Writers inside tips on how to write a screenplay

Almost everyone thinks they know how to write a screenplay. Weve all heard someone watching TV saying I could write better script than that!
The truth is that just about everyone does have a story worth telling. Unfortunately most do NOT know how to write a screenplay. Most professional artists are very particular about their tools. The screenplay writer is no different. The key to writing is being organized. Before even writing a single word, you must have an inner road map that your characters are going to follow.

If you are writing a novel, you CAN take the time to ramble and develop your descriptive talents. A screenwriter cannot!

Just like any muscle, the writing muscle has to be exercised on a regular basis. The simple process of sitting in front of a computer for set periods of time is critical in training the subconscious that THIS time is when you are going to call on your creativity. In order to learn how to write a screenplay you have to understand STRUCTURE. Unlike a novelist, you do not have the luxury of allowing your script to develop into 300 plus pages. It will not get read if it does not conform to an industry standard of around 110 pages.

The structure of most contemporary screenplays: 1) Establish the character and general situation, 2) force them up a tree and throw rocks at him and 3) get the hero down again.

Firstly, you get the audience to know something about the character and his situation. Secondly, a situation must be created that goes against your characters comfort zone. He must have a nemesis trying to destroy everything he stands for. This bad guy takes pleasure putting your hero up that tree and making it as uncomfortable as possible. Thirdly, our hero needs to overcome all odds and payoff' the bad guy. If it really is that simple, then why isnt everyone a screenwriter? The answer is they really do not know how to write a screenplay.

So let us say that you have a clear idea of what your three acts are going to be. Well now you begin to develop the characters. They have to play off each other and either support or destroy our main character. Any time the characters are neutral, the screenplay is dead. Just remember: conflict equals drama. No conflict, no drama.

So how do you go about becoming a screenwriter? Like the road to Carnegie Hall - you practice! Each day you become sharper in your telling of the story. Each day you improve your writing skills. Each day you look back and see how far you have come.

So how does your screenplay rise above the sea of scripts waiting to be read? Follow up! It isn't because your script isn't good that it hasn't been read and responded to. That is the very last consideration. Any producer that is worth his salt has a groaning desk of submissions. Yours is simply ONE of those. So follow up - but politely. It may well be the most important thing in your life but to any producer it simply just ANOTHER screenplay. There are a million legitimate reasons why Hollywood should not immediately fall at your feet but YOU are going to overcome this. If you do not believe this, then do not even attempt to learn how to write a screenplay! If you DO believe in yourself, then hey why shouldnt you be the one that gets lucky?!

So yes, learning how to write a screenplay isnt so difficult. The difficult part comes AFTER you have written the screenplay.

Richard Patton - author and screenwriter shows how to write a screenplay and get paid for it. Find the writers Gold in Summer Acting Camps and what the best screenplay writing software is.

Becoming a Million Dollar Screenwriter

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.

© Gordon Meyer, all rights reserved

About the Author: Gordon Meyer is an optioned screenwriter and the creator, producer and host of The StoryMakers Studio, an ongoing series at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatres Complex in Hollywood which tells the story about how particular films got made through the eyes of the people who made them. Hollywood’s biggest, brightest actors, directors, writers and producers appear at the popular series – LIVE AND UNSCRIPTED.

His book “The Screenwriter’s Manifesto” explores the concept of the writer as an entrepreneur in detail and is available at http://www.screenwritersmanifesto.com/.

You are the Box Office Smash: The Personal Screenplay

Right this very second, in the heart of every struggling, undiscovered screenwriter, in the dark, hidden corner deep within, there is a voice, a clear whisper, saying one thing:

You're never gonna figure this out.

And this is not referring to the story with its gaping hole, the finale missing a payoff, the hit and miss humor, the flat title.

I’m talking about freedom. The freedom to work as a screenwriter. Compensation for a home for family and a life. The resources to wake up and ply your craft and pay the freight, without obstacle. The chance to see your writing made into pictures, to work with the industry’s best, to fulfill this goal of professional screenwriter. Hollywood success.

