screenwriting 101 : screenwriting

2/19/15, 4:06 PMScreenwriting 101 : Screenwriting

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Screenwriting 101 : ScreenwritingI'm hoping this post will cover the essentials of screenwriting, from idea generation toselling your script. I cannot add to this post because I have reached the max charactercount.

1. IDEA GENERATION

While sometimes writers have those ah-ha! moments where we are flooded with amostly thought out concept, sometimes we need to activate our brains. There are severaltechniques for this, but they all revolve around the same basic theory: start with oneaspect of the story and build from there.

For example, every protagonist has a goal or want. Come up with that goal first. Then,you can build upon that. Why would it be interesting to see this character have thatparticular goal? What kind of problems would a character face in trying to achieve thisgoal? Remember, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle was a successful comedyspawning two sequels, and it's entire premise is "two stoners want a cheeseburger." Sono idea is off limits here.

2. HOW DO I TURN THE IDEA INTO A SCRIPT?

Every writer swears by their own technique. Some writers will start with coming up withan initial logline. The benefits are having something to guide you while writing, as wellas being able to use the logline with others when they ask what you're writing about.That way, you can gauge their response to the idea as well as politely answer them andnot provide something like "uhh, it's kind of complicated..."

But something almost all writers will do is have something of an outline. What does anoutline look like? That's going to vary widely. Some writers prefer to keep their outlinesbare bones and will only map out key points (typically plot points). Other writers will getdetailed and break it down by scene. An outline may have notes such as "Hero captured



by Villain in their lair," where others might write out things such as what thescene/sequence/act tension is, what the character goals are for the scene/sequence/act,and so on.

There is no right or wrong way to outline. It's whatever will help you write.

3. STRUCTURE

Many writers will base their outlines on specific structures or formulas. Structure iswhat gives the story a feeling of cohesiveness, that feeling that the writer knows what heor she is doing. There are many theories on structure. Below are two popular structures.

Plot point/3-Act-based Structure

There are variations within this, but I'm combining them here for simplicity. Essentially,structures of this type suggest that screenplays should be written in three acts (abeginning, middle, and end). Acts 1 and 3 should each be roughly 25% of the script, andAct 2 should be roughly 50% of the script.

Some structures and formulas of this type will have a few plot points, while others maybe filled with them. Some basic plot points will include the inciting incident, act breaks,midpoint, climax, and resolution. Plot points are essentially mile markers that help thewriter keep the story interesting and with purpose.

FURTHER READING:

1. Save the Cat!, by Blake Snyder2. Story, by Robert McKee3. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by Syd Field

Sequence Structure

Sequence structure is based off of three acts as well. Plot points can be used with thisstill, but the idea behind this technique is break the script down into small chunks that



are easy to handle (plot points are often the end of the sequence).

The common version of this holds that there should be eight sequences in the script.Sequences are roughly 12-15 pages in length. If you do the math, you'll notice that eight12-page sequences is 90 pages, and eight 15-page sequences is 120 pages. Each sequenceshould have it's own tension, a question that the audience worries about, in addition tothe story's main tension (which is usually "will the protagonist succeed?"). The purposefor this is to constantly have something for the audience to be concerned about, thusgetting them to invest in the movie. And since your tension changes every 12-15 pages,your script is less likely to become boring.

Here's what sequence structure ends up looking like:

Act Sequence NotesAct One Sequence One Often ends with inciting incident

Sequence Two Ends in Act Break 1

Act Two Sequence Three

Sequence Four Ends in Midpoint

Sequence Five

Sequence Six Ends in Act Break 2

Act Three Sequence Seven Often ends with a false resolution or twist

Sequence Eight Ends in resolution

FURTHER READING:

1. Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach, by Paul Joseph Gulino2. The Eight Sequences, by The Script Lab

Television Structure

Television is a different beast when it comes to structure, largely because ofcommercials. Acts don't really mean the same thing that they do in feature writing. A 30-minute show may consist of a teaser, two acts (commercial break separating them), and



a tag, for instance. But this would not apply to every show.

The best way to learn structure for television is to read television scripts. If you'rewriting a pilot spec, read scripts of shows similar to yours. If you're writing a spec of acurrent show, read scripts from that show. Break them down and truly analyze them.

FURTHER READING:

1. The TV Writer's Workbook, by Ellen Sandler2. Television Script Database, by Lee Thomson.

4. HOW DO I ACTUALLY WRITE THE SCRIPT?

There are numerous tools out there for writing scripts, available on PC, Mac, Android,and iOS. Here is a list of some:

Final Draft (Windows / Mac / iOS) - The desktop versions of this software areconsidered the industry standard, and the company claims its mobile version livesup to the name as well.Celtx (Windows / Mac / Linux / iOS / Android) - The basic version of this softwareis free. The desktop version also provides many pre-production tools so you canactually film your script as well.Movie Magic Screenwriter (Windows / Mac) - Another full featured program. Butthe company has many other tools available to assist in the writing processScrivener (Windows / Mac) - Although not intended specifically for screenplays,the program offers a lot. It can be used to outline and create character notes, writethe script itself, or used as a rough draft tool and then exported into Final Draft forfinal publishing. There's also a bunch of tools for writing beyond screenplays aswell, including novels, poetry, theses, textbooks, ebooks, etc.

5. I WROTE THE SCRIPT. NOW WHAT?

Assuming you have received feedback and rewrote your script, you're now off to sell it,



or yourself as a writer for future work, or both. There are two main avenues for this thatI'll touch on.

