The easiest way to learn screenwriting

good job on practicing. i know i could do this exercise more often. the last time i did this, it was with the The Royal Tenenbaums.

That's how I learned, but imagine going to the theatre a dozen times. Love the DVD revolution.

I've learned since then that learning from example is a good way to get the basics of form and structure, but nothing beats a few "theory" books or classes.

Watch lots of movies - Read lots of scripts - Write and re-write until you get it down.

It's definitely helpful to see a lot of movies and read a lot of scripts, but those two things in and of themselves are not really enough to understand the fundamentals of story, structure and drama.

That's like saying you can learn to be a prima ballerina simply by watching ballerinas and learning the choreography of a particular ballet.

Learn the craft by taking classes or seminars or at the very least reading books on the craft. Have an understanding on what a character arc is and what tools are available for creating one before you start writing. Understand theme and conflict and climax and resolution. Without a solid understanding of these things, then you have no context when reading a script or watching a movie to grasp what is being done and more importantly why it is being done.

Sockpuppets don't get to play - sorry he wasted everyone's time.