I need a ton of help getting started [Archive]

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blazer774433

06-17-2005, 07:34 AM

scripter1

06-17-2005, 09:14 PM

Where in Indiana?
I'm in Greenwood, south of Indianapolis.

Welcome to the boards.

In any kind of project there are steps to be taken.
The first step is to be inspired, and next to think about the idea for a little while. These first two actaully happen quite naturally. We do them without knowing it really.
The next stage is to record our thoughts and the needs or direction of the project.
In this case, write down ALL your ideas for the story.
Character names, sequences, scenes, events, bits of dialog, ANYTHING and EVEVERYTHING you can think of. How good it is or if it will work doesn't matter.
You are brainstorming, collecting your supplies.
Next you will orgainize this.
Keep what you really like, what you think will work and set the other stuff aside. (don't throw it away, you may need to come back to it or be able to use it for another story.)

Then outline or draft your story.
Start at the beginning of your story and just write a few paragraphs describing what needs to happen to get you from A to Z.
Think about and try to hit all the important events that will move your story forward towards the end you have in mind. Include any ideas or details that pop into your mind as you write.

When you get done
SET THE OUTLINE/DRAFT ASIDE FOR A FEW DAYS.
DO SOME READING.
A lot of reading.
Get a hold of some books, articles, tips, message boards, and scripts.

Now go back to your notes. Change or add in things.
Set up a new document with the proper script format (you can find this out from the message boards.)

Start writing.
This is a first draft so don't stress things too much. Flesh out and fill in the gaps of your outline. Let your imagination loose. Keep what you've learned from your reading in mind but trust your instincts as well.
The point here is to get something down that you can work with, to capture the essence and idea of the story.

As you write you will develop your own methodology.
Some writers edit and tweak and fix as they go along, others just charge forward and then come back to make changes.
As you work on this draft keep reading, studying and asking questions.
Over time your understanding will increase and with commitment your writing and abilities will improve.

Once you get to FADE OUT set the draft aside again.
Let it sit for a week or two.
Keep studying the craft.
Then come back to the draft and really take a hard, cold look at it.
Rewrite it.
Repeat.

That is the basics.
There are of course tons of things that all add up to make an idea in to a great and viable script BUT that is what your personal study is for.
This should be enough to get you going.

Feel free to e-mail me.
acsmith33@juno.com

scripter1

06-17-2005, 10:05 PM

There are two ways of coming at a story- concept and character.

In the first every thing revolves around the basic idea. The setting, the charcters, the plot ALL serve the concept.

With the second you begin with character and then create the situations and events that will alter that character.

Bill Martell has two articles that explain these two methods.
I don't have access to my stack of articles right now so if someone has the links that would be very helpful.
I believe I did post a link for them on this site a week or so ago.

IWrite

06-17-2005, 10:31 PM

Ok, I'm 17 years old, and I have had an idea for like three years now. I never thought about it much until the other day when some online friends and I where discussing it and one of them said, " You know how awsome it would be if someone wrote our roleplay into a movie... ", and it clicked, I could do it. Well, I found out that it is harder than I thought. I understand the basics of writing a screenplay. You have to signify scene changes, character personalities, scene description. I know all that, but it just won't fall together I don't think. The idea I have is a (( please bear with me )) midieval fantasy taking place during a battle between heaven and hell. Now the big problam is there will be some rather touchy subjects, such as God in manifest, blood hungry angels, and a mysterious pact between heaven and hell toward the end to leave room for a sequel. I just really need help with this and would like it if any of you could or would. Please leave me an instant message, or e-mail me at a71847@yahoo.com if you have any info or would like to help me. Thanks alot folks.

Scripter's suggestions work for Scripter and may in fact work for others as well - but the certainly don't work for everybody - and for the most part do not seem to address your major concern.

If sounds to me like you have the basic premise, location, characters and storyline - the brainstorming has been done and your trouble is with actually writing and structuring your screenplay - which Scripter's method does not appear to address (other than the suggestion to "write")

My suggestion is that you pick up a copy of The Screenwriter's Workbook by Syd Field. It's actually a screenwriting class in book form. There are specific exercies in the book that he has you do which help you prepare and write the screenplay. It is a great way to learn how to structure your story and to write it. I suggest you do all the exercises in the book - even if you feel you don't need to do some.

