Article by Dale Blackburn

So you want to be a screenwriter, but where do you start? What tools and resources are necessary to learn to be a screenwriter? Do I have to spend a lot of money to get started? These are all common questions, which I will answer in this article.

Easy tips on how to write a movie script:

1) Read as many screenplays as you can. Learn the format and language of how screenplays are constructed. For instance, screenplays are always written in the present tense and often use minimal description to set scenes and create atmosphere. The rule of thumb is: never write more detail than you need. There is a standard shorthand that is common to most scripts, as well as certain terminology that is used to set up scenes and indicate transitions. Reading lots of screenplays will allow you to learn how professional screenwriters use this jargon. You can pick up some free screenplays to study at ScreenwritingTips.com.

2) Use computer software to format your scripts. As mentioned above, to succeed in Hollywood, you have to use proper screenplay formatting and jargon. People who work in the industry are used to screenplays following an accepted format and layout. If yours does not, you are out of the ball game before it has even started. If you’ve got the money to spend (0-200), I suggest Movie Magic Screenwriter as the software of choice. In my opinion, it FAR SURPASSES the competition, even the prevalent and ever-popular Final Draft. If your budget is tight, there are also many low-cost software options available (under 0), as well as free templates that plug into MS Word.

3) Learn to outline your stories. You can do this on a computer, or you can use the “traditional” method of breaking down your screen story through the use of index (3×5) cards. Either method will allow you to move your scenes about and find the proper flow of your story. During this process, you may discover “miracles” that will take your story to the next level… or you may find out that that “precious” scene you’ve been thinking about is not even needed! Beginners often have too much material for their story, or too little. They must find the happy medium. Outlining helps get clarity and allows you to see what can be chopped or what must be enhanced. Storytelling is an art.

4) Purchase some screenwriting books to help you learn the process of storytelling and how to structure your story. William Goldman, screenwriter extraordinaire, is famous for saying that screenplays are, “Structure, structure, structure.” Movies don’t have time to meander like novels. They need to be tightly constructed, with no flab. There are some great books on the market. Hit your local bookstore to familiarize yourself with a few. One of my favorites on how to write a commercial screenplay is Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT! Snyder really focuses on the importance of your STORY IDEA and how crucial it is to creating a screenplay that will sell in today’s Hollywood. I also like HOW TO WRITE SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL by Michael Hauge because it starts with the basics and lays out proper story construction. It’s an easier book to get a grasp on and is great for beginners.

Screenwriting Tips

Article by Sam Tinky

Learning how to write a screenplay is not the same as writing an article for your local newspaper or even like writing a normal fiction book. While many of the same skills are required, things must be done in a particular way or your screenplay will never see the light of day. Here are some tips and tricks, as well as a recommendation on how to get started, so you can begin writing your screenplay today.

A screenplay is built as much as it is written. The parts are written and then put together to form a completed project. The first thing to decide is what genre your movie will fall into. Then you develop your concept and build conflict into it. Movies are driven by conflicts in one way or another. A movie without a conflict will not be able to hold an audiences attention for very long. Once you have your concept and conflict you will build your characters to fit within the story. Next you build scenes from intro to conclusion and create dialogue within the scenes for your characters.

There are particular formats that you have to follow. Often you will only have one shot with a producer so you need to make sure your production is not thrown out just because you didn’t format it correctly. The margins, dialogue and page numbering has to fit certain criteria. That is why most people follow the advice in the next paragraph. It takes care of everything in the formatting department for you, so all you have to do is concentrate on writing the best story that you can.

Probably the best thing you can do, especially if this is your first attempt, is find a good software package that can guide you through the entire process. There are many software packages available, from free to very expensive so make sure you read exactly what each one offers. If you don’t need the one with the most bells and whistles then there is no need to pay the extra money for the top of the line. You can use the money you save to market your finished script.

The final piece of advice I can offer is don’t wait to get started. If you want to write a movie then get started today. There is no profit in procrastination. It doesn’t even matter if your first one isn’t very good. You will get better as you write more, and you can always go back and fix things that you don’t like when you edit your finished product.

Screenwriting Tips

Article by David W. Brown

Bitten by the Hollywood bug? Think you have an idea for the next number-one hit TV script? Wonder how to write a video script? All writing begins with the basics, including screenplay writing. If you’re wondering how to write a screenplay, then you should know that WhiteSmoke English writing software will help you with the most important part: the writing!

Many people have a great idea, then wonder how to write a great script using that idea. If you are thinking of selling your screenplay, it will need to be written in the best English. One thing for sure, the way not to write a screenplay is to leave it full of errors! WhiteSmoke writing enhancement features, including its synonym finder, dictionary, grammar check, and spelling check can help you present your ideas in your best English. A screenplay has unique features when compared to other forms of writing. The features require special formats, depending on whether the script is a movie script or a TV script. A screenplay is written with acts and scenes, like a play. Each scene has a brief but detailed description of the setting, including time of day, location, season of the year, who is present, even where the camera is focused. Each act is a collection of scenes that tell a significant part of the story.

