My First Script

WerenCole · Sep 12, 2007

Heya screen writer folks. I've been lurking your area for a while now but have not as of yet entered to say anything (except for a little quick hit here or there of infamously witty commentary as I droll the boards. . . right). Anyway, as things are working out for me I have inadvertently branched into this manner of writing. I suppose I meant to do it, oh well. I have been more inclined towards film study but I think I will like a little more of a hands on approach the the industry.

Anyway, in my last semester here at the university I am enrolled in a screen writing class. Bugger me I wouldn't do it right now if I could help it, really, there is a lot to do already without adding mass amounts of writing and revising to my life, but the show must go on, yes?

Alright, I have written my treatment, probably a little too long and outlined and all that fun stuff. Now I must actually write the first act and here is where I am about to freak out.

Don't get me wrong, the writing is not the problem. I am perfectly fine with all my creative and technical aspects of character arc, plot and the bs that we discuss on these boards on a daily basis. Anyway, I am not trying to make anything spectacular here on the first attempt (my next novel is a different story altogether though) and I just want to escape the class with an A and my 3.8 GPA intact so I graduate with the higher honors or whatever.

Oh well. So, here I go. I know of the Final Draft program, and believe it to be relatively expensive. My professor seems a bit of a stickler about the proper format (he handed us the Warner Brothers Outline for Proper Screen Writing) and, well, you know, who really likes to format?

So, here I am. I am about to try and write a script using Word Perfect or something of the sort and anticipate tearing my hair from its bloody sockets. I even have to use a new font. Oh well.

I am not really sure how to craft a scene either. I know the hows and whys but the technicalities involved are not there yet. I just need to research the format but, oh well. Did I already mention that I have a lot to do?

I am not sure what I am trying to say here really. It is not a cry for help or advice. More of an introduction I suppose, which seems odd since I have been on these boards for four years. So, ummm. . .Hi! How are things? Good thanks, have a pleasant evening and so forth.

Oh, in case you are wondering I am writing a dark comedy. It seems easy enough. Unless it turns out fantastic I have no real interest in selling it (my next novel on the other hand. . .)

dpaterso · Sep 12, 2007

Welcome, and all that hearty greeting stuff.

If you haven't already, and if I haven't suggested this before, check out the screenwriting tips sticky thread which has links to screenwriting software (some free or useable in demo mode, or discounted for students), formatting guides, hints & tips, etc.

-Derek

J. Holmes · Sep 12, 2007

I would definitely visit the script writing tips section as advised above and...you say you're going to use WordPerfect? Oy. Hate that word program. Scout around the web for Celtx. It's free and it has everything at your fingertips for scriptwriting. You can't beat it for a free scriptwriting program.

clockwork · Sep 12, 2007

Screenwriting just got a little bit cooler.

Glad to have you here, Weren.

Stealth66 · Sep 12, 2007

Welcome, Weren, and best of luck in your screenwriting class. Scriptbuddy is another free program you could try. It is web-based, so you would have to be on the internet to use it, but it is extremely simple to use.

I definitely wouldn't invest in Final Draft if you aren't making a real go at this screenwriting thing, unless you have tons of money to throw around.

WerenCole · Sep 12, 2007

clock_work9 said:
Screenwriting just got a little bit cooler.

Glad to have you here, Weren.

Damn skippity boyo. As my friend who is a poet. . and wears a hat. . .once said. That's cool. Weren Cooool. . (e)

clockwork · Sep 12, 2007

WerenCole said:
Damn skippity boyo. As my friend who is a poet. . and wears a hat. . .once said. That's cool. Weren Cooool. . (e)

Wow... praise from Caesar? That is cool.

nmstevens · Sep 12, 2007

WerenCole said:
Heya screen writer folks. I've been lurking your area for a while now but have not as of yet entered to say anything (except for a little quick hit here or there of infamously witty commentary as I droll the boards. . . right). Anyway, as things are working out for me I have inadvertently branched into this manner of writing. I suppose I meant to do it, oh well. I have been more inclined towards film study but I think I will like a little more of a hands on approach the the industry.