For now I wouldn't worry about the content - tell the story you want to tell and don't concern yourself with commercial viability. You're at the very beginning of the learning stage and it will be quite some time before you will have to think about such things. There will also be many rewrites which will lead to many changes in your story and characters.

Good Luck

Good Luck

dpaterso

06-17-2005, 10:36 PM

Yeah, I'd write an outline, don't worry about screenplay format right now, just get your story written in plain text, e.g. and just for fun's sake,

A dark and stormy night. Lightning strikes the highest tower of Lord Doom's Castle. Evil Sir Grak marches along a corridor and throws open a door. Lady Fiona shields her newborn baby in its crib. "You can't have him!" Sir Grak slays her and takes the baby.

The castle gates open, Sir Grak rides out carrying a wailing bundle.

...Yeah OK, crap example but you catch my drift, just let it come, don't trip yourself up with details or angst over format. Tweak your outline until it tells the story you want to tell. Then start converting outline to screenplay, e.g.

FADE IN:

EXT. LORD DOOM'S CASTLE - NIGHT

A storm rages, lightning strikes the highest tower.

INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT

Torches burn on the walls. SIR GRAK, a cruel-faced, silver-bearded veteran of a dozen wars, marches toward a door at the end of the corridor.

INT. LADY FIONA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Sir Grak throws the door wide open.

LADY FIONA, a young beauty, gasps in terror and runs to shield her BABY in its crib.

LADY FIONA
What are you doing here?

SIR GRAK
Stand aside, Lady Fiona!

LADY FIONA
Nay! I will not let you or your
foul master have my son!

SIR GRAK
Then I must do what I must do.

He draws his dagger. Lady Fiona draws breath to scream but Sir Grak covers her mouth and does the foul deed. He lets go. She sprawls on the floor, dead.

SIR GRAK
Would that you had listened to
reason, my lady. May God rest
your soul. And may He save mine.

He picks up the Baby and wraps it in blankets, marches to the door and out.

EXT. LORD DOOM'S CASTLE - NIGHT

The drawbridge is lowered, the gate opens and Sir Grak rides out, a bundle tucked under his arm. The Baby's WAIL fades into the night with Sir Grak.

...Okay, that's me made my word total for today, I'm going to put my feet up now and watch some films! Ignore my example, just concentrate on writing and improving your story, worry about the screenplay later. When the time comes there are software packages (e.g. Movie Magic (http://www.screenplay.com/products/mmscreenwriter/index.html), Final Draft (http://www.finaldraft.com/), Sophocles (http://www.sophocles.net/)) that will lead you by the hand and help you do the biz. Of course, first you'll read screenwriting books and produced screenplays (http://www.script-o-rama.com/) until your eyes bleed and you understand the medium.

-Derek
Derek's Web Page - stories, screenplays, novels, insanity. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57/scripts.htm)

scripter1

06-18-2005, 12:46 AM

His questions and concerns will be addressed through his own reading and studying. He'll figure out what he needs to do as he goes along so there wasn't any point in my addressing any of that.

Also after he studies a little he will be better able to ask specific and more meaningful questions about his script.

Did I not make it clear that he should read, read, and read some more?

I thought I stated that quite clearly though I did not mention specific books. (Info on the best screenwriting books can be found by doing a subject search.)

Right now he has an idea that he is excited about and has quite a few ideas for. He needs to capture that RIGHT NOW, in some form.

The books are good and a must read.
But there really is no sense in putting off a draft or an outline, or a treatment, or what ever way you wish to start writing.

Blazer, there are some questions you need to ask yourself in order to guide you through the story development process. (You may have thought of them all ready and simply didn't include them in your post.)

1) Who is my protag, does he have a clear and powerful goal?
2) Who/what is the antagonistic force and does it have a clear and powerful goal that DIRECTLY opposes/causes big trouble for the protag?
3) Are these goals something that can be visually, easily and clearly understood or realized?