Behind this voice is the idea that somehow, some way, you’ll find the hero, or the hook, logline or pitch that will punch your golden ticket. If you could only figure out what the studio wants, if you can only get a solid bead to this game, you know you can write and execute. What is the script I should write to get an agent? What is the one that will sell? It’s not that I don’t know how to write, I know how to write screenplays, I just need to know what they want, even though I think I know what they want, but I don’t think I have the idea that they want. Yeah.

I'm not gonna figure this out, whispers the voice.

Why this uneasiness? Does it originate within ourselves? I don’t think so. But where does it come from? The daily obsession with box office grosses? The news of the seven figure deals to newbies? The endless procession of boneheadedly conceived franchises-in-waiting arriving in the theatres every Friday? People winning Academy Awards for movies you would not be caught dead writing? Recognizing an idea you came up with years ago on your couch, produced with a $130 million budget drowning in CGI?

All these things are but a few of the possible reasons why this seeds unhealthy doubt and confusion in the modern screenwriter. Tracking these forces outside us and beyond our control in an effort to trudge the path to a successful screenwriting career will prove to most to be unproductive and corrosive. Basically, trying to figure out what Hollywood wants will land us in a resentment that makes “giving up” a sane response to the very challenge which used to inspire us. In short, we cannot chase a perceived trend and remember our dreams.

You cannot look at the marketplace and find your voice. You can find ideas, trends, and inspiration there, perhaps, but you can find these things driving in traffic as well. But listening to your voice is the key to creating original, compelling stories.

Your life is your own story. You have a completely unique thread of experience. By allowing yourself to express these emotional experiences, your screenplay, your story, will be different from any other and powerful, as original as your fingerprint.

Why is it powerful? When we have the courage to be specific about what we know about living, we create an authentic world an audience recognizes as the life they are living on planet Earth. This connects your audience to your story. This connection is the foundation of the phenomena o

Why does story mean so much to us? We recognize the triumphs and tragedies of our lives, with all the hilarity and tears. By seeing it, we are validated and it underscores meaning and purpose to living.

If we don’t use what we’ve collected in life in our hearts and spirits, then our story loses its authenticity and the connection the audience should make fails. They do not see themselves, and when they leave the theater, they do not call their friends. When people do not call their friends after seeing a movie, the movie bombs.

When a writer opens their person to their work, when they allow themselves to be vulnerable, to risk exposure of the secrets of their life story, they take a huge step towards creating a screenplay of substantial value, a screenplay with a greater potential of a large number of tickets sold.

This is precisely why art and commerce have remained bedfellows for thousands of years. To look at the relationship between art and commerce as adversarial or incompatible is just plain foolish. Art happens when people invest their spirits in their work without fear, and story is artful when the writing is truthful and the writer is authentic.

And what do we have to be honest about? We can only lie about what we know, and we can only tell the truth about what we know. And that is what has happened to us, our life story. This is what we share.

This is not a pitch to write “what you know.” This is not about writing stories about where you work or where you live. This is about writing about what you felt. You can imagine characters and worlds and actions and speech you’ve never personally experienced, but if you remember to infuse your choices with your emotional and spiritual struggles and victories as a human being, your screenplay will be different in the very best sense of the word.

The question you have to answer is not what does Hollywood want today. The question is how honest of a writer do you want to be. I guarantee you can write a blockbuster, you can write a box office hit. This will happen when you find an audience. And the correct path to this crowd of people is listening to yourself. If you practice, you will develop an inner ear for who you are and what you know and you will become masterful in loading your work with your fingerprints. Writing is personal work. You are the guitar. You are the box of paint. Give of that and your audience will remember why life is good and they will talk of you.

About the Author
Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival for LOVE LIZA, Gordy Hoffman wrote and directed three short films for Fox Searchlight in 2002. He made his feature directorial debut with his script, A COAT OF SNOW, which world premiered at the 2005 Locarno Intl Film Festival. A COAT OF SNOW made its North American Premiere at the Arclight in Hollywood, going on to screen at the Milan Film Festival and the historic George Eastman House. Recently, the movie won the 2006 Domani Vision Award at VisionFest, held at the Tribeca Cinemas in NY. A professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Gordy is the founder and judge of the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. In addition, Gordy acts as a script consultant for screenwriters, offering personalized feedback on their scripts through his consultation service, www.screenplaynotes.com. For more articles written by Gordy Hoffman on screenwriting, visit www.bluecatscreenplay.com.

