The Screenwriting Blog

I've mentioned before that I organize different writing groups, where screenwriters can get feedback for their projects and exchange ideas. I love these meetings because other than that, they also make me reflect on topics that screenwriters constantly struggle with. Last week, in one of those meetings, someone asked me if writers should enter screenplay competitions, so I thought about writing about it and maybe shed some light on this constant dilemma.  What are screenplay competitions? Essentially, any event or space where writers can submit a screenplay for judges to review and receive prizes. These prizes vary a lot from competition to competition, they can be cash, products, or other industry-related things such as getting the script produced or receiving professional feedback, they can also be trophies or decorations such as the Oscars. Competitions come in many shapes, there are film festivals that have a separate section for their competitions, but there are also individua...

You've heard this many times and no, I'm not about to tell you that this isn't true. Rewriting is an inherent part of writing, and it can be a very long process, endless even. Just like writing, rewriting should be planned carefully to ensure that the hours invested fructify. Work smart, instead of hard, with these rewriting tips.  1. Rewriting vs. editing. These are two related, but separate processes, and knowing the difference is key to making rewriting more efficient.  Rewriting entitles changing the core of the story, working on character and story development, structure, and dialogues, while editing is more of a correction process. Editing consists of fixing formatting errors, grammar and spelling mistakes, and amending scene headers, location, and character names.  Separating these processes and working on them one at a time will allow you to avoid distractions and get more of your rewrite done. As you rewrite, you can still correct minor errors and typos, as long ...

Substance over form. Many people (especially accountants) will agree with this statement and generally, I would too, however, when it comes to screenwriting, there is a very specific format that we need to use, a format used in the film industry that allows all production departments to understand and use the script for what it is: a tool for making a movie. The screenwriting standard format is not hard to understand or follow and different software options do it all for you 1. Font and Sizes The standard format calls for the font Courier in 12 points. A page of writing in the proper format will equal about a minute of screen time, so for a 90-minute film, your script should be around 90 pages long. 2. Scene heading Where and when are we. Comes at the beginning of every scene, also marking the end of the previous one, it indicates if it’s an interior or exterior scene (INT. / EXT.), the place it’s set in, and whether it’s day or night, and it looks like this: It is very important that ...

As I mentioned before , writing a script requires a very specific format, in order for it to comply with industry standards and for the different production departments to understand it. This format can be created in almost any word processor, however, there are certain specific software options that do the formatting for you, allowing you to focus on the writing and giving you one less thing to worry about. Let’s take a look at some of them. Different software options cater to different needs, think of what your project needs when choosing the best for you. Celtx My personal favorite. Celtx is a web-based application with a free and a pro, paid version. While the free version is great for writing, the paid version offers a number of features for project management, such as budgeting, scheduling, and storyboard creation. Prices vary from 7 to 22 USD a month, depending on features and the number of projects you can create, they also offer special prices for companies and schools. Celtx ...

Stories are about characters. Whether it is animals that represent morals, like in the good old fables or multi-dimensional, colorful, fascinating people, characters make stories come true. So when we write for film and TV, we need to be careful and respectful of them in order to create real, engaging characters that our audience can relate to. Achieving good character development takes time and practice, but here are some things to get you started.   1.      Creating solid backgrounds We all have a background, like it or not. There are things from our past, our families, culture, and personalities that define us and the way we act and react to situations, and fictional characters should do too. The difference is, it is you as the writer who gets to create them. Deciding what features of the character to create or focus on depends on every writer. Some prefer to simply outline the character’s background and their most important personality traits. The...

I attend bi-weekly meetings with a local writer's group, we chat and share ideas and it's actually pretty refreshing. Last week the conversation was about screenwriting and I have to say, they asked me questions I hadn't really thought about, and one of them was how do you begin to write a script , say you have an idea and you believe it would be a good movie, how do you start. I was quiet for a moment, how (the hell) do you start?! Well, I finally came up with something and I thought I'd share it if you too have a story to tell and don't know how to start. Hence the (very, very) basic step-by-step guide to starting a script. 1. Write your story in whatever format you prefer, be it narrative, bullets, drawings if you're good at it, a short story, whatever. Just put it on a piece of paper so that it doesn't die in your mind. 2. Outline the plot. This is where you take the story as a whole and divide it into the "moments" or parts of the story (begin...

Screenwriting is no game,  it takes time, effort, and, genuinely, courage. But what happens when all the work has been done and you've managed to type "THE END", those magical words that appear to be the finishing line, but are indeed nothing close to it? Yeap, turns out that finishing the script is only the start of a long and sometimes bumpy journey; however, screenwriters are not alone. In the world of creative writing, a figure exists that is meant to make this process easier for anyone willing to take help: The Script Consultant. A Script Consultant is a writer or editor that instead (or aside) of writing, works with other writers and pieces to improve them, be it structure, plot, character development, or plain storytelling, a Script Consultant provides a very particular insight that helps the writer refine and polish the work done. But what exactly do they do? Well, it's a combination of several things - proofreading, analyzing, suggesting, and bouncing ideas.....