Starting point for writing a script

Writing a script for a feature film comes naturally to a select few, but it usually requires serious focus and dedication to acquire the skills necessary to master. If you’re a little nervous about it, that’s okay, because it means you’re not alone. After all, screenwriting isn’t something we learn in elementary school, but there are plenty of resources through books, communities, forums, online resources, and education that can guide the wordsmith from beginner to an expert in screenwriting.

But the truth is that writing scripts is within your reach. If you have ever told a story in your life, you already have the basic knowledge necessary to write a film. From the arc of conflict in a script to writing natural dialogue and how a script should be formatted. All you need to provide is the compelling story, and you’re on your way. Having said all that, here are a few tips that can help you start to understand your script and make your first draft go a little smoother. These will help you get started as you get deeper into writing.

DRAFT
First understand that this is just a draft, it’s just a draft. You are brainstorming by writing down your thoughts and ideas on a draft. This is the time for experimentation and risk taking. At this stage, there are no rules that you can return to later to refine your draft.

Even professional writers write, rewrite, and edit for a long time before reaching the brilliance of a great screenplay. So don’t get discouraged, just let your natural instincts flow. Be creative and imaginative. Remember that at this stage there are no rules.

CHOOSE AN IDEA THAT FITS YOU
For the first few tries, it may be easier to write down what you know. It’s just easier to write familiar settings and characters. That said, you are writing a script to explore something new, to have an adventure, to break out of your everyday life. You, and your characters, aren’t going to spend 30 days and nights writing scripts if your subject matter is so familiar that it puts you to sleep. So write a story that excites you, one you want to tell your friends, one you can’t stop thinking about, one that would be a movie you’d love to go see.

Don’t be afraid to join a writing group where you share your work with others. Some of the best scripts have come from groups of writers. If you’re serious, join a serious writing group where members push each other to do their best work. If you can’t join one in your community, you can sometimes find writers’ groups online. The best thing you and your script can possess is passion.

Watch movies
Watch a lot of movies. Approximately 100,000 scripts are written each year. Hollywood produces approximately 500 feature films a year. You can learn something from almost every movie out there. Most of us can talk endlessly about our favorite movie scenes, plot twists, and happy endings. First, try reading the script for a movie you know and love. Pay attention to how familiar elements in the movie (plot, character, setting) were initially described using text. Next, read the script for a movie you’ve never seen before. Try to imagine the finished movie in your head. Then watch the film and see how the text was translated into a visual medium. Begin to understand the relationship between text and film. Begins to learn the form of a script.

Read a script while you watch the movie.
With one eye on the script, watch a movie with the other eye. Notice how a well-written script follows the adage “Show, don’t tell.” Even though you’re reading words on paper, a well-written script shows you the movie in your mind. Before you start writing your script, read through several scripts. Read at least 5 or 6; It would be better to read even more. You can download scripts from the Internet or you can find them in a library. It doesn’t matter how you read them, just make sure you read them. Learn the shape. After you have read 5 or 6 scripts, you will have discovered that scripts follow a particular format. This format must be followed.

MEET YOUR CHARACTERS
People don’t go to the movies to see scary, romantic, or exciting situations; you’re going to see memorable human beings reacting to scary, romantic, or exciting situations. Which means that your big goal as a writer is to create real characters that the public wants to see. As you work on your characters and plot, it’s helpful to remember that what you’re writing will ultimately be seen in a single 2-2.5 hour session. Your movie has a lot of ground to cover in a very short period of time, and you have to hold the audience’s attention the entire time! Given these parameters, your story doesn’t have much time to slack off or drift. You can help jumpstart this engine by putting powerful, significant, or extreme situations and motivations into your script.

Enjoy the process.
If you write an average of 45 words per minute, you can write an entire screenplay in just 5-6 hours. Thinking about your characters, developing your plot, and coming up with ideas for scenes obviously takes a lot more time. Have fun with it. A script is a plan for a future movie. What this means is that when you start writing, all the information in a script must eventually be translated into images or sound, the two languages ​​of cinema. This is quite manageable when writing dialogue, as people speaking translate quite well into image and sound. But writing action and description can be a different story. Especially for those of you who have written a novel or other type of prose, this translation process, and its pitfalls, can take some getting used to.

Learn the business.
This is an aspect of screenwriting that many writers overlook. The irony is that the solitary nature of screenwriting is offset by the fact that your script will be the blueprint for a movie that may hire hundreds of people. You better understand how you fit into the whole movie making process. The best scripts aren’t always made. Don’t just limit yourself to feature films. Writing a good script is a skill valued by many people and companies. You can bring these skills to advertising agencies, production companies, and even video game manufacturers.