Quick Start
Summary
Use this summary
to start creating your screenplay right away. And then use it for a handy
reference to detailed information as you write. Have a great time and good
luck!
If you want to
make notes for yourself as you go, click the Notepad icon above, or click
the information text for more information.
Click the jump
text to see more information about each topic.
What To Write: it's up to
you
Write about what interests
you. It will be more fun and if it interest you it will probably interest
others. Keep the following in mind:
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Unusual things and surprises really
get attention (but don't get too radical).
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If the outcome of the story is
predictable, I can predict a lullaby rating.
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Humor can be a helpful element
in any story, but too much humor spoils it.
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One page equals about one minute
of screen time, so shoot for ten to thirty pages, which is typically about
three to twelve scenes. Hint: it's easier in some ways to write thirty
pages than ten because shorter stories need more intensity.
Writing Methods: pick a method,
any method
Use the method best suited
to you - just get started. At some early point you should write out the
plot or story line so you don't waste ten erasers.
Making Fascinating Characters:
where stories often begin
Creating characters who have
real wants and needs is a great place to start. Often the best stories
come straight from the characters.
Create your main character
and an opposing character, then a couple of friends. Throw them together
in a situation where they're struggling for something they want, and there
it is - the story writes itself.
Example story: Prom Date
illustration of dramatic structure
Stories have three acts...
exciting acts! Grab a pencil and write your own outline using this one
as an example. You'll be surprised how easy it is.
Act I grabs our attention like
cool drinks on a hot beach. Main characters dazzle us with their entrances,
and a problem we're dying to see solved develops into a big crisis: somebody
wants something really really (way) badly! For example, Tom wants to
star in the basketball final, needs to complete his rock collection for
geology, but needs an A on his calculus final to pass high school, both
are tomorrow - and he hasn't studied all semester!
The crisis launches us into
Act II, which will be about fifty percent of the story. There the main
character (Tom) struggles to get his prize. But the problems get bigger
and bigger, draining his strength and destroying his will. Tom's worst
enemy is the only person in town who has the rock he needs. Tom sprains
his ankle. He realizes all this talk in calculus about triangles was about
math, not art. And his girl friend is dumping him. Beaten and broken he
must do the impossible - which moves the story into Act III.
We're on the edge of our seats
going into Act III! Will Tom win this final battle and get his rock collection
gathered from eighty city blocks (where his angry girl friend dumped them),
and ace the calculus test, and win the ball game with a sprained ankle?
Some way Tom succeeds at something important and learns something in the
process. Easy, isn't it? Dramatic structure is explained in more detail
in a sample story line, Prom Date.
Plot: the thing that moves
your story forward
What is going to happen in
your story? The basic plot is the main source of conflict, which creates
tension. Plots have to have conflict to keep our interest. Tension comes
from the main characters opposing each other or striving for something.
Then all the details that drive the story this way and that make up the
full plot. Writing the full story without knowing the plot, is a gamble
that everything will work, and frequently it doesn't.
Click the green
text to see the full topic.
Scene: the fundamental building
block of movies
The fundamental building block
of screenplays. It lasts an average of three minutes and takes place in
one location. When the location or time changes, it is a new scene. Think
of scenes as situations that are like a mini-story.
Click the green
text to see the full topic.
Dialogue: writing what people
say
Dialogue is what people say:
their exact words without "quotation marks" or he said, she felt, she remembered,
etc. Each line of dialogue should be as short as possible - don't talk
to us like you talk to your friends.
Click the green
text to see the full topic.
Set-ups and Characters For
Short Scripts
Ten to twenty page short scripts
make special demands on character and plot. Make it easier on yourself
- read more about this.
Format:making
it so Hollywood can read it
Screenplays follow an easy
format; and if they're not in it, no one will read it.
See the example.
Rewriting: the
best kept secret in Hollywood
Some
mistakes will earn you the title of amateur. Avoid these things and you'll
look good on paper.
Getting Feedback
The best thing to do is talk
to others about your story and get their input (unless you're very sensitive).
Ask others what they would do in a situation similar to your character's.
Not an expanded topic.
Stop Theft
Major studios are honest and
million dollar lawsuits discourage the dishonest from plagiarizing stories.
But chances are, if you have an idea, you will see something like it within
the next three years.
Teacher's Information
Students may safely skip this
part unless they are afraid the teacher is learning secrets they should
know.
You can read this like a book
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