How to Become a Screenwriter in Ten Easy Steps

February 26, 2008

Here’s a fun, quick list of things ten you need to do to become a screenwriter. Who knew it was so easy?

Watch a LOT of movies. Watch award winning movies, and watch B movies, made for television movies, old movies, new movies. Watch them all and pay attention to what works. What makes one film better than another? Was it something in the script or did the director do it?
Learn and memorize proper screenplay formatting. This is not optional. Most other items on this list are.
Read screenplays. Sounds kind of boring, but screenplays are very quick reads. You can get through a screenplay in about 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.
Write a treatment. Use this to test out your ideas. Once you’ve finished brainstorming or outlining a screenplay idea, draft a treatment and see how your idea pans out in prose. This will tell you if the concept works, and will be a useful reference for you while writing the screenplay itself, and later on, the presentation treatment.
Get some software. There’s plenty of screenwriting software out there. You could always use Word or some other regular word processing application, but why would you do that when there are plenty of software options that will save you hours of formatting? Those hours would be better spent on developing your characters and plot!
Use that software to write your screenplay! Make sure you read tons of books on screenwriting, and visit every screenwriting site on the Web. Study character and dialog, plot, and setting. Make it work, make it good, and get it written.
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 review your work carefully over and over again.
Get coverage. Coverage is when you have someone review and critique your screenplay, and this someone should be well versed in screenplays (as opposed to other types of writing). This also often involves the use of a form and it will rate different aspects of your script (character, plot), and include a log line, summary, and analysis.
Write the presentation treatment. You’ll use this to sell your screenplay, so make sure it’s tight. While you’re at it, come up with your 30-second elevator pitch and then practice that on everyone you know until it’s perfect. You’ll be ready when you run into Steven Spielberg on an escalator.
Start pitching. Once your screenplay is polished and shiny, start shopping it around. Note that you can actually shop around an idea for a screenplay using a treatment but it needs to be just as polished. Consider entering some screenwriting contests and reach out to agents. If you have any connections in Hollywood at all, call in a favor.

Next, all you have to do is get real lucky. And sell your screenplay.Congratulations! After all that, you’re now officially a screenwriter. Good job! And you did it all in ten easy steps. Impressive!

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Written by Melissa Donovan · Filed Under Screenwriting, Writing Tips

Where Do My Quotes Go?

February 25, 2008

Quotation Marks The placement of quotes is a conundrum to many people. Do they go inside or outside of the other punctuation marks, like periods and commas? Should they be used to set off titles or to emphasize certain words?

Dialog

She said, “I’m writing a book.”

“I’m working on it,” she whispered, “but it’s going to take awhile.”

Then she asked, “Are you going to write one too?”

When using quotes to depict dialog, the quotes go outside of the dialog’s punctuation. Also, dialog is almost always preceded by a comma (i.e. she said,). In formal documents, the comma may be replaced by a colon (i.e. she said:). The dialog itself should follow the rules of grammar, with the first letter of sentences capitalized, and the appropriate end punctuation (period, question mark, etc.) as well.

Using Quotes for Emphasis

I was wondering if her “book” was going to be any good.

Should you use quotes for emphasis? No. Absolutely not. It’s an amateur maneuver and you can only get away with it successfully if you’re a master. If you’re reading this, you’re probably not a master, so don’t use quotation marks in this manner. If you must emphasize a word, use italics or bold. Better yet, let the way you structure your sentence provide natural emphasis where needed. Never use quotes to emphasize words and phrases. Repeat that three times, then rinse.

Setting Off Titles

Most titles should be italicized. But in some cases, italics are not enough or quotation marks are more appropriate. Note that this is more a style issue than one for grammarians. For example, you might be referring to an article in a magazine. You don’t want to use italics to set off the name of the magazine and the title of the article. In this case, you’ll probably use italics for the name of the magazine, and put the article title in quotes. In fact, quotes are often used for the titles of shorter works: articles, features, chapter titles, short stories and essays, and individual selections in books.

British vs. American English

It’s interesting to note that British writing differs greatly in terms of quotation mark placement. In fact, a British quote looks like this:

She said, “I’m writing a book”.

This looks incredibly strange to me, and I’m quite surprised that I never knew about this difference until just a couple of months ago. It’s worth noting, however, and it’s also worth keeping in mind that different English speaking regions have different rules about grammar and punctuation. Good to know in this age of globalization.

Do you have any questions about where your quotes go? Leave a comment and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll dig it up for you!

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Written by Melissa Donovan · Filed Under Grammar

Eleven Buzzworthy Online Screenwriting Resources

February 24, 2008

Screenwriting Resources Online

If you’d like to explore the world of screenwriting without buying a book, take a look at some of these resources. I sought out a good mix of online resources for screenwriters, which can be used for film research, learning the craft of screenwriting, and getting familiar with what it’s like to be a professional screenwriter.

Internet Movie Database (IMDB): Your one stop shop for all things film. This is the go-to site for looking up movie titles, actors, directors, and of course, writers. There’s tons of trivia too, plus message boards, and this site comes in handy umpteen million ways for conducting research about the movie industry.
Simply Scripts: This is not the easiest site in the world to navigate, but you can find free copies of TV and movie scripts, so it’s a great resource for learning the format, and seeing what a real screenplay actually looks like.
Screenwriting for Hollywood: A relatively new blog that provides tips and insight to screenwriting and life in Hollywood when you’re trying to break in as a screenwriter. Also offers various screenwriting services such as coverage and consultations.
Wikipedia: You can look up anything on Wikipedia, including movie titles and screenwriters. I find that some articles on movies will address the writing process and include interesting trivia and great links. A lot of the film articles also provide insight about the difference between the original screenplay and the final product (i.e. cut scenes before and after filming).
United Hollywood: This blog was launched in order for the WGA writers to address the recent strike in a public forum, and it’s slated to continue addressing screenwriting and screenwriters even though the strike is over. A great place to learn about issues that affect screenwriters and get a sense of the screenwriting community.
Wordplayer: Promises screenwriting secrets from working screenwriters and includes a couple of forums for movies and screenwriting. The navigation isn’t that great (screenwriters don’t seem to be web design savvy), but if you check out the site map, you can find some useful screenwriting information and advice.
Creative Screenwriting: A magazine targeted toward screenwriters with mostly clips from the print magazine’s articles, but a good place to go to figure out if you’d like to subscribe to a useful screenwriting mag.
The Unknown Screenwriter: If you’re into screenwriting and you like blogs, you’ll want to subscribe. Tons of links and resources, insider tips, plus opinions from a writer whose identity remains unknown, but who seems to have considerable experience in the industry.
Screenwriting.info: This is more of an online book, which explains the entire process of screenwriting. Sub-titled “How to Write a Screenplay,” this gets more into the nitty gritty of screenwriting and will help familiarize you with some of the jargon that film makers use.
Writers Guild of America East and West: Once you become a screenwriter, you’ll be expected to join the guild, so you might want to start learning about it. This union helps writers stay organized and as we’ve recently seen, assists screenwriters in ensuring that they earn fair compensation for their work.
Syd Field: He’s the guru of screenwriting and he has his own web site, which includes free articles, online courses, and various products for screenwriters.