Screenwriting Tips Store

Final Draft is a must for a serious screenwriter. It is the number one selling screenwriting software available today. It is highly recommended by such names as Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump”, “Toy Story”, “Saving Private Ryan”), Ben Stiller (“There’s Something About Mary”, “Night At The Museum”), Alan Ball (“American Beauty”,”Six Feet Under”(TV)), and Stuart Beattie (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: “Curse of the Black Pearl”) to name a few.Final Draft is a word processor that is designed for writing movies, television dramas and stage plays. It is both a word processor and a screenplay formatting tool. This duo allows writers to focus on the story, and not worry about the formatting or other presentation details.Loaded with unique features, Final Draft offers a powerful tool called “Smart Type” which automatically fills in character names, scene headings, and more. “Panels” which allow for you to view your script, its outline and index cards all at the same time. “Pagination” which automatically formats and paginates to industry standards. The automatic formating is very important, as most agents and producers will toss a script in the trash if it’s not in the standard format.For the beginner, learning to use it can be confusing and a bit overwhelming. And as for any writer, time is priceless, especially if it interferes with one’s creativity. But, the time taken to learn how to work with Final Draft will be well worth it as it will significantly decrease the time it takes to finish a script.They provide a much more clear and hands-on understanding of how to work with the software, so the writer can focus on the writing. All in all, is “the choice” for screenwriting. It’s the professional’s pick. For the serious writer, Final Draft is a must have writing tool and an essential element that can take writing to a whole new level. You can read more reviews here.

Screenwriting Tips

It’s Awards Season in Hollywood as the countdown continues to Oscar Night. I don’t know about you, but every year when I watch the Oscars, I love to imagine myself all tuxed out and mingling with Hollywood’s Elite at the Kodak Theatre. The million dollar question is, what’s the real difference between the tens of thousands of unproduced writers out there and the screenwriting members of the Academy sitting at the Kodak?

The obvious answer is, they have big agents who make sure they’re constantly working as writers. They’re the insiders. But even insiders like Paul Haggis, last year’s Oscar winner for both writing and directing CRASH started out as outsiders scrambling to break in.

It’s not about who has the most talent, though talent is important. Nor is about who has the most powerful agent, though again, having a strong agent can be a major asset. It’s about how you see and treat yourself as a professional. Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time, there was a young man who very much wanted to be in show business, or more specifically, making movies. He attended one of the best film schools in the world, while there discovered the joys of writing and producing and everyone around him had high expectations about his career. Yet for more years than he cares to admit, that career was stalled.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that young man was me. And this article is for everyone who, like me, has visions of having their name up on the big screen as a writer. It’s all about the importance of getting a balance of what I call “macro training.”

Over the years, I’ve invested tens of thousands of dollars in classes, seminars, books and retreats all intended to teach me to be a better writer. Don’t get me wrong. Many of these classes were well worth the money when it came to teaching me about the CRAFT of screenwriting. I absolutely learned a lot. But talent and craft by themselves are not enough to make you a regularly working professional screenwriter.

I learned through painful experience that if you want to succeed as a professional artist in show business, whether it’s as a writer, actor, director or any other craft that’s employed by the networks and studios, you have to treat your career as a small business with yourself as the CEO. As countless people have said to me over the years, it’s called Show “Business” for a reason.

Eureka! This was the missing piece. When it finally registered with me the importance of treating my artistic endeavors like an entrepreneurial small business, I began to see things in an entirely different light. I call myself a writer and producer – and those are accurate titles – but the business I’m in is really manufacturing, sales and distribution. Huh?

Think about it. As a professional writer, you’re manufacturing a product – the things you write. In order to get paid for that product, you also have to have a sales, marketing and distribution mechanism in place so that the scripts you write can generate money for you.

Of course you have to have the talent and skills to consistently deliver quality scripts and do so on time. But talent and skill alone don’t hack it. If you want to be a successful, consistently and steadily working writer, you have to understand that you’re in the business of creating and selling products. Your products are your scripts.

Like any manufacturer, in addition to dedicating part of your business to developing and creating products, you also need to address the sales, marketing and distribution of those products (scripts) along with the business affairs aspect (contracts, accounting, etc.) of working with your customers (studios, production companies and/or networks). You don’t have to do it all by yourself, but you do need to make sure these aspects of your business as a professional writer are handled. Just by making that shift in the way you see yourself and your career, you’ll immediately transform from would-be writer to an entrepreneurial professional well on the road to success.

Making it as a Screenwriter:What it Takes to Get Started and Be Successful

You have a great idea for a story and you know it would make a great movie. But how do you get idea to paper to a producer in a manner that comes across as professional and experienced? You write a screenplay.

How do you get Hollywood to notice your script? Tens of thousands of what are known as SPEC scripts (scripts written on speculation) are emailed or snail-mailed to Hollywood Producers every year. Out of all those, maybe 50 will be optioned or bought. Of those, perhaps half will go into production. So how do you get your little gem in that winning stack of screenplays?

Screenwriting is not for the faint of heart or those who are easily discouraged. As a screenwriter you continually here the words, “No thanks,” “Not what we’re looking for,” “Didn’t grab us,” or the ubiquitous “We don’t accept unsolicited material.” It’s all very depressing and you have to cinch up your Kevlar skin and keep moving forward. I have yet to meet any successful, working screenwriter who has not been through the same process. Yet once you can crack that wall and get your first serious writing job, then it gets a bit easier… not much, but just enough to give you hope.

So what’s it take? You need to ask yourself this question: Can I motivate myself to sit down every day, even if only for an hour, and write or learn the craft of screenwriting? Can I learn the proper formatting techniques, three-act structure, how to create compelling characters, the right story beats to each genre, etc..?

Sound hard? You bet it is. But the reward of seeing your work on the big screen is highly motivating.

Professional working screenwriters are constantly learning new techniques that make for a better story or inventing their own style of writing that grabs a Producer’s attention. Too many amateur screenwriters dive right into the actual script writing without understanding the importance of technique, research, proper formatting, finding the core idea that will drive the entire story, and taking the time to outline your story.

If you have never taken any type of screenwriting course, seminar by a working pro or read a book on “how to,” then you need to start. There is an abundance of screenwriting books, fantastic seminars taught all over the country, and many on-line courses you can take in the comfort of your own home. With the advent and ease of on-line chat and VOIP, courses of instruction are very detailed and can be learned at your own speed. Your best bet is to enroll in one of the many on-line courses offered by a myriad of professionals. Some of those options might include:

- http://www.screenwritingU.com – this website is run by Hal Croasmun and is rated as one of the best sites to learn the craft of screenwriting. It’s well suited for both beginners as well as working writers who want to brush up on their skills. Hal offers a stellar course called the Pro Series that takes you from Fade In to marketing and selling your screenplay. Hal’s courses are not only the best available, but he also takes a personal interest in everyone who becomes part of the Pro Series Alumni and the Alumni group offers an expansive network of like-minded writers who are there to support you every step of the way. In my opinion, this is the best decision you can make for your long-term career.

- http://johnaugust.com/ – this site offers a wealth of information on all aspects of screenwriting, mostly pertaining to formatting and the craft of “how” to write.

Regardless of how you begin… begin. Read, study, and then write, write and write. Before you know it, you will have three or four scripts in your body of work, and then you can begin the second most painful process of a working screenwriter: marketing your work.

In our next article, we’ll talk more about some of the tools and resources you can use to get started on learning how to write screenplays.

Screenwriting Tips