2. !es#:
Being a w$ter # a detailed, ardu%s task, but by breaking it
do& into several small tasks, one can be taught how to ma(er
)e a* of +amatic w$ting. In looking at , h#tory and
examining , process, a person can learn how tell a great (ory
bo) v#ually and on paper.
3. Personal
I’ve always had a passion for w$ting, and an an equal pa* passion
for Film and Telev#ion. Blen.ng , two, telling a great (ory bo)
on paper and v#ually, # some)ing )at I’ve always been obsesses wi)
and I hope to achieve )r%gh my research.
Relevance
5. What # Dramatic W$ting
“A screenplay # a (ory told wi) pictures, in .alogue and desc$ption, and placed
wi)in , context of +amatic (ructure”-Syd Field, !e F%ndations of
Screenw$ting.
http://www.palmermurphy.com/images/sub/ill-15-
screenwriter.jpg
6. "In/iration comes from everywhere and
any)ing. For every )%ght, )ere's a
(ory."
-0 Kimmika L.H. Williams-Wi)er/oon.
Blake, Joseph P. "Inspiration for Drama: Playwrights ponder the literary
influences that inform their work." Black Issues Book Review 7.3 (2005):
Pgs 29-29. Literary Reference Center. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
9. Beginning Y%r Screenplay
“Screenw$ting # no .fferent
from fiction w$ting: y%r
plot has an inciting event, a
$sing action wi) turning
points, a climax, and a
resolution.”-Steven Frank.
mmckible.wordpress.com
11. W$ting , Sc$pt:
!ings to consider:
Characters
The Slang The Dialogue
Visual Images Organization
How you want your characters to be portrayed
12. “D#gu#e exposition. A piece of expositional .alogue )at # only
exposition 2%ld be cut; all expositional .alogue 2%ld have at lea(
one o)er function besides exposition. Perhaps it can fu*her , conflict,
complicate , plot, or ra#e , (akes. Ju( make sure )at exposition
does some)ing but sit )ere and awkwardly explain , pa(.”-Julie
Jensen
Dialogue
Jensen, Julie. “Playwriting Quick and Dirty.”
Writer Sept. 1997: 10-13. Literary Reference
Center. Web. 4 Nov. 2010.
18. 1. All font mu( be 10 Pt, C%$er or C%$er New
2.Do not use Bold or Italics.
Top Margin: 1.0”
Bottom Margin: 1.5”
3. Every)ing on , pa3 mu( be Le4 Ju(ified, wi) , Character Stage Directions:
exception of trans#tors, which 2%ld be Right Ju(ified. Left Margin: about 3.7”
Right Margin: about 3.0”
4. Screenplays begin wi) FADE IN and end wi)
Dialogue
FADE OUT .
Left Margin: 3.0”
Right Margin: about 2.3”
5. Every)ing 2%ld be Single Spaced
Description
6. Ma(er scene hea.ngs mu( scene ALL CAPS.
Left Margin: 2.0”
Right Margin: 1.0”
Organization
Writing within any form of structure. When a person writes a novel, there is no set structure other than different chapters. A writer can take their story and have the events unfold the way they see fit. In a screenplay, you have to fit the story inside the structure in order for it to be successful. The same goes for a play. The two have similar, but also very different structures. \n
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A screenplay consists of two components. First is the preparation time, which is spent laying the characters out, having “thinking time”, and figuring out the structure of the screenplay. This is usually the time spent when writers start storyboarding their screenplay, which is laying out the bare bones of the screenplay. Before doing anything, a screenwriter should figure out the key events of their screenplay. Maybe you can draw a picture, or write an abstract or synopsis of the story highlighting the key events. \n
Character outlines are extremely important. Any critic, author, screenwriter, playwright, etc. will say that character is the most important part of any story. Characters need to be complex, realistic, unique while at the same time remaining universal. You audience should be able to see themselves in the character. \n
It’s good to look over an abstract, outline, or idea too see if the screenplay has all the right components. If it doesn’t, the story idea needs to be altered. The structure of a screenplay is fail-proof, it is the way the writer puts his story into the structure that makes it successful. \n
Most screenwriters utilize this pre-writing activity by using index cards. Each card represents a different scene. By either writing or drawing (usually drawing) the card depicts every scene along with the details of them.\n
Changing the storyboard into the actual screenplay isn’t such an easy task. You have to worry about the slang, the images, the dialogue, when the acts end, and much more. \n
Dialogue is the most important aspect in any form of writing. It reveals everything about your characters, but the trick is making it seem that it doesn’t. In many of the articles I read, I found that dialogue that reveals exposition is weak. There can’t be dialogue that reveals the story just for the sake of doing so, it has to come out of the characters naturally and simply or else it seems forced. It’s also important to sprinkle exposition around, revealing too much at once can also make the story seem, again, forced and clumsy. Writer Julie Jensen says “its better to be obscure than risk being flat-footed.” Keep dialogue natural and lean. \n
Characters are almost solely revealed through dialogue, especially to the audience. In a screenplay, the writer can write anything about the character to help achieve the way the want their characters to be portrayed, but an audience will never see that. The audience figures out your characters by what they say and by what they do, relying less on the way they look. \n
To go even further, the audience should see themselves in the character, which would mean the writer would have to make a universal aspect to them. \n
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Slang in a screenplay is used to shorten things. It also helps the director and whoever else is working with the screenplay know what the screenwriter intended/the shots they want/where each scene takes place. Slang is used to help organize the screenplay, while helping provide visuals for the reader. \n
While this is true, you can capture character motivation in a different way: with the characters actions. If your describing action, then show action, not the character glancing at it. Maybe there is a scene where a couple is over the boyfriends parent’s house and the parents start fighting with the boyfriend. You wouldn’t be able to say “Jenny takes note of the fighting,” or “Jenny glances at the fighting,” because that wouldn’t make sense. Instead, have Jenny get up and put her ear against the door, listening. Then have the camera pan through the doorway and down the steps to hear what she ears, which is that the parents are fighting about her. Have a JUMP CUT back to the room with Jenny, gasping. Then, have her sit back down and have her feet turn inward because she’s insecure, and have her start to pick or bite her nails because she’s nervous. With this, Jenny is actually noticing something: the anger felt by her boyfriends parents because they don’t like her, which is way more than just “taking note” of the fighting. \n
The proper organization for a screenplay is very detailed and specific. This is the MOST important part of the process. A screenwriter HAS to remain organized, or a myriad of things could happen. First, the writer could become disheveled and disorganized. Also, lack of organization in the actual writing aspect would lead to the finished product, not looking like a finished product. A professional screenwriter can automatically tell if a screenplay is good just by the way it looks on the page. Meaning, a good screenplay takes an immense amount of detail, and if that certain detail is paid attention to, a professional screenwriter or producer reading the work would see that by the format of the work. If the screenplay is formatted wrong, the story and the quality of writing come second. \n
Screenwriters definitely have to worry about the visuals of their work. Most of these visuals can come from the storyboard, but it’s important to have detailed descriptions of how the visuals should be, almost like directions for the filmmakers and/or producers, so they can get a grasp as to what they should be detailed on and give emphasis to. \n
