Tips for Writing a Good Screenplay

For first time screenwriters, starting to write a screenplay is actually similar to climb a mountain. Whether it is mountain climbing or Screenwriting, adequate preparation is a key and skill leads to success.  Always stay focused on your preparation and do necessary steps towards the success. Here are five ultimate tips on how to write a screenplay.

Know how to write a good screenplay:

Watch films:

This may look like an ordinary advice but it really works well and helps you in many ways. Actually, watch movies means you have to watch films and notice the camera shots, angles, and how they create the scene mood, analyze the protagonist dialogues, identify the story arc, and lastly the climax. If you want to become a film writer, you have to watch movies and be aware of all elements, which combine to make a movie a visual story.

Read screenplays:

Are you planning to write a screenplay one after another? If yes, then study a produced screenplay to acquire the insight of how the movie presented on the page. Typically, you would not find screenplays in the bookstores. However, you can find them online through websites such as simply scripts, the screenplay database, etc.

Outline the story:

Never forget to write an outline of the story. The screenplay is including not only the movie plot but also the directions of crew and cast. When you do not know where your movie story is going before you write it, you would not surely know what directions to render to the crew and cast. Movies also have some strategic point in the story, which keep the pace and making the movie forward towards its conclusion. Before start writing your screenplay, it is better to know when these important plots will occur. Always get outlining and then start writing.

Follow the specific format:

Screenplay also follows some strict rules and industry-specific format. When your screenplay would not follow this industry standard, it would not be further considered for production. So, try to take some time to learn everything about the screenplay format. You can find many books and websites regarding this subject so check them. Keep in mind that a properly formatted script will make you get one-step closer to the big screen instead of garbage.

Length of the screenplay:

Feature movie screenplays are 90 to 120 pages in length often. With the proper understanding, each page of screenplay equals to the one minute of screen time. On the other side, short film screenplays are around 50pages or less than that but the same amount of screen time.  Whether you are writing a short or feature-length screenplay, do not go beyond their specific page size because it will fail to meet industry standard.  Edit your work and write properly until you meet your desire. 

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Created on Dec 1st 2017 05:38. Viewed 509 times.

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