Screenwriting - Where to Start!

I know so many people think that reading a book by the millions of authors out there is going to help. It might. Most of them are about the many fundamentals and how to craft your story toward a specific market. I've also read about people who self-taught by downloading scripts off the internet and watching the movie. Let me tell you, both are helpful tools in their own way. It depends on the script/movie and it depends on the book.

One book I highly recommend and encourage you to get, which helped me become self-taught, is the Screenwriter's Bible! https://www.amazon.com/Screenwriters-Complete-Writing-Formatting-Selling/dp/1935247212 It is worth every penny!

I used to download the scripts off the internet and sit down to watch the movie. The only problem with that is they've been professionally transcribed, meaning someone rewrote it to match the movie. Sure, that can be useful, but what does it teach you as a screenwriter? Not much. You can't see the improvisations by the director, producer, and most importantly the actors/actresses. Surely not every single thing can be written perfectly in a script nor will every last word be followed. This also may teach a screenwriter that nothing will be changed once their script is optioned. That is far from the truth! Some screenwriters sell their script to a producer and the producer hires a screenwriter to rewrite it. Once it's out of the screenwriter's hands, anything can happen. Don't assume your script is perfect, it likely doesn't perfectly match a vision someone in production may have. That doesn't mean that your a bad writer, not at all! It just means someone wanted something slightly or drastically different to happen somewhere in your story.

One last thing, the best way to learn is to apply the formatting within the Screenwriter's Bible and then submit, submit, submit to festivals! Pay extra for feedback! Festivals should have it in their regulations that they can't steal anything and the writer holds all rights to their work. If it doesn't say that, don't submit. You can join screenwriting groups online, where writers critique each other for free. Just be careful about copyrights and the potential that someone may very well steal your story. Be cautious!

If you'd like me to personally teach you how to write a screenplay, just send me a shout and we can go over the details.