Professional Screenplay Formatting Tips

As the number of screenwriters increases around the world, literary agents, screenwriting contests and film and TV productions companies are bombarded with more and more material. To make matters worse, tens of thousands of new media graduates enter the fray every year. The sheer number of specs flying around the industry is simply overwhelming. The Writer’s Guild of America gets 50,000 new registrations a year alone!

Now some of this material is good. Most of it, though, is not. And unfortunately that overwhelming majority of scripts that are poorly formatted, poorly written, way too long or just downright amateur has created a generation of angry and jaded professional readers.

Now you might say, “What do I care what some lowly reader working a desk in the bowels of CAA’s dream-making machine thinks of my masterpiece!? He’s just a reader!”

Well you better care, because that kid is the gatekeeper to your future, and if you don’t make him or her happy - and confident that your are indeed a professional quality screenwriter - the minute they lay eyes on your script, you’ve already lost half the battle.

Don’t believe me? Okay, look at it this way... It is a well known fact that at every agency and production company there are three piles of scripts.

Pile “A”: Screenwriters they personal know and have respectable credits (not some short film or that ‘feature’ you made with your mates). We’re talking ‘Sold’ writers here.

Pile “B”: Screenwriters recommend by other agencies, lawyers or companies.

Pile “C”: General submissions from people they don’t know - AKA YOU!

The A-Pile usually gets read quickly by someone with power and experience. Often the agent / producer herself.

The B-Pile is read by the agent’s top assistant or a junior partner / creative executive at the firm.

The C-Pile is usually read by an intern, office boy, or fresh out of film school, wet behind the ears newbie.

Now don’t despair. That office boy may have no power, but what he does have is a burning desire to find that diamond in the rough (your script!) and thus move his way up.

So what can you do to impress this kid? Good question. Let’s ask one:

I feel the need.... the need for speed!

Damn straight I do. I’m a reader you see. I’m a 22 year-old gal in Hollywood who just got off work on Friday... But before I can let my overworked, underpaid self really cut loose and enjoy the weekend, I’ve got to read freaking 5 scripts AND have coverage of them ready for Monday’s afternoon story meeting!

Yeah, yeah, I can read them by the pool, but when I reach into my beach bag and pull out some yahoo’s 125 page rom-com, my heart sinks. My first instinct is to simply chuck it in the deep end, but since it’s my job, I’ll at least read enough to fake the coverage later with a big ole PASS / PASS on both script and writer.

Now for you boys and girls who don’t know what PASS means... this isn’t high school. PASS is not a good thing. PASS means... FAIL. As in you failed to impress me, I’ve duly logged such in our database (which we share with most of the other agencies in the business), and my company will most likely never read anything from you ever again. Certainly not this script, no matter how many times you tell us you’ve ‘re-worked’ it.

Just remember scripts are like movies. Funny how that works, huh? They should be read in a single sitting. Furthermore, reading them should be fun and entertaining. And there’s nothing entertaining about a 125 page script that takes 3 hours to read!

Ideally your screenplay should have that young gal frantically flipping pages, as she blindly paws for her mohito, she is so engrossed. And what makes readers engrossed? All together now... SPEED. Pure unadulterated speed!

Summary: Essential proof-reading and formatting tips for Screenwriters who want to sell their scripts to production companies or land an Agent.

About Author: Anthony James is a professional feature film screenwriter living in Los Angeles and London. He has sold seven screenplays and specializes in helping new writers with screenplay formatting, proof-reading and copyrighting their screenplays. To find out more about screenwriting like a pro and proper screenplay printing please visit www.Hollywoodscriptexpress.com.

How Do I Become a Television Writer? Part 2

While there is no one ‘right’ way to learn to be a TV writer, many start out by watching enormous amounts of episodes of the ‘type’ or ‘genre’ of show they would like to write for. They break the stories apart structurally to learn what makes an effective story. They analyze dialogue and the characters voices so as to be able to write ‘in voice’ of the characters on a show.

