Writing a screenplay

[Foxbat]

Has anybody here tried it?
Got any advice for a novice?
I've decided to give it a go but can't seem to find many guidelines (apart from a couple of pages in the Writers & Artists Yearbook).
There doesn't seem to be anything on the Net so any tips would be gratefully received.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Hi Foxbat - no immediate tips, but I'll do some searching for you this week. I'll also try and get a friend who is an aspiring writer/director (and ex-media studies tutor) to post up some info.

And, of course, I wonder if Bigmacscanlan can advise you as well?

 

[Foxbat]

Thanks Brian. I'm about 1/3 of a way through my script and I'm still not certain that I'm doing it right.

There was an interesting article in The Sotsman about a week ago by Alan Parker and he made some comments about what he expected in a script. I think I'm on the right track where he is concerned. Now all I've got to do is get him to read it

 

[Incognito]

I remember there are very strict guidelines on the script formatting - that's something I couldn't mention here without further research. And that's one of the most important things.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Well, when I've done ad scripts I've had to work in a format where there are seperate columns for: Visual/Dialogue/Sounds/Supers if any. There are a fair amount of directions you can also include, if you know the terms, but I am not very knowledgable there, sorry.

On a slightly unrelated note, a friend of mine is working on a 'script' for a notional video to go with the Simon and Garfunkel song 'Sound of silence', just for fun. I thought it was rather good, and if anyone is interested I will ask his permission to post it here. The imagery really blew me away!

 

[Foxbat]

Thanks for that knivesout. I'm sort of working in a format like the one you describe. I have sections for visuals, dialogue and actions.

The Simon & Garfunkel thing sounds interesting too.

 

[littlemissattitude]

My advice, having only ever written one screenplay, for a class, is to worry about format after you have written the thing. Just pound out the dialogue and whatever stage directions you want to include, divided into scenes. Then, after you have written the thing, then get a good guide to proper format and fit what you've written into that as scrupulously as you can.

That's how I did it. My screenplay wasn't long, about sixty or sixty-five pages. We didn't have to write a whole play or screenplay for the class, just a couple of scenes. But about five or six of us got into an informal competition to finish a full work after one guy in class, who was only eighteen or nineteen and a genius of a writer, wrote a cool screenplay for a horror film. I keep intending to get my screenplay out and round it out a bit and start submitting it, but every time I get close to sitting down to do it something else has to be done and it gets shoved to the bottom of the work pile again. Part of it has to do with the fact that I've lost the disc that it was on, so I'm going to have to completely rekeyboard it before I can start working on revising it, and I dread that.

But I'll do it one of these days. It's a good enough piece of writing that, with a bit of revision and a little fleshing out, I think it has a chance of finding a home somewhere. I doubt that it would fly as a theatrical feature, but I can see something like the Disney Channel or one of the other cable networks giving it a chance.

 

[dwndrgn]

Just a note: most copy shops will put your document through a scanner and save it to your own disc for a minimal fee. In addition, I'd happily do it for free

. I may not be a writer but I can type like the dickens!

 

[littlemissattitude]

Just a note: most copy shops will put your document through a scanner and save it to your own disc for a minimal fee. In addition, I'd happily do it for free

. I may not be a writer but I can type like the dickens!

Thanks, dwndrgn. But I think that as much of a job as it will be, I'd rather do it myself just to remind myself of what I wrote so I can get an idea of what still needs to be done. I wrote the thing almost ten years ago, and I recall the story, but very little of the actual dialogue. However, once I get the thing keyboarded, I'd be happy to e-mail or send it to you for a critical reading, if you're willing. I'm open to all input.

 

[Foxbat]

My advice, having only ever written one screenplay, for a class, is to worry about format after you have written the thing. Just pound out the dialogue and whatever stage directions you want to include, divided into scenes. Then, after you have written the thing, then get a good guide to proper format and fit what you've written into that as scrupulously as you can.

That sounds like good advice. I'm expecting the finished product to be between 50 and 60 pages long. Thanks for the info.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Through the wonders of the internet, I am now working on a script based on Ambrose Bierce's The Damned Thing for an amateur film-making group based in the UK! Actually,I'm working on it in colaboration with my friend Jack, and it is a pretty interesting process. If you've read the story, you'll ralise there are quite a few challenges. I found my imagination stood me in good stead, coming out with a couple of small modifications to make the story more visually apealing (and deliver a really creepy ending!) , but now the actual work of fleshing out the script is quite gruelling! Great fun, though. Even if this particular film cannot be made, I hope to work with these chaps on something else in future, maybe an all-original story.