together, and stick to them.
3. Happy Ending. You need one. Not because they are better (though personally I think a truly joyful ending that doesn't feel cheesy is many times more difficult to write than a tragic slice of gloom) but because producers like to see them, because the feeling in the industry is that Happy Ending = Bigger Box Office
4. Make sure you love your hero - and then devise a very clever ways to hurt them: build their character over the course of the story so that by the end they have powerful desires for two contradictory things. When you resolve that dilemma in the climax you add a massive punch to your ending.
5. Love your villain too, and make sure they are created so that they can attack your hero in the most personal, painful, agonising way possible.
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. Read the first paragraph of your treatment. This is going to be your opening sequence. Step away from the PC, go for a walk, take a bath, whatever, just so you can kind of switch off and visualise the events. Run the paragraph over and over in your head till you can see it like a day dream, and it runs through like a real movie in your mind.
9. Get that mini-movie down on paper, as fast as you like. Don't worry too much about layout right now, that can come later. But just write those scenes so they're vivid, and real and make you feel something when you read them back.
10. Repeat the last two steps, over and over again, turning each paragraph into a sequence in your screenplay. I work at five pages of screenplay a day. That averages out well, over time, and keeps the quality up. So you can write a 100 page script in three weeks.
You have just finished your first draft.
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. Create a character at the very centre of your story who is loved very much by a couple of the other characters. Then hurt them. Hurt them badly. Design your story so horrible events hit them hard.
2. Be sensible about genres. Don't go writing cowboy rap movies with horror elements, a bit of slapstick and a great political thriller narrative. No-one's going to like that. Ram one or two genres together, and stick to them.
3. Happy Ending. You need one. Not because they are better (though personally I think a truly joyful ending that doesn't feel cheesy is many times more difficult to write than a tragic slice of gloom) but because producers like to see them, because the feeling in the industry is that Happy Ending = Bigger Box Office
4. Make sure you love your hero - and then devise a very clever ways to hurt them: build their character over the course of the story so that by the end they have powerful desires for two contradictory things. When you resolve that dilemma in the climax you add a massive punch to your ending.
5. Love your villain too, and make sure they are created so that they can attack your hero in the most personal, painful, agonising way possible.
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. Read the first paragraph of your treatment. This is going to be your opening sequence. Step away from the PC, go for a walk, take a bath, whatever, just so you can kind of switch off and visualise the events. Run the paragraph over and over in your head till you can see it like a day dream, and it runs through like a real movie in your mind.
9. Get that mini-movie down on paper, as fast as you like. Don't worry too much about layout right now, that can come later. But just write those scenes so they're vivid, and real and make you feel something when you read them back.
10. Repeat the last two steps, over and over again, turning each paragraph into a sequence in your screenplay. I work at five pages of screenplay a day. That averages out well, over time, and keeps the quality up. So you can write a 100 page script in three weeks.
You have just finished your first draft.
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 done battle with 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 authoritative information for the up and coming screenwriter. He's also designed a great piece of screenwriting software that helps you structure your narrative along fully professional lines.
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