There are many books available that give a good fundamental background to television writing. Two that I recommend are 'Writing TV Sitcoms' by Evan Smith and 'Successful Television Writing' by Lee Goldberg. By watching shows and writing the scenes down on index cards, an aspiring TV writer will slowly learn the fundamental parts of the structure of the shows they want to write for. Taking classes is another way to learn. Whether attending top writing programs at schools such as NYU, USC or UCLA or local programs or seminars held by industry professionals, the key to success is to keep writing. The more you write the better you become.

The Tools

While using a typewriter and paper or a word processing program such as Microsoft Word can be used to write a television episode, these days most writers use dedicated screen and television writing software. These programs automatically format your script into an industry accepted format that producers and other writers are used to seeing. All the books mentioned above give examples of proper script format and it is highly advised to purchase at least a few TV scripts to familiarize yourself with the format and its specifics. Some of the more popular screenwriting software includes Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter. Other ‘plug-in’ formatting options are available to use along Microsoft word and other program but they don’t provide the sophistication, flexibility or compatibility that the major programs provide. All working television writers use professional formatting software, usually one of the two mentioned.

How to get work as a television writer.

So you’ve put your dues in. You’ve written script after script, learned story structure and dialogue and the words and story flow off your page gripping the reader without a boring or slow spot to be found. How do you now get work as a television writer? The short answer is…it’s not easy, but it’s possible. Typically, a working television writer has an agent or manager that helps him meet the working professionals in the industry and shows his ‘spec scripts’ to the hiring producers.

In order to get an agent interested you’ll need a minimum of two, but preferably more ‘spec scripts’. These scripts should be the very best writing you can do and be of existing shows that are viewed as the most popular and most respected out on television at the time. You don’t want to do a spec script of an outdated or off the air show because producers are not interested in seeing anything but the shows that are at the top of the game at the moment. At the same time you often don’t want to write an episode of a particular show with hopes of writing for that show. Chances are it will never happen.

First off all many shows have policies that they will not accept submissions of episodes of their own show. This is because first, for legal reasons they don’t want someone to claim that they stole the idea for an episode in case they happen to already be working on something similar and secondly…as much as you might think you wrote a perfect or great episode of that particular show…the Show runners…who created the show in the first place know the show better. No matter how great you think yours is, they will always think they are a step ahead of you and set impossible levels of achievement to an episode of their show.

Instead you should be thinking of creating a portfolio of spec scripts that are of a similar type but a different show. For instance, let’s say you are interested in writing sitcoms. Write a few spec scripts of some of the top sitcoms out at a particular time. Most likely if you do get an agent or manager you will be meeting to work on a brand new ‘lower’ show when you are starting out and not a top show. The writers on top shows are usually very experiences and have been around for years putting their dues in. You need to work your way up to that. Landing a job on an off-network show and getting experience is what it’s about at first.

How do I get representation?

So how do you get an agent to have your work shown? There is no simple answer to this. There are many ways people have gotten agents and managers that have launched their careers. Some people know a great contact. Others enter and win contests for screenwriters. Others write query letters asking for representation. Still others come up with their own creative ways to convince an agent that they are able to make money for them as a writer and get themselves represented. Often you will have to start at a smaller agency and as you become more successful you will move up to a larger more established agency. There is no magic to it. It’s hard work, perseverance and a little luck.

Conclusion

Pursuing a career as a television writer can have many rewards. You can make fantastic money, work with interesting, creative people and create worlds and characters that may resonate with millions of potential viewers. The journey is long and hard but if you are one that truly craves to pursue your dream, it can be worth that long route. Always keep in mind that true talent raises to the top eventually. As those that have inspired me have insisted I remember when pursuing my own dreams. Never give up. Never ever give up…and you will succeed.

With Degrees in Film, Real Estate Finance and Development as well as a PhD in Psychology, Robert Levin writes expert articles covering a broad range of issues. Some of his websites include: http://www.toptenmba.com, http://www.MBAonline.me, http://www.lawdegree.me, http://www.topvirtualserver.com and http://www.TVwriter.me

How Do I Become a Television Writer? Part 1

You laugh at their jokes and love their characters. Jerry and Kramer. Lucy and Desi. Will and Grace. Week after week you sit and their lives become part of yours. When they laugh, you laugh. When they cry, you cry. And when they fall in love, you fall in love.

