how to write a screenplay

Here's something people often forget: it takes a person to write movies. Screenwriting involves
writing down ideas so that they'll be easily translated into visual art.
A screenplay, or script, is the backbone of any movie (well, except for Jean-Luc Godard movies).
It's the first step in the moviemaking process.
Almost everybody on the movie set has a copy of the script because it reveals what they should be
doing. It tells the actors how to act and what to say, the production designer how to build the set,
and the director how to shoot the scene.
Of course, a film is a collaborative effort, but it all starts with the screenwriter. A good script has
many facets (fame, fortune, love, marriage, affairs, divorce, despair, and so on); choose the ones
you want. However, screenplays have their own language, their own slang, if you will. What I
offer here are the basics you need to turn your burgeoning idea into a summer blockbuster.
Before You Start
At the outset, you must realize that screenwriting is a competitive sport. The Writers Guild of
America registers over 10,000 scripts a year, and less than 1% of them are made into motion
pictures. Everyone in Los Angeles and every second person elsewhere has a script they're trying to
sell, so your chances as a beginner are slim to none.
Although there have been flukes over the years, like Shane Black hitting the jackpot with movies
like Lethal Weapon ($250,000), The Last Boy Scout ($1.5 million) and The Long Kiss
Goodnight, few people get rich writing movie scripts. In fact, the average working screenwriter
earns about $50,000 US a year.
And fame shouldn't be a factor in your decision either. Not only does the public at large never
bother to find out who wrote a film, but the major studios often show the same lack of respect
toward screenwriters.
But if you are passionate about writing, about movies, and about making your dreams come true,
then you should seriously consider writing for the movies. When you think about it, screenwriting
is the toughest job in Hollywood. The screenwriter is the only person on a film crew who starts
with absolutely nothing. That said, let's write this baby.
Get a story
First of all, you need to find a story that interests you. Wipe those illusions away, it's all been done
before; the trick is to develop your story in a new and original way.
Start with a concept you can describe in a sentence such as: All the ghosts in America form an

alliance to combat an evil corporation that's determined to eliminate them. Not the greatest story,
but you get the idea.
Considering a screenplay is between 90 and 120 pages long (one page averages one minute of
screen time), you must have enough material so your story can be interesting for the duration. You
must ask yourself questions while developing your story. What happens then? Who does it happen
to? Why? As you answer these questions, you will discover new twists to your story and, before
long, you'll be ready to write it.
Write an outline
Before you actually start writing the script, you need to know where the story is going. Few
writers start writing unprepared; it's like navigating with a blindfold. It's a risk since you might hit
upon a fundamental story flaw or simply discover there's nowhere for your characters to go.
The solution is to have an outline. Some writers prefer to go scene by scene and include as much
detail as possible, while others choose to reveal only the bare minimum of a sequence so that they
won't lose interest when it's time to write the actual script.
A good method of outlining is to use 3x5 index cards. Write a scene on each card. The beauty of
this technique is that your story is a lot more mobile; you can switch around scenes so that the
story will be more fluid.
Use the right structure
Scripts have their own structure, which is meant to systematize the drama and conflicts in an
organized fashion. There are three acts and each has its purpose. We'll use the example of the
Bruce Willis movie Die Hard to illustrate the concepts. But these elements are not only for action
movies; they work for every genre.
Act 1: (pages 1-30)
This is where you establish your characters and situation. It must begin with a bang to grab the
attention of the readers. Often called the first reel, the first 10 pages are absolutely decisive.
There's a mini crisis at mid-act that leads us to a dilemma.
In Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) escapes from the terrorists and knows he has to alert
the authorities. By the end of this act, all the pieces are set and the story as you have imagined it
begins. Takagi (James Shigeta) is dead, the terrorists want to open the vault, and McClane is on
his own.

Act 2: (pages 30-90)
The second act is where the story develops. For the first half, the hero accumulates exploits,
reacting to the established dilemma, and it seems like nothing can stop him.
McClane successfully alerts the police and kills the first terrorist. Now the bad guys are on to him.
What's more, McClane inadvertently comes into possession of the crucial detonators, which makes
him very valuable for the terrorists.
In the middle of the second act, which is also the midpoint of the movie, the story changes gear.
Passive characters become active.
The police show up, Sergeant Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) becomes McClane's ally, and
McClane takes it upon himself to save the day.
During the second half of this act, the hero is faced with problem after problem, which reaffirms
the dilemma of Act 1.
McClane is distrusted by the police, the reporters snoop around, the FBI shows up, and Ellis (Hart
Bochner) is killed. He's definitely on his own.
Act 3: (pages 90-120)
The third act is where all the conflicts are resolved and characters are changed forever by the
events they have just been through. Here the stakes are higher and the dilemma is at long last dealt
with. The hero must rise to the occasion when all seems to be lost.
McClane meets head terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and soon, he's wounded. The bad
guys are about to blow up the roof of the building, the FBI guys are pulling a stunt that endangers
the hostages, and finally, McClane's wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) is kidnapped. In the end,
McClane makes up with his estranged wife and Sgt. Powell regains his nerves by killing a
terrorist.
Create your characters
Although entire books have been written about how to build interesting characters, there are
certain fundamental elements you must keep in mind when creating a hero.
First of all, realize that the main character represents the audience. The readers or moviegoers, if it
gets to that, will live the events through the eyes of the hero. So this main character must be
empathetic, someone the audience can relate to.
The character should have an external struggle (what he wants to achieve in the story) and an