World peace is not a clear enough goal because how do you show that it was actually accomplished and then somebody is always screwing it up so it doesn't last very long.

Stopping the clock on a ticking bomb and capturing the terrorist IS a clear goal because you can show it and all the steps it took to get there.

The script will be the acting out of the tug-of-war between these two. Once the antag does something then the protag MUST react to it in some way. Then the antag makes his next move, and it escalates throughout the story until the protag figures out what ever it is he must learn in order to solve the problem

Your script isn't really about warring angels, and secret pacts between Heaven and Hell, those are just the things that make it really cool.
What your script is REALLY about are two characters who in some way are against each other.

Start there and then use your really cool ideas to fully explore that core conflict.

blazer774433

06-18-2005, 01:27 AM

I want to thank all of you for what you have told me. I would like to ask that if there is anything else that could help or that you know might aid me in this, please give me all you information. As of right now, I am an info whore, please excuse the term. I need all of it I can get. Thanks again for what you have givin me so far.

zagoraz

06-18-2005, 01:46 AM

"What your script is REALLY about are two characters who in some way are against each other."

Not necessarily. The antagonist isn't always a character. The antagonist in Clerks is the Quick Stop convenience store. The antagonist in Rushmore is a tough prep school with tough policy on failing students. Sometimes the protagonist is the antagonist, fighting an inner battle with himself. One Hour Photo. About Schmidt. Sideways. Just to name a few.

It's not always black and white.

scripter1

06-18-2005, 09:58 PM

Characters was a poor choice of wording.

It is two forces, USUALLY characters because they are easiest to film and relate to.

My point was there has to be clarity of conflict, clear oppostion presented in some kind of struggle between the two forces.

This is the beating heart of the film.

Boo_Radley

06-18-2005, 11:21 PM

Just write your story down on paper however you'd like, before attempting to write it as a screenplay. There are all kinds of "formats" like synopsis, treatment, step outline, etc. but if you don't know anything about writing a screenplay, just write it in a way that lets you just get it on paper first.

THEN, bone up on the craft of screenwriting. There are a myriad of invaluable books out there, such as The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier and Screenplay by Syd Field (to name just a couple) which will teach you and guide you in the craft.

Check out places like the Done Deal message boards at www.scriptsales.com (http://www.scriptsales.com/) or even these forums here and learn from other beginners who post and get answers. Read lots of screenplays to more familiarize yourself with the format, beats, plot points, etc. www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm (http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm) and www.simplyscripts.com (http://www.simplyscripts.com/) have a wealth of free-to-download screenplays and I suggest reading as many of them as you possibly can.

Writing your screenplay is not going to be easy, especially if it's your first one and you've never tried before. I'm not raining on your parade when I say you can expect your first draft to be, well, crap lol But it's all in the learning process.

Write, write, write. Good luck. :)

IWrite

06-18-2005, 11:24 PM

[These are just some thoughts off the top of my head for you to think about. They by no means are all there is to it. Screenwriting is a complex craft and there are many, many variables and elements that go into making a working script.]
Exactly Scripter - and it is too complex to be taught on a message board and it should not be taught by people who are not qualified to teach it.

Your first post was a long-winded, rambling list of things that either you do to get your own ideas together and/or something you read somewhere - which was probably a one page summary of techniques explained in a 250 page book. You did not take into account the fact that this particular individual stated that he already had the idea, plot conflict, etc. and his problem was he didn't know how to write.

You also didn't bother to steer him toward any particular books that might be helpful to him - you merely imparted the wisdom that he should "read".

On the other hand - I steered toward one particular title that I felt might help address the particular problem he stated he was having.

You need to learn to listen better if you want to truly be helpful. The vast majority of everything you've posted on this thread appears to be about showing off what you know (or believe you know) rather than addressing the specific issue at hand for blazer.

dpaterso

06-19-2005, 12:05 AM

IWrite

06-19-2005, 12:43 AM

But you know, if everyone throws something into the pot, their personal take on things, whatever method or advice happens to work for them, then maybe whoever's asking for help will benefit in more ways than one.