Anyway, in my last semester here at the university I am enrolled in a screen writing class. Bugger me I wouldn't do it right now if I could help it, really, there is a lot to do already without adding mass amounts of writing and revising to my life, but the show must go on, yes?

Alright, I have written my treatment, probably a little too long and outlined and all that fun stuff. Now I must actually write the first act and here is where I am about to freak out.

Don't get me wrong, the writing is not the problem. I am perfectly fine with all my creative and technical aspects of character arc, plot and the bs that we discuss on these boards on a daily basis. Anyway, I am not trying to make anything spectacular here on the first attempt (my next novel is a different story altogether though) and I just want to escape the class with an A and my 3.8 GPA intact so I graduate with the higher honors or whatever.

Oh well. So, here I go. I know of the Final Draft program, and believe it to be relatively expensive. My professor seems a bit of a stickler about the proper format (he handed us the Warner Brothers Outline for Proper Screen Writing) and, well, you know, who really likes to format?

So, here I am. I am about to try and write a script using Word Perfect or something of the sort and anticipate tearing my hair from its bloody sockets. I even have to use a new font. Oh well.

I am not really sure how to craft a scene either. I know the hows and whys but the technicalities involved are not there yet. I just need to research the format but, oh well. Did I already mention that I have a lot to do?

I am not sure what I am trying to say here really. It is not a cry for help or advice. More of an introduction I suppose, which seems odd since I have been on these boards for four years. So, ummm. . .Hi! How are things? Good thanks, have a pleasant evening and so forth.

Oh, in case you are wondering I am writing a dark comedy. It seems easy enough. Unless it turns out fantastic I have no real interest in selling it (my next novel on the other hand. . .)

"Page 2 Stage" is another program that you can download for free, although, for whatever reason, you need to download it through Bit torrent.

I guess the point is, there a bunch of free programs that you can access, and even if they don't have all of the more advanced features of the pro screen writing programs, most of those features aren't going to be of any use to you anyway, writing your first screenplay.

What any decent PD screenwriting program will do is set the margins correctly.

As for the rest of the WB format stuff -- it's really pretty straightforward. Most of it, beyond the basics, is simply intended so that all of the scripts written for them will follow the same set of conventions so that when WB production calculates screen length from page numbers, the results will have some approximate relationship to one another (at least in principle).

This actually matters, not so much in terms of the final length of the movie, which inevitably will vary wildly based on what the director brings to the page, but because, contractually, writers agree to deliver a script of a certain number of pages -- so the format has to be precisely defined, or else what would that contractual obligation mean? If I could take an eight page script and squeeze it up to 120 by making the margins really short, or make a 150 page script 120 pages by expanding them, or in other ways screw around with the formatting to make the paging "fit" the contractual definition, the the whole page count issue becomes moot.

So it has to be precisely defined -- even though in practical terms, it doesn't really mean much. 100 pages of script may be a 100 minutes of screen time, or 120, or 150 or more -- depending on what's happening in those 100 pages.

As for "crafting a scene" -- there are very few hard and fast rules about it. Ask yourself what story purpose the scene is serving. Always try to keep that in mind -- how is a scene affecting/altering/advancing/hindering the *trajectory* of the main character's journey toward achieving his story objective? Understand that audiences tend to "get" things very quickly. Get into scenes late. Avoid entrances and exits, hellos and goodbyes, introductions, etc., if at all possible. As soon as a scene has achieved its purpose, get out of it.

NMS

NikeeGoddess · Sep 13, 2007

FD makes for a cool xmas gift if you have someone to ask. Or you could suggest that it is an investment in your future and you can pay them back ten-fold after your first sale... which may never happen but who knows.

also - david trottier author of the screenwriter's bible has his own inexpensive formatting software. check it out. it might be worth it.

RichHelms · Sep 13, 2007

I use Celtx and love it. Free, easy to use and powerful.

www.celtx.com

scripter1 · Sep 13, 2007

Regarding scenes

Keep in the back of your mind that every scene is a mini story all on it's own.

It has a set up, a dramatic build and then some conclusion.
Each character wants something, and scenes should be about them trying to get that something.

Use inference and inuendo. As was stated, the audience is smart. We can put two and two together. Don't coddle us or talk down to us.