You’ve fallen under the spell of the television writer and the shows they create. Over the generations, millions of Americans have included their favorite shows as a staple part of their weekly routine. The stars that we create from the actors and actresses in these shows become part of American popular culture. But who creates these characters? Who comes up with these stories? Who are the people that think up the situations and write those crisp lines of dialogue that become etched in our collective psyche? The answer is the television writer.

Except for the few awards shows such as the Emmys or People’s Choice Awards, we never see these writers in public. Like the wizard behind the curtain in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ they go to work day after day, creating the entertainment we love. But how exactly do they do it? What exactly is the process involved and more importantly for some that crave to see their own words on screen…how does one become a TV writer?

Writing a television show is not an easy process. While there are variations from show to show, typically a group of writers has the work shared among them with greater responsibility, title and compensation the further up the chain of command on the writing staff that you go.

Writer Positions

Typically a writer is responsible for one or more episodes that he is assigned to write. A show runner, who is usually the head writer overseas this staff and splits the required episodes up among his writing staff. The show runner is responsible for a number of things. Chief among these is overseeing the show’s story ‘arc’ or how the various shows will come together to move the show in a direction during the season. The Show runner is also responsible for the overall quality of the writing in the individual episodes in a show and is often either the creator of the show or someone that has mastered the ‘voices’ of the characters and the show’s concept and able to guide the other writers to a finished product that is worthy of the show to the public.

As a staff writer, you are given a salary to write ‘on staff’ and are usually responsible for specific episodes that you are writing and in charge of. As part of the staff however, you are also expected to read the other writer’s material and brainstorm for ways to make them better, to improve dialogue and to contribute to the overall material of the show.

Often a show will bring in one or more freelance writers to work on episodes that the staff does not have time work on or on a particular idea that the Show runner likes. While not on ‘staff’, they usually do not give input to other episodes and are responsible for their particular episode only. A freelance assignment however is a precursor often to being invited to write full time on staff on a show. Many staff writers and Show runners started off their careers writing as an assignment or freelance writer.

It goes without saying that working on a top show can be a rewarding, exciting and lucrative career. But how does one learn to be a television writer? What is involved? Where can you go to learn and what tools are either necessary or useful to have?

With Degrees in Film, Real Estate Finance and Development as well as a PhD in Psychology, Robert Levin writes expert articles covering a broad range of issues. Some of his websites include: http://www.toptenmba.com, http://www.MBAonline.me, http://www.lawdegree.me, http://www.topvirtualserver.com and http://www.TVwriter.me

Writing Hot Scripts You Can Shoot Indie Style

By Sid Kali

When I first got into screenwriting I was told to read Aristotle's Poetics, Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434, and host of other books by brilliant people that I devoured religiously. I was a regular at screenwriting workshops, took classes, and felt very much the screenwriter despite not having wrote any part of a script. It's like a fighter that always trains, but never gets in the ring to go to war. In theory I knew what to do. In practice I was unproven. It's like you really never know if you can take a punch until you've been clipped on the chin.
My mind was clogged thinking about three act structures, plot points, paradigms, story arch, and writing detailed biographies for characters. Writing a script was much more involved than just sitting at your computer typing fade in, then fade out. But I was fired up to a write a script that was high concept, smart, and followed all the advice I had taken in.



I scanned the trades trying to predict the next big trend in Hollywood, I read newspapers looking for great story ideas, and watched movies in the hopes of coming up with the next "insert popular movie" meets "insert popular movie" or something like "it's just like Titanic, but it happens in space aboard a shuttle". Then it happened, I found my story idea. There was an article years back in Variety or The Hollywood Reporter that buddy movies were hot. The formula made money hand over fist. Look at Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the Rush Hour franchise. There it was, I would write a high concept buddy flick with action, smart one liners, and punchy dialogue.

I pored over all the notes I had ever taken on writing a script to get ready to write a buddy movie. It took me a long year to finally finish the script for my dash to buddy movie cash. Turns out I had spent way too much time going back to look at my notes on how to write a script instead of just writing one. I was holding on way too tight to the rules and not letting it flow. Then it came together two fold.

