Quick Screenwriting Tips

Some quick screenwriting tips:

·         Write every single day. The single most important thing a writer can do to improve their writing is simply to WRITE.

·         Read screenplays - produced screenplays, unproduced screenplays, world-class screanplays, utter garbage screenplays… just read a crap-ton of other screenplays.

·         Expand your life experience. Make a practical, intentional habit of doing new things, learning new things, seeing new things.

·         Embrace failure. Dare to suck.

·         Take classes; watch videos; read guru books; become a human sponge for all possible screenwriting instruction.

·         Write every single day. The single most important thing a writer can do to improve their writing is simply to WRITE.

·         A lot of aspiring screenwriters HATE this piece of advice, but: start shooting your own movies. Make little bits for YouTube. Try to make a feature, and watch it go horribly wrong. Every writer I’ve ever talked to who has gone into production on their own script agrees that having to translate those words into a compelling moving picture story taught them more about the process, and about their own strengths and weaknesses, than pretty much anything else they’d ever done as a writer.

·         Recognize that a screenplay is a blueprint, not a finished product. It needs to have certain technical elements correct. A great script can get sold and made that is technically imperfect, but it had better be a damn great script. Meanwhile, when people bitch about the rubbish at the cinemas these days, I can promise you most of those “horrible” scripts were at least technically competent, making them easier to turn into movies. You don’t have to choose between “great” and “competent” - so do both.

·         Recognize that moviemaking is a collaborative process, much like building a house from a blueprint. So meeting people, building relationships, learning how to play well with others - all of these are crucial skills that don’t come naturally to most writers. (We like being holed up alone in our caves punching the keyboard most of all!)

·         Write every single day. The single most important thing a writer can do to improve their writing is simply to WRITE.

1.    Develop a full story, not just an idea for one, before starting to write a screenplay.

2.    Think in terms of goals for your characters, even the secondary ones. Long term story goals. Short term goals. Conflicting goals.

3.    Don’t give your main character what they want; steer them to what they need. That’s their character’s arc.

4.    Conflict in every possible scene. A genuine clash, affecting the story, not banter posing as conflict.

5.    Don’t be afraid of theme. It doesn’t require profound insight. It’s just why you are saying that these choices lead to that outcome. It will come into focus as you write.

6.    Don’t overdo backstory; it’s just exposition. Choices made now, dilemmas faced during conflict, are what defines a character.

7.    Dilemmas are better than obvious choices. If we already know what the character will do, why even watch?

8.    Don’t obsess over your opening scene. Amateurs do this. It will change as your theme develops.

9.    Rewrite until there is nothing that can’t be removed.

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First, know what you’re doing and remain organized in doing it. Second, read other scripts that have sold (at least one script a week). Third, take your time and do it right knowing a script is never really perfect, but you must be patient enough to understand it will take several rewrites. Fourth, like any large project (and it is a large project), plan by using index cards and an outline (Final Draft has awesome capabilities for this). Fifth, unless you have someone in the business, plan on being rejected, but refuse to give up — this is the sift that separates the real writers from the wanna-bes. Sixth, don’t count on your friends and family to bounce ideas off of, but have someone knowledgeable of the craft. You can enter contests to get the word out (ensure they’re legitimate) and ALWAYS, ALWAYS register your script before sharing it with anyone. You don’t want to work your ass off to have someone else steal it for credit especially if it makes money.

I think a lot of other answerers have expanded upon a lot of these ideas quite well, but here's a more brief compilation of advice:

1.    Prepare - watch films, read the screenplays for those films, look at what works, how it works, and look at resources that help you understand the structure of screenwriting. Learn how to construct a story and learn how to write that story in film terms. Do any research you need for your screenplay. Work on some film crews if you can, looking at how directors translate the script to the actors, crews, and to the editing.

2.    Don't Be Afraid of the Page - write. Write some more. Write until you think you're finished, and then keep writing. Be meticulous, but first you need to create the script before you can sharpen it. This applies to almost any form of writing, but get finished with a draft before you go back and edit it. Don't get stuck trying to make a scene perfect before you've finished writing the ending.

3.    Workshop - workshop your own script, and the scripts of others. You can learn so much from workshopping, both by helping others and from others helping you. While it's possible to write a script without outside input, the best scripts, in my opinion, only come when others can help you remove yourself from your work enough to be able to think about it critically. That being said, just because someone has an opinion in workshop doesn't mean you should doggedly follow that advice. Sift through the suggestions in workshop, using only the diamonds among the sand.

