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How to Write a Screenplay
Creative Screenwriting magazine is proud to present:
James P. Mercurio's
How To Write A Screenplay Method
If you want to learn how to write a screenplay right now, then you have come to the right place. We will walk you through the nature of filmic storytelling and Hollywood screenwriting. We will break down how to write a screenplay into distinct steps. Our process will allow you flexibility as well as many tips and exercises to use unstructured writing to help you find your story.
“It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master,” Mike Sexton’s quote refers to poker, but it is equally appropriate for screenwriting. Like poker, sometimes people are attracted to screenwriting and the entertainment industry because of the implicit promise of a high-stakes payoff. In poker, a weekend of luck can win you a million dollars. Luck plays a much smaller role in your endeavors as a screenwriter. The short-term reward you get from working on your screenplay is the satisfaction from creating something personal and meaningful.
However, every one of the screenwriters who gets a million dollars for a script started where you are. They had a story to tell and decided to jump in and start telling it. Professional writers often bog themselves down with concern over what to write next. Is it what the marketplace is looking for? It is behind the times? Does it fulfill the requirements of the genre? Will my agent try to sell it?
A beginner’s fortune is that there is nothing to worry about but telling the story. Tell a story you need to tell. Passion is what will get you through a treatment, first draft, a rewrite and maybe the several more rewrites necessary before you can say. “I am ready to show this to the world.”
After you read through this site, you will know how to evaluate your idea, what elements are involved in a screen story and where to start. You will be well on your way to learning how to write a screenplay. Creative Screenwriting magazine has been telling the storytellers’ story for more than a decade. If this site helps you tell your story, let us know.
—James P. Mercurio |
Trust Jim to guide you through a complete process in inventing your screen stories and realizing them as completed screenplays.
Story (Click here to start Jim's 45-page tutorial on writing your screenplay)
Not all stories make great screenplays, but all screenplays should have a great story. Instead of some dry and academic definition of a story, let’s just try to expand on your intuitive notion of what a story is and highlight a few elements that are common to all screenplays.
Beginning, Middle, and End
Before we discuss the process of how to write a screenplay, let’s look at the elements and stages of a screenplay. It’s good to get a road map of the journey before you start this trip.
Characters
If your character is selfish or greedy or insensitive, a friend, confidante or mentor is going to gently (or not so gently) call him on it. If your protagonist is impulsive, a good antagonist will be there to distract him from the important task. If there is some tiny and specific trait you want the audience to immediately see in your protagonist, a foil character’s exaggerated demeanor in that area will shine a light on it.
Theme
In storytelling, a protagonist comes into conflict with forces of antagonism. The way in which that the character overcomes, or fails to overcome, those forces is where theme is defined and ideas are created. Therefore, the strongest expression of theme will be created by the way that the protagonist resolves his or her ultimate dilemma at the climax of your story, and the meaning of your story will be honed in the resolution.
How to Write a Screenplay
James P. Mercurio's detailed 18-Step Screenwriting Process is a systematic approach to constructing a script that allows flexibility for your individual writing process. For those who like to follow a very systematic approach, undertake steps one to eighteen in order. If you tend to eschew a systematic approach, you will find that this paradigm allows for tangents, exploratory exercises, and other aspects of your own creative process.
This site also hosts more than 120 additional articles on all aspects of how to write a screenplay. So, enjoy and learn.
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