Competitions / Fellowships

These will not sell your script directly, however you may make contacts at these events.Winning a competition can result in prizes and bragging rights. Fellowships are almostlike jobs because you are essentially being paid to write.

Top Competitions and Fellowships:

1. Nicholl Fellowship - Winners are paid $35,000 and must complete a new featurescreenplay over the next year.

2. Austin Film Festival - Considered by many to be the top film festival forscreenwriters.

3. Production Company Fellowships - Many big name companies offer fellowshipcompetitions. You're often competing for what amounts to a paid internship whereyou learn from within the company. Some companies include Disney/ABC,Nickelodeon, and Warner Brothers.

4. Withoutabox - Not a competition itself, but is a place where you can submit tonumerous competitions and not have to be constantly filling out forms. Most of thecompetitions listed will be smaller and not necessarily ones that will truly advanceyour career. But you never know.

Pitching / Queries

Here you are directly selling yourself and script. You can pitch to an agent, a manager, ora production company. A query is essentially a pitch in letter format. With both, you aretrying to get the person or company interested in reading what you wrote.

Pitches come in two basic forms: the elevator pitch and the formal pitch. The elevatorpitch is where you only have maybe 30-seconds to pitch your idea. The name comesfrom the idea of meeting a producer or development exec on the elevator and pitching



them within that amount of time. This is where your logline comes in real handy. Theformal pitch can last 5-minutes, 15-minutes, or longer depending on the circumstance.With both types of pitches, you are giving the best aspect(s) of your script - the parts thatmake the person you're pitching to practically beg you to read it.

There are also pitching festivals, such as The Great American Pitchfest, where for a feeyou will able to network and pitch your script.

A query is a one-page letter that is sent out to these same people. At minimum it'llcontain your contact information and a logline. Many writers choose to expand on thatand include things such as a one-paragraph synopsis, or maybe even a sentence or twoabout major characters. If your script has won a competition, you may wish to includethat information as well (especially if it's a big competition).

FURTHER READING:

1. The Art of Pitching, by Syd Field2. Pitches, by John August

6. WHAT ABOUT AGENTS AND MANAGERS?

The rule goes that you cannot sell a script without an agent. This isn't entirely true. Youare free to query your work without one, and you can sell your work without one. Thisworks well for smaller production companies, because they are in need of good scripts asmuch as your are in need of a payday.

But if you want to sell to a major production company, an agent will increase your oddsof selling, so they can be quite handy to have.

Agent

An agent is a representative of talent. They get people hired. Depending on the company,you may be represented by an individual or a team. Some top-end agencies are: William



Morris (WME), Creative Artists (CAA), ICM, and United Talent (UTA). Agents are paidwhen you get paid. The average pay for agents is 10% (this can vary depending on locallaws). If they say you owe them money upfront to hire them, they are a scam.

Manager

A manager focuses more on your career as a whole rather than getting specific work.Your manager should have excellent contacts and work with you. A manager will havefewer clients and work more directly with you. Managers are paid much like agents, butdon't be surprised when they are asking more for 15% or 20% until you becomeestablished.

7. HOW DO I GET A JOB AS A TV WRITER?

You should have some original work, but you're also going to want some scripts based oncurrent shows as well. Think of these as fanfic specs, where you are writing a whollyoriginal episode of a series. You should have these resemble actual scripts of the show asmuch as possible in terms of structure, dialogue, story arcs, etc. Do not write "big"episodes where an aspect of your episode would continue into future episodes, such asintroducing a new character or killing a character off. Your spec should be stand-alone,and be based off of a "typical" episode, not a sweeps. You should also write for a showthat's in at least its second season.

A major point that needs to be noted here is DO NOT write for the show you want towrite for. Write for a similar one instead. If you want to write for New Girl, write a specfor Raising Hope. The reason is that the people behind the show you want to write forcannot legally read your script. If they did and ended up doing something from it(intentionally or not), you can now sue them.

7a. I HAVE THE PERFECT SCRIPT FOR HBO/SHOWTIME/FX/AMC

I'm writing this as a separate section because it seems to be talked about a lot on here.The network isn't who you want to talk to. You want to talk to production companies.



Essentially how it works is the network will purchase rights to air the show from theproduction company. So you need to talk to the people who actually make the shows.

I should note that some networks have their own production companies, such as ABCowning ABC Studios, but they are separate companies.

Example: Scrubs was produced by a company called Doozer. NBC had the airing rights.When NBC cancelled Scrubs, Doozer was able to take the show over to ABC. ABC,however, had Scrubs co-produced with ABC Studios (then called Touchstone Television)as part of the arrangement.

8. SHOULD I GO TO FILM SCHOOL?

There's no easy answer to this one. Film schools provide a lot of knowledge, but most ofit can be learned from other sources. The number one reason to go to a film school is tomake contacts. But this is useful only going to an LA or NY-based school. There areother excellent film schools out there, however. Just remember that you will likely beincurring a lot of debt for a degree that won't automatically qualify you for a job.However, the best filmmakers, including writers, often went to college (not always filmschool) and have a bachelors or masters degree.

9. MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES

IMSDb - A website with numerous scripts of produced work.The Black List - Originally a list of the most talked about unproduced screenplays,the site also offers other services to writers. These scripts are good to read becauseit will show you what the powers-that-be are interested in.Done Deal Pro - Keeps updated information on what's being sold and such,information that can be hard to gather elsewhere (even from a site like Deadline).This is good info because it'll let you know what companies are buying. There is alsoa very useful forum on there.

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