Screenwriting Tips

There is a lot of creativity coming out of new moviemakers. This is great, needed even, but we all have to keep in mind some simple truths about movies. While you need to be true to yourself, there are a lot of articles out there with tips to help you and guide you in your screenwriting process.

The Sunday Times wrote an article entitled “Ten tips for writing your own movie.” Their number one listed tip was “watch and learn.” This has to be the most important. Know what came before you. Pete Daly, the author, wrote, “It is essential to view as many films as possible, good and bad.” This is important if you want to be creative and original. Allow the great works, and oftentimes the not so great works, to inspire your own creativity. One of the last tips Daly wrote was to be original.

“These are general guidelines. But you must be true to yourself and your vision. Don’t simply copy others. Good movies stand out because they dare to be different, whether it be the tongue in cheek tone of The Big Lebowski or the reimagining of the Brit gangster flick in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”

Go back through his article and really take note of his rules, “watch and learn, don’t show off, structure, the story must have a point, if its not 90 minutes then there must be a good reason, choose your protagonist, make an impression, avoid being linear, be original and you’ve either got it or you haven’t.”

Once you’ve got the basic outline of that article down, head on over to screenwritingforhollywood.com. They have published an article entitled “12 screenwriting tips for beginners.” This is a must read.

One of their best tips is number three,

“Read screenplays for movies you’ve seen. You can get through most screenplays in less than two hours. The more you read them, the more ingrained that formula will be and the better you’ll understand the relationship between the screenplay and the final production.”

You cannot have enough knowledge of what came before you.

Pay close attention to the great advice given in numbers 8-10,

“Master the art of writing. Study grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, and voice. Learn how to write a comprehensive sentence and a compelling paragraph. By cultivating better writing, you’ll strengthen your screenplay and acquire the skills you need to sell it (writing proposals, treatments, and queries).

Get it written. Yes, you should study the craft and spend time sketching ideas, but ultimately, you have to sit down and write your screenplay.

Edit, proof, revise. Repeat. Repeat again. And again. One more time… It doesn’t matter if you’ve written the great American novel, an article for the tabloids, or a term paper. You should always polish your work carefully.”

Knowing how to write is half the battle. But most important of all is to just write. Get it on paper, no matter how long it takes. You can become the next great American Screenwriter, but not if you don’t start somewhere! Pick up a book on screenwriting, and rent as many movies as you can! Get acclimated with your industry. Most importantly, have fun!!