What Is A Screenplay?

                                         
A Beginners Guide To Screenplay Writing
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?
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.
The question for most beginners is; "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?


There always seems to be such a lack of appropriate guidance and tips on how to start such a challenge.

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.

After all, a professional Hollywood script writer won't be roaming around your neighborhood, knocking on your door, and giving you advice on how to write it (let alone what production companies and executives would be seeking your script).

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

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

Trick #2: Believable Characters

One of the single greatest challenges for novice writers is getting their characters believable and likeable (or not-likable). 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.

How does one do that? 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 who they are.

You can always "tweak" those descriptions to more accurately fit the characters in your screenplay, but it's a solid place to start.

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. Yet, on the other hand, one of your characters might be required to be that way... it's your script, you know who they are... or at least you should). You need to understand them before your reader can.

At the same token, sometimes your characters will surprise you as he/she evolves.

Sometimes 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).

Another tricky realm is describing those traits I mentioned in your characters in order to bring them to life. There's a saying in writing (book or screenplay) and it goes;

"Show don't tell."

For example:

You don't want to write (tell) the reader that one of your characters is tall by saying;

"Bob is very tall."

That is lacking in imagination and it loses the interest of the reader quickly. Your characters need to resemble real life beings, and if you think about it, in reality many traits are not spoken are they? No... they are shown.

You would want to describe (show) Bob's height;

"Bob's lanky frame barely fit through the doorway as he ducked slightly to enter the room."

To describe (show) someone who is large one might say;

"Mark was stuffed in the chair in front of the desk."

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 child's chair in front of the desk."

Something like that.

Another example would be if Steve is broke, and doesn't care, you may describe it this way;

"Steve stepped over to the mailbox, pulling out the days mail. Entering back into the house; he sifted through his overdue bills tossing them one by one into the wastebasket."

(that's a bit wordy but you get the point)

*These examples pertain to book-writing more than screenplays perhaps, but the rule remains steady.

Describing An Environment:

Here there is a vast difference between book writing, and screenplay. In a novel you would go into detail about the surroundings (once again though, describing the environment is always better than telling) in a screenplay the layout is more often then not;

"EXT. -November 30, 1864 - Franklin, Tennessee - Day"

- or -

INT. Richards Bedroom- Night

The EXT. and INT. naturally stands for "Exterior or Interior"

A screenplay is 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.

Also, on a different note; one thing you don't want to do is to "restrict" the characters too much. In other words, don't dictate every little action in a characters scene. Example being;

"Steve frowned then stared blankly".

That's perfectly fine in a novel, but in a screenplay that is seen as directing an actor, and you can be stepping on some pretty big ego's there.

So, what is a screenplay?

In short, a screenplay is a loosely structured collection of scenes with mostly dialog and action to carry it through.

Compared to a novel, it is far-and-away different, yet a novel can be relatively simple to turn into a movie script... not so much the other way around, however.

With that said, each has it's challenges, and each has it's unspoken guidelines. It is up to you to learn and practice them properly.

You can break the rules sometimes... but you better know what you're doing first!

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, here is a free report that reveals many hints and tips from an actual Hollywood Script Writer.

You can get your free report here: Free Report

I look forward to seeing your work up on the big screen...