How To Write A Screenplay – Some Simple Tips

Simply put, scripts consist of 3 parts: beginning, middle and end. Your studio executive must be captivated from the beginning and to do this there has to be an event/incident to arouse his/her curiosity and keep them interested which means a dilemma of some kind followed by a crisis which will make up approximately 50% of your script’s entirety.
• In Act I the protagonist is introduced and his situation made known.
• Act II is the progression of that situation; what dilemma is he faced with and what obstacles does he need to overcome? This is possibly the hardest act to write because events are taking place, the tension is mounting and that has to be sustained.
• Act III is the climax and finally, the resolution.
Characters: Your characters have to be believable whether they’re likeable or not – the audience have to be shown their traits; good and bad. For instance what does your protagonist do for a living? Where does he live? How does he behave? What habits does he have and how does he like to relax in his spare time? What is it that has made him the person he is today? How does he speak? Hints have to be given in order to let the audience get to know your characters and with movie scripts you can’t tell – you have to show and that means giving clues e.g. if he can’t find a clean shirt or cup for his morning coffee, the audience can see he’s disorganised and untidy.
Plot: Whether this is fast-moving or leisurely is your choice, but it must keep the audience interested. Nor do you have to create numerous locations. Many great movies have been shot in a courtroom for example or a house, but because the plot was powerful and it had great dialogue it didn’t matter.
Dialogue: Good dialogue together with description is vital and will move your story along but avoid overuse in both cases. Cut out any words or descriptions that are not absolutely necessary. That’s why re-reading and re-writing is imperative. When you’ve done all you can to make your script the best it can be take a week or so off and then read it again from a fresh perspective. It’s also a good idea to have as many people read it and give you feedback but not always a good one to show it to family/friends because of fear of hurting your feelings.