First, I was originally inspired to write and direct by watching film noir classics like Little Caesar, Public Enemy, and Angels With Dirty Faces. Then I got hooked on up to date urban crime dramas like Menace II Society, The Departed, Hustle & Flow, King Of New York, Reservoir Dogs, City of Industry, Sexy Beast, State Property, Rosario Tijeras, Training Day, Goodfellas, and Man On Fire. And here I was forcing myself to write a buddy flick coming out of the gate . When at this point in my creative life I really wanted to write and direct hard-hitting urban crime films that featured corrupt and cynical characters in plots with strong subject matters. That's where my heart was at.

Second, I realized I was using all the things I had learned as a crutch. Syd Field and Lew Hunter are amazing masters of screenwriting, but they're not going to write my script for me. What's hot today in Hollywood isn't hot tomorrow. You can't waste time chasing trends. When all this hit me I decided I was going to write the script that told the story I really wanted to share with audiences. It wasn't about seeking fame or fortune anymore. It was about writing because you have a story you feel you need to tell.

The next logical step I saw was to write a script I could direct and shoot on an independent film budget. I wrote the script for Consignment which would become my directorial debut. The spirit of independent film making came together. The cool thing for me was being able to give a Latino and Black perspective of the events that were going to unfold in the film. This worked because I am Southern California based and Co-Producer/Editor Tim Beachum brought elements from the East Coast having lived in Ohio, Detroit, and finally Virginia Beach. Consignment a Sid Kali film deals with the drug trade that thrives at the street level. This fast-paced urban movie erupts into 14 on screen murders. The script was written for viewers that want realistic stories, talent, and action that expands the overall style of the urban genre.

Consignment a Sid Kali film is being released by Maverick Entertainment Group, Inc. under their Urban Label on November 13, 2007. This hard-hitting urban drama is very different from the buddy movie that started the journey, but that earlier experience made this possible.

Consignment has been followed up with the stylish gangster film In With Thieves a Sid Kali film. It's the intense story of a Cuban cartel that practices their own version of Santeria, an African based crime group that deals in blood diamonds, ruthless Albanian gangsters, and a tough American burglary crew that all collide violently after a 5 million dollar diamond rip-off. We've recently completed post-production for In With Thieves. The script idea was researched to make sure all the elements included were authentic and played realistic.

Right now the focus is to continue shooting urban movies and to work with a diverse cross section of actors that are not afraid to take on roles that deal with strong subject matters. I've completed two more scripts in this genre titled Stash Spot and Meth City.

The current writing focus could change. It all depends on which way the creative wind takes you. Look at how diverse a film maker Robert Rodriguez is. He broke out writing a script he planned to shoot himself on an independent budget. That script was El Mariachi. Now he is able to keep doing edgy films like Grindhouse and family franchise films like Spy Kids. Amazing. Do what moves you.

Just My Two Cents For What It's Worth And It Might Not Be Worth Anything

I'm just wanted to share some things I've experienced writing scripts geared towards being shot as independent projects. This won't help you if you want to write a script to pitch to major Hollywood Producers, Studios, or Agents. It's targeted to those who have to write a script based on the resources they have to get through an entire film shoot. This is not an easy task because most movie viewers are used to splashy Hollywood movies with great visual effects, intense car chase scenes, explosions, and wild shoot outs. Take the killer movie Heat with Al Pacino and Val Kilmer. In my opinion the bank shoot out was one of the most amazing scenes ever captured on film. There is no way many of us indie film makers could have written that scene into one of our scripts.

Not because we couldn't have come up with the idea or wouldn't love to include an action packed scene like that in a movie, but the harsh reality is we could not afford to shut down a major street, have access to a bank, afford a ton of extras and cast running around, the expense of having squibs go off when people were shot and list too long to cover. Consignment did not have the kind of budget that would allow me to write in a scene like that.

Michael Mann who wrote and directed Heat is a great film maker that truly maximized the resources he had at his disposal. That scene was a masterpiece. You have to do the same with your script just on a smaller level. If you don't have access to a helicopter for a daring rescue attempt why write it into your script? If you can't get a picturesque mansion as a location don't set your story in a mansion. If you want to make a biker movie and don't know any bikers you're going to run into problems.

Common sense dictates what elements you put into your script. When you write it helps to keep in mind the resources you know you have access to.

