By Renee Stock · December 19, 2014
The screenwriting process is long, grueling, tiring and brutal…but addictive and fun. It’s a long game of story, characters, action, upsets and dysfunction. But where do you start? Once you touch pen to paper, where do you go? Here are 10 tips for starting that first screenplay. Some are more aggressive than others, but all will help you get that first story off the ground.
10. Visualize Your Story and Characters Before You Start
Easier said than done. See each frame of your story in your head before you put pen to paper. Visually understand how each Act will flow into the next and how your characters will react to certain situations – both normal and out of the ordinary.
9. Fill Out a Character Checklist
You read this all the time. Write a detailed list of everything about your character. What’s his favorite color? Where does she feel most comfortable? What’s this character’s parents like? You can answer detailed backstory or psychological questions about a character all day long, but it won’t actually help you write the script. Most of those questions are never going to come up in your story, so why waste time answering them? Your time will be better spent developing initial core values for that character then throwing the character into conflict and seeing how they deal with it rather than deciding if your character likes something as specific as cats or dogs better when the story takes place on the moon, in a Vegas casino or on a battlefield.
8. Know the Ending Before You Start
For some people this probably works, but for so many writers the best part of writing is discovering where the story is going while you’re writing it. It also has a tendency to take away the spontaneity of a story. Most great screenwriters working today, especially those who write for television, will tell you they have no idea where the story is going when they start — that’s why they’re writing — to find out.
7. Writing Exercises
A lot of screenwriting how-to books include writing exercises to get you writing, teach you a specific skill or just to get your imagination going. Your time would be better spent going for a long walk and thinking about the story you want to tell. I’m willing to bet that very few people buying a book for screenwriting advice have absolutely no idea for a story. Even if your story idea is extremely vague, even if it’s little more than a faraway bell, you have an idea brewing. Concentrate on that…first. Don’t worry, the structure will come later.
6. No Flashbacks or Voiceovers…to Start
Any strict rule like those are made to be broken. Sure, both those devices can be a crutch, a lazy way out or a cliche, but there are plenty of examples of them working brilliantly in a story so ignore them if you can make them work. I would ignore these rules even if you can’t. Sometimes you need them to help you finish a current script and get you to the next one.
5. Your Script Must Hit Certain Beats at Certain Page Numbers
No. It doesn’t. Period. It just doesn’t. Scripts written that way are are boring and predictable. Sure there has to be a general three-act structure with our initial plot points, great characters and conflict. But nothing specifically HAS to happen on page 45 and anyone who tells you that should be ignored.
4. Exact Formatting
I’m not saying you should make your font size 14 or move dialog all the way to the right of the page, but what I am saying is that you shouldn’t freak out if you can’t figure out how to format something unusual in your script. Don’t feel that you can’t keep whatever it is in the script. Just write whatever it is in the most visual way you can and move on. If you read any of the highly regarded screenplays from this year (and you definitely should be doing that) you will see many variations in formatting. It’s part of what gives a script a distinct voice. Never let format stress you out, slow you down or force you to delete something entirely.
3. Unique Names
An easy way to make your characters stand out is to give them interesting, unusual names. That’s the advice. It’s not always a good idea because sometimes the names people choose are too weird, become dated before you’re even finished or just sound silly. Is your college freshman struggling to find her way really a Madysen? Is your cute guy really a Jayden? Is your bad guy named after a Greek god? I mean, that name might be great, but also please remember that there are plenty of legendary tough guys out there named Frank.
2. You Should Aways Outline
Not necessarily. Not if you find it nearly impossible to write an outline and even more impossible to stick to it. Not if following an outline takes away the magic of the experience of writing a story. Not if you can finish a screenplay that you think is actually good without one. Outlining is great for people who run out of story on page three, people who can’t stop going off on boring tangents or people who need to get the structure down before they can even think about writing. But if that isn’t they way you do things then don’t do it.
1. Make the First Ten Pages Great
Well, okay, yeah. Obviously you don’t want to lose a reader, but a lot of people can write really strong first ten pages. A lot of people spend a lot of time tinkering and perfecting those first ten pages only to lose the reader on page fifty. If a reader is taking the time to read your script they are probably going to get through the first ten pages unless there are countless typos, leaps in logic or some other glaringly obvious problem that screams this person can’t write. Things tend to fall apart for the reader in the second and third acts, so in my view, it might be better to focus your energy there.
James Powell · December 15, 2014