Or as my old grandpappy said before they took him away to be sentenced, "There's more than one way to ride a horse."
The issue for me with Scripter is that she holds herself out as an expert (a script consultant) Because of her profession - she has a greater responsiblility than others because her opinion may be given more weight.

I have no issues with people seeing things differntly than I do - but there is a difference between an opinion and an informed one. Many of the discussions on this board are merely matter of opinons - all of which are equal. But with other topics there is a right way or a better way and those with more knowledge - are actually more helpful - translation sometimes some people don't know what they are talking about and others do.

Whether I always agree with Joe or not on specifics - it is clear to me that he has the background and knowledge base to consult and his opinons are informed ones. I do not see the same thing in Scripter. In fact, I see the opposite - she proffers opinions as being informed when they are not.

scripter1

06-26-2005, 04:09 AM

http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip166.htm

http://www.scriptsecrets.net/articles/zombie.htm

StephieM

06-26-2005, 07:19 AM

I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, so if this gets taken the wrong way, I apologize.

A lot of the threads lately are becoming more like arguments rather than a place to learn. I think our main goal should be to help the poster rather than argue over who is right and who is wrong and wether one may be more qualified to give opinions over another. We are all here to help each other. I think it should be up to the poster to decide which opinions matter and which ones don't.

That said, I agree with IWrite, Syd Field's "The Screenwriter's Workbook" is an excellent choice to get started on.

Here are some more books that have helped me out on my journey and may just help you out as well.

"Screenplay" also by Syd Field.
"Selling A Screenplay" another one by Syd Field. (This will help you out later.)
"the complete book of Screenwriting" by J. Micheal Straczynski.
"The Elements of Screenwriting" by Irwin Blacker.
"The Big Book of Screenwriting" (I can't recall who this is by, but should be easy to find.

These are just my suggestions. There are a whole range of books that can help you out. Pick which ones you think would be best for you. Good luck! :)

Steph

JustinoXXV

06-26-2005, 07:55 AM

Paul Argentini has a good book on screenwriting that I used in the beginning. Aside from that, pretty much everything I've learned has been from script consultants, reading scripts, or watching movies.

"A lot of the threads lately are becoming more like arguments rather than a place to learn. I think our main goal should be to help the poster rather than argue over who is right and who is wrong and wether one may be more qualified to give opinions over another. We are all here to help each other. I think it should be up to the poster to decide which opinions matter and which ones don't."

I agree with Stephanie here. In the end, each person will have to find out what works for him/her. People can help you get there, but you ultimately have to do that on your own.

Any serious person will also do his/her research to find out what merits statements made by posters here have.

pstudios

06-26-2005, 12:58 PM

The first thing that comes to mind are some books: The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats(pt 1 The screenplay)by Cole/Haag-tells U everything U need to know about formatting, How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Vicki King, The Art of Dramatic Writing by Eagri-good for help w/ Char. development, How to write a selling Screenplay by Chris Keane, and some of the others people here are recommending. I think you must start with character profiles of your main characters-what they like, who they are their make up as beings-physical, social, economical, mental, emotional etc...get to know them. After that you could try writing a 10 point outline. There's a lot of different ways to do it. index cards work well.

As far as presenting your ideas, most of the best stuff out there came from the wildest ideas. Go for it!

TheRuleofThirds

06-26-2005, 11:09 PM

IMO, you can never go wrong with The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. In my screenwriting class, we used two books: Writer's Journey and Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter (and extra-credit reading was in Robert McKee's "Story"). The book I probably mentally consult the most is Writer's Journey, because it's basically the layman's guide for basic storytelling. The nice thing is that Vogler pulls out a ton of example from well-known movies to illustrate his points (actually they're more like Joseph Campbell's points).

Since you're dealing with a lot of fantasy elements, Blazer, I think it'd serve you incredibly well to get this book. Either that or be like George Lucas and do your homework by getting Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey." What it is is most movies follow a formula of 12-13 steps throughout three acts that the main character(s) goes through to achieve their goal. Star Wars follows the formula to a t, because that's what stories have done for thousands of years.