Play with your scenes. It is all right to consider 6 different scenerios, write 3 of them, and then actually use one. Feel free to overwrite that one and then learn to cut, cut, cut, CUT.

And please hold the line for some articles.

Oh, welcome!
Hope you like it here.

dclary · Sep 13, 2007

Weren, having writing short fiction and longer work for years before attempting my first screenplay, let me give you the rundown of what I've learned that you'll learn:

a) Formatting matters. Yes, this is stupid. Here's what I did, until I could afford screenwriting software:

Download the demo to Sophocles. Download the demo to Final Draft.

You can't print in Sophocles demo, you can't save in Final Draft demo...

But you can write your script in Sophocles, save it there, and then when you need to print (which hopefully isn't TOO often), copy it over, check to make sure the formatting held, fix what broke, and print.

b) If novel-writing is fat, and short fiction is thin, then screenwriting is the anorexic hottie. Your works will have definite page-length limits, and so every single word on the page should work its ass off -- and there's no room for extraneous ones.

For example: John begins walking toward the door. How do you BEGIN walking? It's just John walks to the door.

Suddenly a shot rang out! Then another! Can a shot ring out gradually? Do you really need THEN? -- or are you filming outside the limits chronological time? A shot rang out! Another!

Remember that you're writing what an audience is seeing, not what a reader can imagine along with you. You CAN write to the reader (it's not advised in "the rules" but it's important to know that this rule can be broken judiciously) but you HAVE to write what's on screen.

Example one:
ELLEN
What are you thinking about?

Jake smiled, and remembered about the time in France when he met that transvestite dwarf with the bondage studio.

JAKE
Um, nothing?

How is the viewer going to know what he's thinking about?

ELLEN
What are you thinking about?

Jake stops and thinks

INT GERMAN BONDAGE STUDIO -- FLASHBACK
A dwarf in leather chaps and ball gag squeals as Jake, in a latex bodysuit whips his ass.

BACK IN REALITY

JAKE
Um, nothing?

The last thing to remember, is that if you know what you're doing, and your story kicks more ass than any story ever has... any rule you want can be broken.

Except the formatting thing. Go figure.

dclary · Sep 13, 2007

Oh yeah, and the best screenwriter I know says this:

Every scene has to do at least three of the following things:
set up a future payoff,
be a payoff,
add future conflict,
resolve past conflict,
grow a character.

The best scenes do all five.

Start the scene as late as possible. End the scene as soon as possible.

GreenTea · Sep 13, 2007

J. Holmes said:
Scout around the web for Celtx. It's free and it has everything at your fingertips for scriptwriting. You can't beat it for a free scriptwriting program.

To download this program, go here:
http://www.celtx.com/download.html

GreenTea · Sep 13, 2007

I use SceneWriter Pro and I bought it for only 20 bucks from this site:

http://www.scenewriterpro.com/

I do like this program so far.

Sunshine13 · Sep 13, 2007

Not sure what books the library would carry in regards to this, but before I had the money to buy software, I bought The Screenwriters Bible, and it helped me quite a bit just to get into the idea of screenwriting, and it does touch on formatting as well.

small axe · Sep 14, 2007

dclary said:
b) If novel-writing is fat, and short fiction is thin, then screenwriting is the anorexic hottie. Your works will have definite page-length limits, and so every single word on the page should work its ass off -- and there's no room for extraneous ones.

For example: John begins walking toward the door. How do you BEGIN walking? It's just John walks to the door.

Well, I'll use a few of these to illustrate my suggestion that one can write according to their inner muse, and learn to tune out the minutae (sp?) of others' stylistic criticism.

Of course John can 'begin walking toward the door' ... it's a very precise description, where we see John BEGIN the action (if that's important)

To write that John BEGINS walking tells us that we see him begin the action and that the action is not yet completed ...

'John walks to the door' tells us that John ARRIVES at the door.

Those are two toatally different slices of time ... and it's perfectly valid to use them in different ways.