4.    Step Back and Away - don't be afraid to set your script down after a draft and to step away from it for a little while. This is another tool like workshopping to give you the space you need to be able to think critically about your work.

5.    Don't Get Hung Up on How Long You're Taking - there is no single correct length of time to spend on a script. Sometimes inspiration might strike quickly, resulting in a shorter process with lots of editing condensed into several months, while other times a script can take years. Neither approach is inherently better than the other; the point is to make sure you are neither underworking nor overworking your script. Underworking results in a less quality script, while overworking often gets too entrenched in itself to be appealing to others. Also remember that it is easier to underwork a script than overwork it. Aim for the sweet spot, but err on the side of more work rather than less.

From the outside, screenwriting can certainly appear to be an attractive career option. If you “make it” you’ll be pretty much self-employed. You’ll potentially be paid hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of dollars to let your imagination loose. You’ll get the chance to come up with stories revered by people all over the world.

The truth is, a large percentage of fledgling screenwriting careers end before they even got started. Scripts are written, sent out to agents, managers, contests and so on. But then… the rejection emails pile up. Eventually, the writer gets despondent and gives up.

All of the obstacles described above can all be overcome if you have the desire to really learn how to become a screenwriter and put in the work required.

But these are few basic things one should keep in mind before starting:

·         The less dialogue there is, the more likely your script has a better balance between showing and telling.

·         Details are for novels. The true talent of a screenwriter is evident when they can communicate the heart and soul of a moment ever so briefly without having to go into that detail.

·         The opening scene needs to be compelling. Your script’s beginning and ending are the most memorable moments.

·         This is the most common mistake screenwriters make. Slow builds are poison for newcomers trying to get their script noticed. Introduce the characters briefly, give us a quick sense of who they are, and then toss them into the fire of the premise, concept, and conflict.

·         Conflict is everything. For any genre.

A writer has two choice:

1.    Hired by someone to write their script.

2.    Write your own script and pitch it to different production houses or producers.

Approach one:

Since you are new kind in the block, no one will approach you for writing (other than your fellow struggling friends). So, for any kind of writing opportunities to come, you need to participate and win script writing competitions or make a great short movie or engage in networking or do lots of free work for people with decent reputation. Now, if you are good at your skills, you will get noticed in either of above ways and referred upon. Slowly, there will be inflow of work (though most of them will be free or low paying). But after one release, you can charge decent money for your work.

For approach two:

Basically you are asking someone to fund your script or sell them your idea (script.) Now the industry is full of writers with brilliant scripts. But most of the scripts doesn't have atleast some amount of commercial value to them. Producers are ruthless businessman and they want nothing other than decent return on their investment.

So being an aspiring writer, most of them wont entertain you for a decent narration because you carry no credibility. Even if they do, most of the times they are not serious about your script. But this approach has a golden opportunity, if you are good at writing or story telling or plot development, even if they dont buy your script, you may land up with some low paying job to work on their existing idea/script. Try grabbing those opportunities but make sure that your employer has some credibility in the industry.

Note:

1.    In most cases, being a writer you wont be able to pay your bills, so get some other work to pay your bills.

2.    Its very important for a writer to understand the dynamics of the industry and have a strong commercial sense of the scripts. You should be aware of what works in terms of content, casting, budget, release, production house, marketing etc.

3.    Pitching your script is very very important. Retain the interest of the listener, eliminate fluffs, high points, motivation, backdrop etc form a very important part of writing as well as pitching.

4.    You need to have a keen sense of understanding what the director/producer/actor is expecting from you as writer and tweak your script accordingly.

5.    Never hold your script too personally. You should be able to judge your writing objectively from audience point of view. Be open to criticisms and countless edits in your script.

6.    Be ready for loads of free work initially but also make sure you work for free only for credible and genuine people. Or if you find a challenging script that’s upto your alley.

7.    There will be lots of talkers, fakers, claimers etc. You need to be smart enough to identify a bluff from a genuine person.

8.    Hone your skills constantly by reading, writing and watching great movies, meeting fellow intellectuals, discussion etc.

So write a great script. Register in FWA and pitch to friends. Edit the script as per the feedback. Then start pitching to industry people. If your script is good, you might sell it. Or even if you cant, you might get some wonderful writing assignments. Good Luck.