Movies are often divided into one, three or five acts. The first act introduces the main characters and their lives. A one act is a short film script, and everything happens in that one act. It is usually set in one location, or at most a limited number of locations. Short films and most TV scripts have a smaller number of characters and fewer complications.If there are more than one act, the acts between the first and last provide complications and difficulties that the main characters overcome–or don’t. Usually, these grow in significance until it appears that all is lost. Then the main character of a movie script usually finds a solution.

In a comedy, the complications are usually funny or poignant. In a drama, they usually create tension and difficulty. A tragedy leads toward an unhappy end, so the complications and difficulties usually cannot be overcome in the end, or overcoming them leads to bad results. If you want to know how to write a horror script, think of each complication as a growing terror, a dark surprise lurking in each scene, each horror movie scene usually eliminating at least a minor character and increasing the fear of the remaining characters.The last act of almost every movie “wraps up the story,” making sure all loose ends are explained and the main characters accounted for. In tragedies or horror movies, the main characters might have died. In comedies, they often marry each other.

An experienced screenwriter may switch around the order of these acts–starting in the middle of a complication, or at the end, for instance. However, the main elements remain. Experienced screenwriters also know the importance of using spell checking software, grammar software, a thesaurus, and a dictionary. They like respected others to check their work and suggest language enhancements. WhiteSmoke English writing software includes all of these features in one package. Use it to improve your screenplay writing. If one or more of your characters will be using words from a language other than English, you should also check out WhiteSmoke translation dictionaries.

Movie and TV scripts have special formats and unique requirements. Be sure to consult with an authoritative reference so that you use the correct format. A script must also be perfect in its grammar and spelling. WhiteSmoke grammar check and spell check will assure your film script find success on its way to Hollywood!

WhiteSmoke is online at http://www.whitesmoke.com

Screenwriting Tips

Article by Chamberlane Altatis

You might have been watching a lot of movies and now you wanted to write a story and create your own movie too. For you to do so, you must learn then the Steps on how to write a screenplay:

How to Write a Screenplay Step 1 – Think of A New Story

No matter how good your story is if you just totally adapted it, viewers who know where you got the idea will not be impressed. I admit it’s hard to think a new and unique story today since there were so many stories that were already written. However, I believe you can still be crazy and think of new things. You may adapt a bit from other movies, taking them as inspiration but be sure to put your personal touch on it.

To help you think of those good and interesting ideas, just try to look around you. Be a very observant with what’s going on with people and environment today. When people are talking to each other, try to listen to what they are talking about. You’ll never know you’ll be able to make a good story from those things. Or remember those experiences you had. You know experiences are good basis for a story since they happened in a real life situation. You surely can do it! Since it is a movie, you have the opportunity to invent your own universe may it be a fantasy or real life scenarios. Your imagination is just the limit of what you can write.

In these step, you can already create a title. Just make it catchy.If you still don’t have a title in mind, that’s alright. You can create one later on anyway. Just proceed to the next step.

How to Write a Screenplay Step 2 – Write Your Logline

A logline is a single sentence that describes what your story is all about. This will give focus and drive to where your story will be going. We can say that it is your road map for your story journey. It should be derived from emotions such as love, anger, hatred, whatever. Moreover, it should also revolve around the three C’s – character, conflict, and conclusion.

Let me give you an example of a logline:

"A former leader of a gangster becomes a teacher because of his passion, taming his very naughty students."

If you watched the cartoon movie "Great Teacher Onizuka," this can be the logline that I can make for it.

How to Write a Screenplay Step 3 – Develop Your Character

The next thing to do is to develop your characters. Just list them down with their names, roles, and their personalities in the story. Write also if who is your protagonist and your antagonist and all those supporting characters.

How to Write a Screenplay 4 – Create The Story with Dialogues

You now have a logline and characters so it’s now time to write your story. In writing your story, be guided with the three-act structure:

1. Act 1 – character and conflict is introduced.

2. Act 2 – conflict deepens until it reaches the climax.

3. Act 3 – conflict resolves and leads to a conclusion.

Since you are writing for a movie. learn also to write visually:

1. Express external behaviors through dialogue or physical actions.

2. Show what is happening instead of telling it.

3. Character behaviors, time, place, and mood of a scene are described in the script stage directions.

4. Stage directions are with action verbs in present tense.

5. Don’t overload your stage directions with extraneous details such as camera angles, scene colors etc. (that’s the job of the director and cinematographer).

6. Don’t over-describe the personalities of the characters.

7. Stick to the details that have visual equivalents

How to Write a Screenplay Step 4 – Write the Story in a Screenplay Format

After making the logline, developing the character, and creating the story and dialogues, it’s now time to write those things in a screenplay format. You must then learn the format for a screenplay.

Alright, those are the ways on how to write a screenplay. I guess you’re now ready to write one.

If you need more reference, you can also grab some ebooks about screenwriting.

Screenwriting Tips

“Modern Family” co-stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Eric Stonestreet open the 2011 WGA Awards west coast show with the musical number “Write it Gay” (lyrics by Spencer Green, Guy Nicolucci, and Gary Stockdale; music arranged and directed by Gary Stockdale, from the song “Make ‘Em Laugh,” music by Nacio Herb Brown and original lyrics by Arthur Freed). Co-hosted by Ferguson & Stonestreet, the WGA Awards west coast show was held on February 5, 2011 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. To see the complete list of 2011 WGA Award winners, go to WGA.org.