Don't listen to everyone's little complaint; you know what you mean and write accordingly. (Though respect that the Reader is telling you that they may not be understanding what you think you wrote clearly, of course)

Suddenly a shot rang out! Then another! Can a shot ring out gradually? Do you really need THEN? -- or are you filming outside the limits chronological time? A shot rang out! Another!

Click to expand...

Though we all know that screenplays are usually written in the present: "Suddenly a shot RINGS out" ... not "A shot RANG out"

Remember that you're writing what an audience is seeing, not what a reader can imagine along with you. You CAN write to the reader (it's not advised in "the rules" but it's important to know that this rule can be broken judiciously) but you HAVE to write what's on screen.

Click to expand...

A good general rule ... sometimes violated for the sake of clarity, or to explain the character's attitude or, yes, state of mind. It can cut through explaining a lot of info to simply tell the Reader something vital (even if non-visual)

The woman leans over, trying to vamp Bond with her exposed cleavage. Bond is not impressed.

You could visually tell us Bond smirks, yes, but then you're commiting the "crime" of telling the actors how to Act (leaning over is action, not acting) Tell the reader something "non-visual" and you've suggested a treasure trove of character attitude and motivation ... whch will then be a guide to how it IS told visually when the cameras are running etc.

Just my imo there: but no, not everything written has to be immediately visual.

The Writer shouldn't straight-jacket herself with every "rule' in the book(s)

Example one:

ELLEN

What are you thinking about?

Jake smiled, and remembered about the time in France when he met that transvestite dwarf with the bondage studio.

JAKE

Um, nothing?

How is the viewer going to know what he's thinking about?

That's a valid point, of course (in the wrong tense, but ...)

And actually, if I were directing the movie, I'd have no trouble SHOWING the character meeting the transvestite dwarf.

You'd just SHOW it as a Flashback.

Would the Writer lose "technique points" for failing to LABEL it a Flashback? Certainly. It's defective screenplay format ...

But bending rules might sometimes tell the STORY better than the proper FORMAT tells the technique.

The Reader will forgive irregular formatting if you're thrilling them with a gripping STORY etc.

(That said, it's hard to imagine something that CANNOT be told using proper format ... so use it. But don't sacrifice or straight-jacket the drama to fit a format)

Know the rules to break the rules. Only the end result is "Visual" and limited to the physical movie screen ... a screenplay is a creature and a creation of the MIND'S EYE.

shutterspeed · Sep 15, 2007

I remember my college screenwriting course. I actually tried to type my first screenplay using Word. It was a NIGHTMARE!

If you plan to do any kind of screenwriting, as a hobby or potential career, throughout your life, go ahead and purchase a copy of FINAL DRAFT. It won't cost much more than some of your textbooks, and students get a discount. Beside that, it will last you for years. I'm still using the same FINAL DRAFT version I bought in 1996!

DanielD · Sep 15, 2007

As mentioned, Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter are the top of the line programs( They're the most used by pro's).
Sophocles is also a great program, costing a little less than the above two and containing tons of features with it's latest incarnation(It's in Beta currently).
Celtx has just released it's newest update(0.995) it's free and contains some fantastic new inclusions to it's already comprehensive program.
Also there is Page2Stage, another great(And free) program.
It contains four views.
Standard.
Page.
Outline.
Card.
As well as numerous reports,ect.

Blyte is another free software.
Its quite a nice little program, though lacking many of the above programs features.
It Also has numerous report features, and various views.
The print( preview) goes directly into PDF.
Good luck.
Daniel.

WerenCole · Jan 22, 2008

I thought I would update the folks.

Dear Cruel World. . . was finished in its first draft in November and work shopped very well. I am currently scene mapping and adding to it.

I thought the experience went very well. Also, I believe this is a medium I could have some success with. I will just keep on plugging.

I also am starting a project called An American River as a ghost-writer like for a screen play my parents have been trying to write since I was a kid. I like the idea. . . I am still in the treatment stage though.

Plot Device · Jan 22, 2008

Good luck!

(What software did you settle on?)

WerenCole · Jan 22, 2008

I broke down and bought Final Draft and love it. Made life a whole lot easier. . . one of the best presents I have ever given myself.

icerose · Jan 22, 2008

I love my copy too, Weren.

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