Screenwriting 101: Screenwriting

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

I'm hoping this post will cover the essentials of screenwriting, from idea generation to
selling your script. I cannot add to this post because I have reached the max character
count.
1. IDEA GENERATION
While sometimes writers have those ah-ha! moments where we are flooded with a
mostly thought out concept, sometimes we need to activate our brains. There are several
techniques for this, but they all revolve around the same basic theory: start with one
aspect 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 that
particular goal? What kind of problems would a character face in trying to achieve this
goal? Remember, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle was a successful comedy
spawning two sequels, and it's entire premise is "two stoners want a cheeseburger." So
no 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 with
an initial logline. The benefits are having something to guide you while writing, as well
as 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 and
not provide something like "uhh, it's kind of complicated..."
But something almost all writers will do is have something of an outline. What does an
outline look like? That's going to vary widely. Some writers prefer to keep their outlines
bare bones and will only map out key points (typically plot points). Other writers will get
detailed and break it down by scene. An outline may have notes such as "Hero captured
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by Villain in their lair," where others might write out things such as what the
scene/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 is
what gives the story a feeling of cohesiveness, that feeling that the writer knows what he
or 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 (a
beginning, middle, and end). Acts 1 and 3 should each be roughly 25% of the script, and
Act 2 should be roughly 50% of the script.
Some structures and formulas of this type will have a few plot points, while others may
be 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 the
writer keep the story interesting and with purpose.
FURTHER READING:
1. Save the Cat!, by Blake Snyder
2. Story, by Robert McKee
3. 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 this
still, but the idea behind this technique is break the script down into small chunks that
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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 eight
12-page sequences is 90 pages, and eight 15-page sequences is 120 pages. Each sequence
should have it's own tension, a question that the audience worries about, in addition to
the story's main tension (which is usually "will the protagonist succeed?"). The purpose
for this is to constantly have something for the audience to be concerned about, thus
getting 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
Notes
Act 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
Act Three
Sequence Six
Ends in Act Break 2
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 Gulino
2. The Eight Sequences, by The Script Lab
Television Structure
Television is a different beast when it comes to structure, largely because of
commercials. Acts don't really mean the same thing that they do in feature writing. A 30minute show may consist of a teaser, two acts (commercial break separating them), and
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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're
writing a pilot spec, read scripts of shows similar to yours. If you're writing a spec of a
current show, read scripts from that show. Break them down and truly analyze them.
FURTHER READING:
1. The TV Writer's Workbook, by Ellen Sandler
2. 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 are
considered the industry standard, and the company claims its mobile version lives
up to the name as well.
Celtx (Windows / Mac / Linux / iOS / Android) - The basic version of this software
is free. The desktop version also provides many pre-production tools so you can
actually film your script as well.
Movie Magic Screenwriter (Windows / Mac) - Another full featured program. But
the company has many other tools available to assist in the writing process
Scrivener (Windows / Mac) - Although not intended specifically for screenplays,
the program offers a lot. It can be used to outline and create character notes, write
the script itself, or used as a rough draft tool and then exported into Final Draft for
final publishing. There's also a bunch of tools for writing beyond screenplays as
well, 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,
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or yourself as a writer for future work, or both. There are two main avenues for this that
I'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 almost
like 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 feature
screenplay over the next year.
2. Austin Film Festival - Considered by many to be the top film festival for
screenwriters.
3. Production Company Fellowships - Many big name companies offer fellowship
competitions. You're often competing for what amounts to a paid internship where
you 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 to
numerous competitions and not have to be constantly filling out forms. Most of the
competitions listed will be smaller and not necessarily ones that will truly advance
your career. But you never know.
Pitching / Queries
Here you are directly selling yourself and script. You can pitch to an agent, a manager, or
a production company. A query is essentially a pitch in letter format. With both, you are
trying 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 elevator
pitch is where you only have maybe 30-seconds to pitch your idea. The name comes
from the idea of meeting a producer or development exec on the elevator and pitching
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them within that amount of time. This is where your logline comes in real handy. The
formal 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 that
make 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 fee
you 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'll
contain your contact information and a logline. Many writers choose to expand on that
and include things such as a one-paragraph synopsis, or maybe even a sentence or two
about major characters. If your script has won a competition, you may wish to include
that information as well (especially if it's a big competition).
FURTHER READING:
1. The Art of Pitching, by Syd Field
2. 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. You
are free to query your work without one, and you can sell your work without one. This
works well for smaller production companies, because they are in need of good scripts as
much as your are in need of a payday.
But if you want to sell to a major production company, an agent will increase your odds
of 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
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Morris (WME), Creative Artists (CAA), ICM, and United Talent (UTA). Agents are paid
when you get paid. The average pay for agents is 10% (this can vary depending on local
laws). 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 have
fewer clients and work more directly with you. Managers are paid much like agents, but
don't be surprised when they are asking more for 15% or 20% until you become
established.
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 on
current shows as well. Think of these as fanfic specs, where you are writing a wholly
original episode of a series. You should have these resemble actual scripts of the show as
much 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 as
introducing 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 show
that'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 to
write for. Write for a similar one instead. If you want to write for New Girl, write a spec
for Raising Hope. The reason is that the people behind the show you want to write for
cannot 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.
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Essentially how it works is the network will purchase rights to air the show from the
production 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 ABC
owning 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 of
it can be learned from other sources. The number one reason to go to a film school is to
make contacts. But this is useful only going to an LA or NY-based school. There are
other excellent film schools out there, however. Just remember that you will likely be
incurring 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 film
school) 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 because
it 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 also
a very useful forum on there.
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