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What is a screenplay

A beginner's guide to turning the creative vision in your mind into a movie script.

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What is a screenplay

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  1. What Is A Screenplay? http://www.howtowriteascreenplaythatsells.com A Beginner’s Guide To Screenplay Writing

  2. So, You Think You Can Do Better? How many times have you watched a boring movie and felt that even though you haven't actually written a screenplay, you can still tell a story better than that Hollywood script writer?

  3. What Are You Waiting For? Maybe it's time for you to stop being a "wishful player" and produce that story that's been swirling around in that creative brain of yours all these years.

  4. How do I put my story into a screenplay format? • What is a screenplay exactly? • How is it structured? • How does one describe characters, scenes, environments, etc.? • How do I write a screenplay that will sell?

  5. Where Can I Find Help? There always seems to be such a lack of appropriate guidance and tips on how to start such a challenge.

  6. So What Do I Do? Sure, you can find suggestions online, you may even come across some valuable instruction, but it always seems to fall just short of what you truly need in order to bring your story to life. Likewise, when you ask someone of authority how to write a screenplay, chances are high that they will not provide you with the true guidance in which to see your vision come to life.

  7. Learning The Ropes Nonetheless, there are some tricks and tips you should know before you hit that keyboard. . .

  8. Trick #1: To Dream In A Professional Manner So here you are, you've got your story in your mind (where it has been locked away for some time more than likely) and your convinced it will be highly engaging to an audience.

  9. You Know Your Story. . . You believe in your characters, the plot, the sub-plot, the location, all of it...but every time you sit behind the keyboard, your mind draws a blank and your vision quickly recedes back into dreamland…

  10. Dream While You Write! Don't misunderstand me, you must dream your tale before it becomes a reality, the trick is to dream professionally...meaning you must dream your script as you pound the keys on your keyboard. Imagination only takes you so far until work must take over. . .

  11. Writer’s Block Don't worry about writer's block. Every writer experiences days in which nothing will come forth. Every script has had moments when "writer's block" freezes the artist's mind to the point where it's difficult to even type the word, "Hello".

  12. Fight The Mind-Freeze The key to you creating the next Hollywood script is to fight that mind-freeze and push through the fog, even when you have convinced yourself you'd be better off watching a movie then writing one. . .

  13. Trick #2: Believable Characters This is very important! You've got to get the audience caring about them in one way or the other, so when something happens to the individual characters, the one reading the script is moved, either to joy or sadness, pain or comfort, etc.

  14. Making Them Real One very good piece of advice is to write what you already know. In other words, pick someone you have known -or do know- and describe that person's quirks, likes, dislikes, habits, mannerism, sense of humor, and all the little things that make them real.

  15. Bringing Them To Life Building off this knowledgeable foundation will produce highly believable and interesting characters (granted that the person you are basing them on is not mind-numbingly dull). A fascinating this that may happen is sometimes your characters will surprise you as he/she evolves . . .

  16. Taking On A Life Of Their Own Sometimes your characters they may even spook you a bit. That is often a natural progress as they are coming to literary life. You should not fear this, on the contrary, roll with it and see where it takes you (as long as you keep your screenplay on track, otherwise it can be construed as lack of focus).

  17. Describing Your Characters Another critical realm is describing those traits I mentioned in your characters in order to bring them to life. Remember, the first rule of writing is . . .

  18. Don’t Bore The Reader You don't want to write (tell) the reader that one of your characters is tall by simply saying; “Bob is very tall." That is lacking in imagination and it loses the interest of the reader quickly. By the time you get to killing them off, the reader will be glad they’re dead!

  19. Showing vs. Telling You would want to describe (show) Bob's height…maybe this way; • "Bob ducked his head slightly as he walked through the doorway." To describe (show) someone who is large one might say; • "Mark was stuffed in the chair in front of his boss’ desk."

  20. Making The Reader “See” That tells the reader either Mark is a big-boy, or the chair is too small for him. Of course which ever point you want to get across will be up to you. Defining the difference between the two could be as easy as saying; "Mark was stuffed into the small seat in front of his boss’desk."

  21. Action Always Speaks Louder Than Words Another example would be if Steve can't pay his bills and doesn’t care, you may describe it this way; "Steve sifted through his overdue bills tossing them one by one into the trash can."

  22. The Difference Between A Novel And A Screenplay There is a vast difference between book writing, and scriptwriting. In a novel you would go into detail about whether or not the character is inside or outside, and what the environment entails . . .

  23. Write – Don’t Direct! A screenplay -is more often then not- far more simplified then a novel in this manner, for it is a visual produced by the director instead of a vision created by the readers imagination.

  24. Remember You Are The Writer One thing you want to be careful of, is directing the characters too much. In other words, don't dictate every little facial expression or movement in a characters scene. That is the director’s job, not yours.

  25. Examples Of Directing In Writing Steve Robbins picked up the news paper and scowled as he read the front page. He then locked eyes with his partner, Charlie McGee."It was you," Steve growled. “you did this?”

  26. Examples Continued “What?” Charlie asked, stuffing his face with a doughnut and washing it down with lukewarm coffee. “He had it comin.’” “You stupid bastard.” Steve walks away, shaking his head.

  27. To Much For A Screenplay That example was way to much info for a screen play. A screenplay describing this would be something like; EXT. NEW YORK CITY NEWSSTAND - DAY STEVE ROBBINS flips the magazine attendant a nickel and picks up the morning paper staring at it. CHARLIE MCGEE is standing next to him, eating a doughnut and drinking his lukewarm coffee. Steve jabs his index finger into the front page and locks eyes with Charlie. . .

  28. Screenplay Layout STEVE ROBBINS It was you.. you did this? CHARLIE MCGEE He had it comin'. STEVE ROBBINS He was barely twenty! He was just a kid! CHARLIE MCGEE Yeah well, he should have kept his mouth shut!

  29. Fight The Temptation To Direct It is very tempting to end this scene with something like; Steve Robbins throws the newspaper in Charlie’s face and storms away. In a screenplay, that would be directing.

  30. Action And Dialogue This scene tells you quite a bit without a lot of description. It tells you they are in New York. It also tells you it's probably late morning because Charlie is drinking lukewarm coffee and having a doughnut. The scene is a time period piece because Steve Robbins only paid a nickel for the paper.

  31. The Mystery The scene also tells you there was likely a serious crime committed for it was in the news, and something clued Steve into the fact that it was Charlie who committed it.

  32. Keep The Reader Guessing It tells you they are partners, but what it doesn’t tell you is…are they mobster’s or are they crooked cops?

  33. Don’t Give Away Too Much Until It’s Time In a novel I would probably end the scene leaving the reader still wondering their identity this way; Steve Robbins stormed back up to Charlie, their faces inches from one another's. “You have any idea how much focus you put on our operation by this, do ya?” Robbins growling through clinched teeth. “Relax…” Charlie assured him. “I took care of it… it’s gonna be fine, I promise.”

  34. So…What Is A Screen Play? In short, a screenplay is a structured collection of scenes with mostly dialogue and action to carry it through.

  35. Much More Ahead! There are many more aspects to writing a screenplay that will sell of course. These examples are but a few. If you have found these suggestions helpful, and would like more information on how to make your screenplay the best it can be, you are welcome to a free report from an actual Hollywood Script Writer . . .

  36. Now, GET WRITING! The very best of luck to you and the amazing story you keep locked away in your mind… it’s time to share it with the world… I look forward to seeing your work up on the big screen! Here's to you becoming the next Hollywood script writer!

  37. What Now? Download Your FREE Report Here: http://www.howtowriteascreenplaythatsells.com

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