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ISBN: Print 978-1-64611-610-2 | eBook 978-1-64611-611-9
R0
To my students
in the School
of Cinema at
San Francisco
State University.
Contents
Screenwriting is an odd form of writing. It tries to communicate visually in ways that prose cannot. It speaks through movies and yet it hides itself behind them. The screenplay is the most important cog in the creative machine of film production, yet screenwriters often struggle to get the respect and remuneration they deserve. To be a screenwriter can be frustrating. Despite this, now is an exciting time to be a screenwriter. The media is changing, often in ways that are opening up possibilities for innovative writers to have their voices heard.
For my own part, I have been a screenwriter and a teacher of screenwriting for over 20 years. I have written independent features, produced documentaries, and written and edited academic studies of screenwriting as well as guides like this one. My own screenplays have won competitions and were finalists in many others. I frequently consult on independent screenplays, helping the writers develop their work toward production.
In my day job, I am on the faculty of the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University. I teach a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate cinema students who have a wide range of personal, professional, and creative goals. Happily, I love screenwriting, and I never cease to take great pleasure from helping my students and clients develop their scripts, whether they are mainstream genre movies or alternative, microbudget character dramas.
So, what about you? You might want to write the next Hollywood blockbuster or have secret ambitions to become an indie award show darling. Then again, maybe you want to write a very different kind of movieone that looks and feels avant-garde. Whatever your aspiration, professional screenwriting is a hard and competitive business. That, of course, is what makes it exhilarating.
Beyond the talk of fame, recognition, and awards that span across genres, there is the creative process. Dedication to this creative process is the only thing you can truly rely on. And the process is what you have come to this book looking to hone.
You came here to learn more about screenwriting, so lets start by asking one of the most important questions: Who are you writing for? The immediate and most important answer should be yourself . If you are deeply invested in your own writing, you are more likely to have the dedication to shepherd a screenplay from first draft to completionand through all the revisions that come with this enormous effort.
This book will help you understand what professional screenwriters do. The chapters here represent the rules or essential checkpoints youll need to consider as you craft your work. While guidelines are listed plainly and simply, the point is also to assess them criticallyto consider breaking or moving beyond them, when you have the confidence to do so.
This book has a simple goal: to get you through your first (or next) screenplay. The book will walk you through the basic elements of screenwriting while giving you the permission and freedom to follow the rules when they suit you and abandon some of them when they dont. The elements here apply to all filmsacross every genre and for every budgetbecause the emphasis here is on how to write the thing, not what you finally produce.
If you are just starting out, I suggest you work through the steps of screenwriting in the order presented in the book. I wrote them in this order because this is what I have seen work best for a large number of students and respected screenwriters; the chapters build upon one another in a logical and systematic way. Indeed, the structure of the book is in itself a kind of lesson about process that you can learn just from following it. Of course, if you have more experience, feel free to dip in and out and use what is valuable in the way you see fit.
We will discuss the standard creative practices you need to know to get started, with plenty of examples to guide you along the way.
Sage Spotlights call out successful rule followers; Breakout Stars showcase the ideas of those who have forged their own path. Chapters also contain an In the Writers Room exercise to deepen your understanding of the corresponding rule in the writing process. This is where you will put your ideas onto the page.
And so, as you build from one step to the next, youll lay the bones of your work and better understand the creative challenge in front of you. Even if you dont sell your screenplay outright, the quality of your writing can get you noticed. Quality matters. And after youve finished reading the book, I hope you will return to it as a resourcefor support when you wonder if you are doing the right thing, or for encouragement to redefine right altogether.
