HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY (SCRIPT) PT. 1

HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY
First on the agenda is to help you get motivated about writing your own screenplay. No, I am not an expert, but plenty of other screenwriters are, and I have read much of their posted material and tips on what, and more importantly, what not to do when it comes to writing and selling a spec script.

As of this post, I've only been familiar with the screenwriting "craft" for just over sixty days, and I have two nearly completed scripts. You can do the same. It is said that "everyone has at least one story in them". That might be true, but it needs to be a story worth hearing. You don't need to spend four years and over $100K at a university to find out whether or not you can write a script that contains interesting content. In fact many have, and they still have not written a screenplay, and are drained with paying off their student loans. Test yourself now, see if you have the passion, then lay down some hard cash at UCLA or pay for some screenwriting workshops. But if you don't have the will or discipline it takes, no amount of money will secure a spec script sale in the trade.

I scour the web daily for bits of information that will further my goal of seeing my own name on the screen, and if you stick around, I will help you in the right direction. Promise. One of my talents as an art and business instructor is knowing how to condense material and focus on what is important. Theoretically, how long would you have really needed, given the right info and training, to complete high school? I mean the essential, important stuff. If you're thinking one year, you're right. One very disciplined and stressful year of being completely absorbed in four years of material, but nevertheless, one year.

Within sixty days, if you follow my advice, you will know whether or not you can be a contender for scripting. In fact, you'll know it within thirty days, so give it a shot, you might surprise yourself. With me? Good, now onto step one:

READ SCRIPTS
Before you dive into screenwriting, professionals across the board agree that it is a good idea to read a few scripts. Well, actually more than a few, so I'll link some resources to screenplays. Doing this will save you a lot of trouble in the long-run. By reading a script you will start to get a feel for the format, lingo, timing, and everything that is important about a screenplay. There's more to it than that, but don't worry about the details, just get a couple "reads" under your belt.

WHAT TO READ?
Something you like, of course! Start off with a film that you enjoyed, one that you can mostly remember. Different genres, or types of films, have different writing styles. Comedies are often fast moving and snappy, while a drama may want to slow you down, in deep thought.

How long a script should be can be a heated debate, but almost everyone agrees that 120 pages or less are best. Reading a script that length will only take you about two hours- one minute per page. Don't worry, script pages are really short and full of white spaces, it goes quickly.

WHICH DRAFT?
Also noteworthy: scripts posted on the web are not always the final draft. Typically in the industry there is a first draft, rewrite (2nd draft), and a polish... although this is changing in our current economic times. I often read a draft instead of the final just to see how the script was changed.

Yes, scripts get changed, all the time, sad but true. Once you write the script your job is fighting all the people who want to change it, should you be so lucky or talented as to get that far. It's a good problem to have.

To read scripts, most of the time you will need the free Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader. This is very convenient, as it allows you to save the script on your computer for your own reading and reference pleasure.

HERE is a link to the reader.

Now, onto some script resources. My first read was "Juno", an easy read, lots of fun. This seems to be the "final draft" and "production script" with scene numbers. DO NOT include scene numbers in your script, production handles that. Compliments of Scribd.com, you don't need the reader for this.

JUNO SCRIPT

My next read was "Devil Wears Prada". This is a draft and you will notice slight changes from the actual film. Compliments of Simplyscripts.com, PDF file.

DEVIL WEARS PRADA SCRIPT

And finally, "Sideways", a very funny film that everyone can relate to, courtesy of Awesomefilm.com

SIDEWAYS SCRIPT

Again, read the type of films that you enjoy. If you're into sci-fi or thrillers, look up "Star Wars" or "Body Heat" at my listed resources above.