Here's a list of the steps that Campbell created: http://www.amersol.edu.pe/_afleming/2003/hero.html

Recently I had an idea about a futuristic version of Earth where you could play video games that perfectly emulated life and you could do things that you'd never do in real life. For instance, you could kill your best friend and see what the consequences would be--good or bad. And there's like a whole world of conflicts that could be explored just because the player could become so addicted that he couldn't distinguish the game from reality. Yet...it's just a concept, and it's not about anything. Sounds like you're in the same position. It's just a rehash of what everyone else has said. Localize it, centralize it, and characterize it. This is why Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter about Hester Prynne, not just all the victims of Puritan New England. This is why Amistad was about Cinque. This is why First Blood is about John Rambo. This is why Grapes of Wrath is about the Joad family.

IM me at DapperDanbo on AIM if you want to talk some more. I don't know a whole lot abuot the actual tricks of the trade myself...I'm just a 21 year old college student, but I've heard I've taken more film classes as electives than a lot of film schools offer at my non-film school.

ajq32

07-13-2006, 07:23 AM

Hey, im new to this board too and i dont know if anyone is looking at this post anymore but i thought id just add to what i do to write, i know its the worst thing you could do to write but what i do is just write...i sit down and write, once i got the basic idea, i dont outline i dont write much unless i get an idea for a scene, i just sit and write and i know thats horrible to do but it works for me, i just finished a 100 page screenplay that way and ive started my second only on page like 18 but still, it works for me.

zeprosnepsid

07-13-2006, 10:01 AM

Goodwriterguy

07-13-2006, 01:42 PM

People have given you very good advice, but I'd just add this:

I find it helpful to read other screenplays. Check out Drew's: http://www.script-o-rama.com/

Or watch movies, but watch them for structure, pacing, dialogue, etc... (not for your personal enjoyment)

Great novelists read the work of great novelists. Great artists study the work of great artists. Actors study great performances. Screenwriting is the same way. Study brilliant screenplays.
Exactamundo!

Perhaps start with Towne's "Chinatown."

I think it's best to give everyone the space to have their say and move on. Our comments can be taken or left, as a reader decides. Trying to determine who's "qualified" and who isn't soon becomes a nightmare, and besides, those who are indeed "qualified" will hold up over the longer run and become known in that way; those who aren't, well, they'll often just fade away.

I will sometimes critique advice I see/read here that's off base in my view, but I'll do it functionally, which is to say I'll try to describe why the advice is less than sound and give examples to illustrate the points, and this in the light of knowing there's "more than one way to ride a horse" but realizing also there is a wrong way to ride a horse.

Our words will qualify us, for better or worse. The main thing is to be genuinely interested in assisting a fellow writer, or fellow writers. If we have that idea in mind, we'll be cool.

I for one don't think Syd Field is worth a plugged nickle, and he has been recommended here. I would not recommend his stuff. Why? Because I don't think he's qualified (!) ~~ has the man written a screenplay? One screenplay? I don't think so. He's a guy who made money producing "how to" books for the masses, reducing everything to the simplest notions of craft. Lew Hunter on the other hand, has written screenplays and he taught the 434 course at UCLA Film School for a number of years, and his book is that course in book form. Now you've got some depth going, some real solid understanding. Light years ahead of Mr. Field.

I think this is also true of Chistopher Vogler's book, "The Writer's Journey," which was born as a memo he wrote to the moguls when he first started work as a story analyst for Disney in the 1980's. He has worked in the industry in a story capacity. His book is written for screenwriter's. It presents Jospeh Campbell's ideas about archtypes in a modern and more readily digestible form, and again specifically for the screenwriter.

When I'm confronted with a young newly aspiring screenwriter, I suggest these two books first, along with something by Linda Seger. I'll also recommend the columns section at Site link removed per request of other site's Webmaster, a rich source of screenwriting wisdom, in my view. And above all, I'll suggest the reading and study of at least two dozen screenplays, the more the merrier. The instruction one gets form Mr. Hunter and Mr. Vogler and Ms. Seger is now seen in action, actually applied in a variety of spec scripts ... which hopefully cover a range of genre.