Disclaimer To Only Writing What You Can Shoot On An Independent Budget

I am addicted to screenwriting. I am self-confessed junkie to the craft of storytelling. It feels pretty good to have stopped training to fight and gotten my nose bloody making two independent films. Will I ever write scripts with no budget in mind and pitch them to Hollywood players? You bet my friend. I'm writing a psychological thriller in the spirit of Fatal Attraction, but with a darker slant on infidelity that I plan on pitching solely as a literary property with zero intention of seeing it done as an indie or direct to video title.

Thanks for taking the time to let me use this article as a forum to share with you. I hope everyone out there grinding it out to write and direct films finds success on some level. At the very least the satisfaction that you know you're in the mix giving it your all. Good luck and fight the good fight

Script Writing Format and its Elements

A screenplay or script is a blueprint for creating a motion image. It can be modified from a previous work. For example—from a short story, play, novel or it could be from an original work in and of itself.

Most screenplays are anticipated to be written in 12 point Courier or Courier New typeface, devoid of bolding or italicizing. This section depicts the elements used to develop a screenplay.

Title page—

Since a title page is the first indication to a producer that you are either professional or an amateur, so make sure that your screenplay is quite gripping type.

Title should be highlighted, either by underline or by quotation marks.

In the bottom of it, put contact information and any copyright information.

Transitions--

Transitions are short descriptions illustrating how the film will move from one scene to the next.

The only time to employ Transition is if it is vital to tell a story. For example—
You can use Time Cut to specify the passage of time.

Dissolve to indicate that time has passed.

You can make use of Match Cut if you want to demonstrate that there is some association between something we just view and something in the new scene.

Scene headings--

Scene headings or slug lines mark out the commencement of a new scene in a screenplay.

If the scene is exterior, it begins with "EXT" and if the scene takes place indoor, than "INT."

When pursuing this descriptor, the name of the location of the scene should be materialized in caps.

This is than followed by a space, a hyphen, another space, and then the time of day.

Scene headings should have a margin of 1.5 inches from the left, 1 inch from the right.

Page breaks--

When a paragraph of action or dialogue is split up across the pages, the break is supposed to come among the sentences and not previous to the second line of the paragraph.

Action--

It represents what can be observed on the screen and is always in a present tense

Dialogue--

In screenwriting, whenever a character verbalizes, it is dialogue, even if it is a monologue.

Parenthetical--

Parenthetical is used as an ongoing notation. If the same character keeps on speaking, this notation can be used.

It should be short, eloquent, to the point, and used only when it is extremely required.

Source: http://www.itmatchonline.com/

Writing A Comedy Screenplay

Isn’t it funny how the court jester has become the superhero of the entertainment world. Yes, the comedian, the funny man, has surpassed the movie star or rock musician in the popularity league. Think of the likes of John Cleese, Steve Martin or Woody Allen and you are seeing writer/actors that people aspire to be. A far cry from the local fool or village idiot.
So what drives people to comedy? Many comedians have told of how, as youngsters, they used comedy to defuse potentially violent encounters. But surely not all comedy geniuses sprang from the ranks of the bullied. To my mind the comedy impulse operates on a much simpler basis, the need to be liked. We court popularity by giving people the safe, non-addictive, drug of laughter.

But that’s not what this article is about, it’s about writing comedy screenplays, which is a much harder proposition than writing gags. You’ll note that the three stalwarts named above gained their greatest honours with movies. They may have started out as gag writers, but ultimately the glittering prizes only come via the silver screen. Having said that I would encourage any novice screenwriter contemplating a screenplay to master the short form first.

The relationship between a gag or joke and a full length screenplay is a strange one. I personally like the Monty Python methodology of stringing sketches along a comedic plotline, but a character telling a joke does not make your movie a comedy. The comedy must from the start be in your basic plot. Around your daft situation your characters can become involved in humorous situations and say funny things, as long as they are moving the plot forward. A useful rule of thumb which I learned when writing sit-coms was that there were only three reasons for a line of dialogue to be in a comedy script. One, to move the plot forward; two, the set up line for a joke; and three, the punchline to a joke. Everything else is waffle and should be stripped out.