internal struggle (what he needs to overcome psychologically in order to achieve his goal). He
must have a story arc, which means he must change through the course of the story.
The best characters have flaws they are vulnerable. They may be good at something but these
flaws could be their downfall.
The antagonist, the bad guy, should be the opposite of the hero but at the same time, share some
skills or character traits. Make him evil the audience must despise him and root for the other
guy. But still, make him human and not a caricature; the reason behind his evildoing has to make
sense in the end.
To create great characters, prepare biographies on them:
What are their desires or dislikes? Where are they from? What was their childhood like? How well
did they relate to their parents? Are they happy, in general? Any chip on their shoulder? What
accent and dialect do they have?
The more thorough you are, the more interesting the character will be. They will practically write
themselves into the story!
Story Tips
With this knowledge you can now focus on the story's details.
Show, don't tell: Instead of having characters talk about what they do or how something works,
show these events.
Create conflicts: Every scene should have a mini conflict, even if it's just people arguing about
what kind of pizza to order.
Research: Even though people are encouraged to write about what they know, if you choose to
explore something unfamiliar, you should research it thoroughly.
Explanations must be believable: There's nothing more irritating than when a character explains
his actions and the audience realizes it makes absolutely no sense. This is especially true in
science-fiction movies. At the same time, never let the audience get ahead of the story. Your
characters must be smarter than the readers and make the inevitable conclusions before they do.
Avoid on-the-nose dialogue: You want to avoid characters who say things the other characters
already know. They should never say what they mean so that there is constant subtext to the
dialogue. Finally, questions should never be answered with straight "yes" or "no" answers.
Know the Format

As aforementioned, scripts have a language of their own. There are strict rules and guidelines that
must be followed and this is often too harsh for novice screenwriters. Aside from trying to
conform to Hollywood standards, the importance of mastering format has to do with readers.
Readers are people paid by production companies to read the screenplays that have been
submitted to them. These people must sort through hundreds of manuscripts and determine which
ones are worthy of the company's attention. When they come upon works whose formatting is
deficient, it triggers the amateur alarm and they'll often dismiss this script for that very reason. So
if you can master the format, your script will at least get read.
There is a variety of expensive software on the market, Final Draft and Movie Magic being the
most popular, that basically do all the formatting for you. But if you're still learning and doing it
for fun, your existing word processor will do just fine. You can even set up macro commands to
make things easier.
Script Elements
Screenplays are not like novels. There are a number of elements, each with their own specific
purpose. Let's take a detailed look at them:
Slugline: Also called scene heading, this is the section in which you specify the location of the
scene. Identify whether the scene is indoors or outdoors, the exact location, and what time of day
it is. This line should always be written in uppercase.
Action: Use this section to describe who the characters are and what's happening in the scene, like
you would in any other story. However, always use the present tense, and the first time you
introduce a character, display their name in uppercase letters.
Character cue: This is the character's name, which you must write above their dialogue. This line
is always in uppercase.
Parenthetical: Used less and less because actors despise them, the parenthetical is a short
descriptive line between the character cue and the dialogue that either calls for an emotion or a
short action. Use it sparingly.
Dialogue: Obviously, these are your characters' spoken words.
Transitions: These are short expressions, such as "DISSOLVE TO:" or "SMASH CUT TO:", that
indicate how you want the editor to end the scene. But since your work is not about to be
produced, you should not use transitions in your script. The only ones you're allowed to use are

"FADE IN:" when beginning the screenplay and "FADE OUT." at the very end.
As for the layout, here are the distances you should follow from the left side of the page:
Proper Presentation
As important as format is, the way you present your screenplay is paramount as well. Amateurs
can be spotted a mile away because they think they can make it look better. But Hollywood
insiders don't want creativity; they want the standard, run-of-the-mill presentation they're already
familiar with.
Your paper should be standard, smooth 8.5x11 inches letter-size. It must be white and unless a
producer tells you otherwise, print only on one side of the page. The font you use must be
12-point Courier. It's not the most attractive but it's a consistently-sized type, which means that
each letter occupies the same space on the page. This is helpful for producers when doing the page
count and therefore evaluating if it's producible.
This font is also important because screenplays must look like they were written on old-fashioned
typewriters. Accordingly, never boldface words or italicize them. If you must put emphasis on a
particular word, which you should do sparsely, underline it. Page numbers go in the upper right
corner, making sure to skip the first page.
The title page, or fly page, must contain the script's title, with the author's name underneath and
the contact information in the lower left or right corner. At both ends of your script you should put
a cover of lightweight card stock. Opt for a pale color such as white or beige.
When all this is assembled, it should be three-hole punched and bound together using brass paper
fasteners called "brads." Even if this method looks flimsy, don't put screws or bind it any other
way; professionals use ¼" to 1" long, size #5 brads. What's even weirder is that although you've
punched three holes, you must only use two brads, leaving the middle hole empty. No one really
knows why.
Be Careful
Before you can call it quits on your first screenplay, there are some things you must look out for.
Typos: Readers won't have a problem if they only run across a couple of typos in the entire script.
But if there are dozens per page, it will be an indication to them that you're sloppy and didn't put
much effort into it. It's often enough for them to stop reading altogether. Proofread meticulously.
No camera directions: As a neophyte, the type of screenplay you're writing is called a "spec"; it's

meant as a calling card, a proof of your talents. Spec scripts by beginners are rarely produced, so
lay off camera directions.
Respect conventions: As arbitrary as some of the format and presentation rules may appear, it's
absolutely fundamental that you comply with those guidelines with minimal deviation. Follow
these principles and instead focus your imagination on crafting a terrific story.
Fade Out
Screenwriting is a creative job. You must not be stubborn in trying to develop a story in only one
way. Explore different avenues and see if you can make your characters come to life and dictate
where your storyline should go.
Your first screenplay will likely be terrible but don't worry, the more you try, the better you'll
get at it.