I suggest also that after one has finished their first script they get McKee's "Story" and have at it for awhile. Much to learn from Mr. McKee.

As far as "formatting" is concerned I much prefer David Trottier to Cole-Haag, although both are now somewhat dated, CH more than Trottier methinks. But the form really is embodied in those two dozen or more screenplays the aspirant is going to read and study. It can be learned from them, and from participating on boards such as this one or others, Triggerstreet, Site link removed per request of other site's Webmaster, and so on. I don't like to think "formatting" so much as I do "form," because the former is just a few simple rules about margins and spacing and use of upper case and what font and indentations, which a monkey could learn. The form, however, goes much deeper than this to embrace ideas that pertain to cinema, the offscreen movie, level of verisimilitude, the issue of subext, OTN dialogue, writing in present tense, staging and choreography, McKee's idea of the controlling idea and an "inciting incident," and so on, the whole idea of a movie and a movie on the page.

I think also it is appropriate to indicate to an newly aspiring screenwriter that screenwriting is an art and a craft and a business that, not unlike any other creative endeavor, takes about five years in which to gain a professional level of competency, more or less, and three to five screenplays, more or less. This is true with musical instruments, singing, dance, sculpting, fine art painting, writing poetry or novels or radio dramas or stage plays; the screenwriting MFA program at UCLA is five years long, and for good reason ... that's how long it takes to learn this stuff and be able to write competently.

Whatever young folks may choose, if its a creative endeavor and in the entertainment arts, it isn't going to happen overnight nor on the first script, usually. I think it's important to be realistic on this score, and not have expectations which cannot be achieved any sooner than a few years and with much attentive study, practice, and disciplined effort.

Practice as they say, makes perfect.

In terms of process, there's wide experience and wide choice but in the end it is a matter of getting ideas down on paper and then engaging in a long process of developing them ... until you have them in a screenplay. I advocate a story crafting effort before scripting, because I think crafting story in screenplay form is inefficient and wasteful of energies. Get things very nearly worked out in an outline or a treatment, get the fundamentals in place, genre, the conflict, beginning, middle, and end, the characters, tone, pacing, act breaks, dramatic arc, and the like. With this in hand one can then focus on bringing it to the paper screen in the form of a screenplay. You have a roadmap, and if you're going to drive to Guatemala, you probably ought to have a roadmap handy.

We all begin by doing things intuitively ... and this can take us some way down the road, even to two or three finished scripts or more But to be ready to do assignment work and to bring some assurance to our own productivity, we have to bring the work up to the conscious level, we have to learn the form and what works and what doesn't and why. We have to learn to invent a story from whole cloth, craft it, and write its screenplay, ten thousand decisions. Intuitive writing probably won't get us all the way down that path. We have to learn the why of it all.

So we read, we study, we take courses, and we write. We think about it, cogitate on it, dream about it, discuss it with our friends and mentors, and make it our world. Eventually, we become writers, assuming we stick to our guns and keep plugging and don't give up the ship.

I don't think it can be done willy nilly, ya gotta have a "program" of one kind or another, some path to follow, some logical sequence of effort. Otherwise, we're flying in the dark, and may just as well crash and burn as finish anything that's saleable.

Nearly all of what's said has to be taken as a generality, there's too many exceptions to the "rules." But a general idea is better than no idea at all.

Keep writing!

Jerm

07-13-2006, 04:48 PM

Goodwriterguy

07-13-2006, 08:41 PM

Since I consider myself a fairly new writer, I can tell you what helped me the most.

- 1st - Research, being able to find things on the internet.
- 2nd - Reading scripts. I was reading a script a day at work.
- 3rd - Get a notebook and jot down any ideas you have. You never know when they will hit and you don't want to risk the chance of forgetting them.
- 4th - Plot, a plot is essential before writing. You can have a world and characters all in your head but if they have nothing to do then it's not much of a story.
- 5th - Start writing your script. Be prepared to completely throw it out once it's done and start again. The 2nd time through your format will be much cleaner.
- 6th - Find a good writing software. I have a word plug-in I started with that I found, free. It basically helped me learn rough format. I now use Final Draft.
- 7th - In your notebook keep a rough outline how your scenes will work. I find it comes in very handy.
- 8th - Use this board for questions when you get stuck. There are many helpful people on these boards that have already helps me tons.

