Category

What is a Screenplay?

Let’s first start by defining what a screenplay is NOT. It is not a play, and it certainly is not a novel. Unlike the novelist, who has complete freedom to explore any point of view, shift between conscious and subconscious mind, explore a character or a story from multiple perspectives, etc., the screenwriter MUST write in present tense and only what the audience can SEE and HEAR.

A screenplay is VISUAL. The playwriter, on the other hand, doesn’t have to worry about the visual medium. Often the play is simply a handful of characters – or even only one – standing there on a barren stage. Dialogue, Music, Lighting are all part of the stage. High speed car chases, however, belong in the movies. 

So if you’ve written a “Filmed Play”, look for ways to make it visual. Turn it into a movie.