It is possible to take a favourite joke and mould it into your character’s plotline, but you must ensure that the joints don’t show. Does the situation fit in with the rest of the narrative? Would your character utter that punchline? Comedy is not a one-size fits all scenario.

Take for instance this joke – A guy gets on a plane and finds himself sitting next to a beautiful woman. He strikes up a conversation and the woman tells him that she is a sex researcher. He is fascinated and asks her what she is researching. “I’m looking into sexual myths,” she says, “For instance it’s believed that black men have the largest appendages of any race, whereas it’s the native Americans who can claim that honour.” “Really,” he says. “Yes, and Italian men have a reputation as the world’s greatest lovers, whereas it is actually Jewish men who are the most amorous. My name’s Julie Crawford by the way, and you are …” He takes her proferred hand and replies without a blink, “Tonto Cohen.”

Sorry if you’ve heard that one before, but the point I’m trying to make is that John Cleese couldn’t use that line because it doesn’t fit his screen persona, but it seems almost specifically written for Woody Allen’s sexual neurotic. In previous articles I’ve told how I write comedy sketches. Take a ridiculous situation and keep writing till you hit a punchline. Then go back and prune out the extraneous material. This method wouldn’t work for an entire screenplay but would work if you regard the entirety of a 90 minute movie as consisting of 30 scenes or sketches. Your problem would be in keeping your sketches within the limits of your plot. And remember, not only must your screenplay have a beginning, a middle and an end, but each sketch must have the same.

For me there’s a greater satisfaction in writing comedy material than any other and I’ve tried most. Try it yourself, but remember that the competition is brutal.

Run titles.

For more help on writing go to Resources & Training For Writers

How do you achieve Success as a screenwriter based at home?

Screen writing is a very completive branch of writing and it can easily be done at the comfort of your home. To distinguish yourself as a prize- winning screenwriter, you will need to master great organizational skills, be uniquely creative and learn the best ways to present your final product to the buying studios. There are many techniques for screen writing. These are;

Organization Any one person who masters organization in their writing tasks is on their way to becoming the master screenwriter. In fact, they are on their way to producing an award winning stellar screenplay. Organization is the key technique in screen writing. Before you start on your screen play, you should ask yourself the following questions; a) Does my script have a clear start, middle and the end? b) Does the story make any sense

The above questions may seem to be basic, yet many a screenwriters grapple with organizational problems that they don’t seem to know how to resolve. There are four organizational methods which any screenwriter can apply so as to succeed. These are, outlines, treatments, index cards and scene lists. All these tools are highly effective and all a screenwriter need, is to be discreet in deciding which organizational method best suits their situations.

Making your play captivating and interesting. Any type of Writing is a process. All the most successful screenwriters take creative risks. Otherwise, without an interesting story even the most organized screenplay play will not get a market. A professional screenwriter should never copy another writer’s style, rather they should exercise their own imagination and experiment with various ways of telling and making the story.

When submitting your finished script, do it like a professional.

Once you are through with writing your interesting and well-organized screenplay, you will need to submit your script neatly and according to the receiving studio standards.

Below are the general guidelines to follow: ? A feature length screenplay should be longer than 95 pages and short than 125 pages when you submit it to the studio for consideration. ? Do not include character biography or synopsis with your script. This gives the studio editors with excuses not to review the whole screenplay. ? Scene numbers should never appear on the script until it is sold. Studio readers or editors view the numbers as distraction and use it to demote your script as amateurish. ? Studio readers prefer to receive scripts bound with circular metal brads. Use of folders and binders take up a lot of office space thus your script may end up being discarded by interns unintentionally during the normal cleans ups. ? Finally, the use any of the many available screenwriting programs in formatting your script will greatly aid in making your screenplay to given a consideration. These programs are such as Movie Magic Screenwriter, script wizard and others.

Think success and be a success It is always good, to take calculated risks with the plot and character development. Also ensure you follow the set studio standards for script submission. Strong writing skills development takes time to show themselves. A screen writer should have the willingness to learn new things all the times and should have perseverance capabilities. Writers who are always experimenting with new ideas and who constantly improve their writing skills always succeed.

By Freddy Ngiam, Founder & CEO of www.1homebusinesshub.com.