Hope these tips help you out. Good luck on your first script/story.
This is pretty good, Jerm and has served you well, obviously.

Now as things move along and you get more deeply involved, you'll come across things like learning that some screen tales are "character-driven" and others are "plot-driven," so that plotting becomes much less a focus in the former, where the arc of your main character is the deciding factor on what happens next, as opposed to the latter, where plot is the deciding factor.

Examples of character-driven stories abound and include such pictures as "Midnight Cowboy," "Leaving Las Vegas," and "Beautiful Mind," or even the old Frank Sinatra film, "Man with a Golden Arm." These kinds of screen stories are less common than their plot-driven brethren, but they do exist and you may even wish to write one ... one day. They focus on inner conflict (man against himself) as opposed to external conflcits a protagonist may find him or herself involved in (e.g., man against men, man against beast, man against nature).

There's much to learn about genre, too.

But it's a long road and you've made a good start, so keep chugging!

yantubos

07-14-2006, 01:53 AM

If you're absolutely new to screenwriting, reading screenwriting books (especially a lot of them, with varying points of view) may be harmful rather than helpful.

My advice is to find one or two by one of the prominent screenwriting gurus (Hunter, McKee, Field, Goldman), and read it cover to cover. Absorb the structure and the method.

Next, as practical application, write a few scenes (not an entire script) on your own. Make up your own premise, create one using existing characters, whatever.

Finally, find movies that are similar to the concept you want to develop. Find scripts (not shooting scripts or transcriptions, the actual script) for these movies and study how they are put together, how they tell their stories, the structure and the technique.

Once you have done all that, I would write the first draft. Don't worry about perfection at his point - some movies went through a dozen drafts (or more) before the script was ready for production. Get it done. Show it to people. Get feedback.

Using this forum and others will help you tremendously as well.

zeprosnepsid

07-14-2006, 11:57 PM

I'll also recommend the columns section at Site link removed per request of other site's Webmaster, a rich source of screenwriting wisdom, in my view.

I second that. Here's a link for ultimate ease: Site link removed per request of other site's Webmaster

dpaterso

07-15-2006, 12:53 AM

I'm just saying, this thread was started 'way before we gathered info and links together in the tips (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24087) thread, stickied at the top of this forum, which already covers most of what's being suggested here.

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

cooeedownunder

07-15-2006, 03:04 PM

I would also say just write and write, in between learning about screen play format...when you have a few hundred pages apply it to what you have learnt.

dannyves

07-19-2006, 04:10 AM

People have many ways of writing, I am 23 and am writing my first screenplay with an idea I have had for years as well. Since I am already a disorganized person and writer, this is how I write- but I guess depending on the type of writer you are depends on your writing stragedy. I already have all the scenes and images in my mind before I write. Sometimes I take into account certain dreams I have and write a short story or poem about them as I have a very vivd imagination. Personally, I simply need to type/write them out and perfect the script or story. Other people write outlines, and for me I don't know, it just frustrates me and makes me even more disorganized as I want to start writing on it though that may not be the best formula for other people.

I also agree with some of the other posts here, do your research, look at other writers' scripts, study them, read them, have it up on your screen as you type your screenplay, compare the formats, make sure they have the same structure or about the same structure, but also be careful the script isn't reformatted through copying and pasting. I have 'Scriptwriting Secrets' as a bookmark on my web-browser, which I also have opened when I type my screenplay.

I also don't suggest looking at too many scripts for as you read you begin to get discouraged, especially as a newbie writing scripts, some writers have awesome ideas and then you feel yours are just crap compared to them. The key is 9and Lord knows I've dealt with this myself) is don't get discouraged; continue on even, once your done you'll look at your masterpiece and can finally say it's ready- now the hard part-
who's going to take the time to read it, that's another topic I don't even want to get into lol.
Good luck.
~danny