1) Go read a good book. It’s true… Everything you read will be somehow absorbed into your screenwriting. I say to read books but in reality, read everything you can get your hands on. Read a woman’s magazine or a men’s sport magazine while you’re at the doctor’s office. Read the newspaper… Especially the headlines. Read “how to” articles. Read the side of your cereal box. It’s amazing what you can learn by simply reading everything you can get your hands on but at a minimum, try to always have at least one book you’re always reading. Don’t wait for months and months to start a new one, keep that stream of new information feeding into your brain at a steady rate. Everything you read will be absorbed into your screenwriting thus, making you a better screenwriter.
2) Go READ a DVD. That’s right, a DVD. How do you do that? Easy, set the DVD menu so that the English (or whatever language you’re comfortable with) subtitles come up… Then sit there and read all the dialogue. Use the rest of your senses to absorb the rest of the movie and read the dialogue. This will give you a lot of insight to writing outstanding dialogue. It’s all there, believability, subtext, authenticity… Go read a DVD.
3) Read one screenplay a week. That’s 52 screenplays a year. More than most screenwriters have ever read in their entire LIVES! Free screenplays are readily available for download on the net in .pdf, .html, and .txt formats… Just do a search for free screenplays on Google to get you started. After several GOOD screenplays, you’ll start getting a feel for how the pros do it… i.e., dialogue, action, structure, characters, etc. Again, you will absorb everything you read and eventually export it to your screenplays in one way or another…
4) Act. Yeah, go take an acting class. To really learn about subtext, take an acting class and see how actors create subtext within a scene as opposed to how a screenwriter writes in the subtext. This is an amazing revelation and will definitely improve your writing… Especially character action AND dialogue.
5) Spy on people. No, don’t become a stalker but simply observe the people around you instead of being so focused on your own world. You will see amazing things that people do on a day to day basis. This can only expand your writing when it comes to creating characters. Watch how people eat. Watch how they react to good news and bad. See how little things make them happy or sad. Look for the little details… i.e., jewelry, clothing, shoes, tattoos, makeup, weight, posture, etc. The more people you watch, the better. Remember, your characters must be authentic. Taking a variety of characteristics from actual people you’ve observed will create authenticity.
6) Play your entire movie in your head. You’d be surprised at how many wannabe screenwriters fail to do this simple (well, maybe not so simple) task. When writing a screenplay, playing the entire movie in your head at least once a day should be at the top of your THINGS TO DO LIST. You’ll discover problems you didn’t know you had, new things to set up, sub plots, etc. Try to go from beginning to end at least once a day EVEN if you don’t have the entire story figured out yet. TIP: Try this right after you go to bed… Fall asleep to the playing of your movie and wake up solving problems… It works!
7) Pitch your screenplay idea to 25 people. Do it in person, over the phone, via email, but do it. None of these people have to be an expert on screenwriting… Use family and friends if you have to but stay away from those people that don’t want to hurt your feelings. You want honest feedback here. Boil your story down to a logline and pitch it to 25 people and then ask, “Would you pay $10 to see this movie?” If they wouldn’t pay the ten bucks, be sure to ask why and make mental notes. If over 85% of the people you pitch your story to say they WOULD PAY their ten bucks to see it, you just might have a great idea for a movie.
Go to a screenwriting workshop. I know, I know… Money’s always a problem but if this is REALLY what you want to do, then you gotta find a way to do it. Try to attend at least one screenwriting workshop a year. Consider starting out with the annual Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles. Not only can you learn a massive amount of screenwriting information in a short period of time, you can network, pitch an idea or a screenplay at the pitching workshops. On top of this, meet other writers who are going through the same thing YOU’RE going through! Trade contact information. Maybe you can read and critique each other’s work. Try to make it part of a vacation… Once a year.
9) Go to the movies… Yeah, I know most of them suck these days but that’s kind of a good thing… Why? You can go and learn what NOT TO DO! Trust me, Hollywood WANTS GOOD STORIES! The problem is that there aren’t too many people writing them these days. Go watch a movie and see how it works. Do you identify with the characters? If so, WHY? Where did the story slow down and lose your attention and why? Count the clichés. Did the ending satisfy you? If so, WHY? If not, WHY? Get a sense of how the film was structured. Get a sense of pacing. Watch the hero’s journey.
10) Read entertainment news. No, you don’t have to subscribe to Variety or the Hollywood Reporter but it’s not a bad idea… LOL. You can read just about all the same news online if you know where to go. These links will get you started.
http://movies.yahoo.com
http://entertainment.msn.com
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment
http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=e
http://www.hollywood.com/news/home.aspx
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment
http://www.topix.net/entertainment
http://www.entertainment-news.org
http://www.moviehole.net
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/entertainment
http://www.darkhorizons.com/scripts.php
http://www.darkhorizons.com/interviews.php
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news.php
http://www.netweed.com/film
http://www.indiewire.com
http://actionadventure.about.com
http://www.aintitcool.com
http://www.cinemablend.com
http://movieweb.com
http://www.timeout.com/film
http://www.filmstew.com
http://www.cinescape.com
Be sure to investigate the NEWS links at all the sites. Lots of great information about the industry.
2) Go READ a DVD. That’s right, a DVD. How do you do that? Easy, set the DVD menu so that the English (or whatever language you’re comfortable with) subtitles come up… Then sit there and read all the dialogue. Use the rest of your senses to absorb the rest of the movie and read the dialogue. This will give you a lot of insight to writing outstanding dialogue. It’s all there, believability, subtext, authenticity… Go read a DVD.
3) Read one screenplay a week. That’s 52 screenplays a year. More than most screenwriters have ever read in their entire LIVES! Free screenplays are readily available for download on the net in .pdf, .html, and .txt formats… Just do a search for free screenplays on Google to get you started. After several GOOD screenplays, you’ll start getting a feel for how the pros do it… i.e., dialogue, action, structure, characters, etc. Again, you will absorb everything you read and eventually export it to your screenplays in one way or another…
4) Act. Yeah, go take an acting class. To really learn about subtext, take an acting class and see how actors create subtext within a scene as opposed to how a screenwriter writes in the subtext. This is an amazing revelation and will definitely improve your writing… Especially character action AND dialogue.
5) Spy on people. No, don’t become a stalker but simply observe the people around you instead of being so focused on your own world. You will see amazing things that people do on a day to day basis. This can only expand your writing when it comes to creating characters. Watch how people eat. Watch how they react to good news and bad. See how little things make them happy or sad. Look for the little details… i.e., jewelry, clothing, shoes, tattoos, makeup, weight, posture, etc. The more people you watch, the better. Remember, your characters must be authentic. Taking a variety of characteristics from actual people you’ve observed will create authenticity.
6) Play your entire movie in your head. You’d be surprised at how many wannabe screenwriters fail to do this simple (well, maybe not so simple) task. When writing a screenplay, playing the entire movie in your head at least once a day should be at the top of your THINGS TO DO LIST. You’ll discover problems you didn’t know you had, new things to set up, sub plots, etc. Try to go from beginning to end at least once a day EVEN if you don’t have the entire story figured out yet. TIP: Try this right after you go to bed… Fall asleep to the playing of your movie and wake up solving problems… It works!
7) Pitch your screenplay idea to 25 people. Do it in person, over the phone, via email, but do it. None of these people have to be an expert on screenwriting… Use family and friends if you have to but stay away from those people that don’t want to hurt your feelings. You want honest feedback here. Boil your story down to a logline and pitch it to 25 people and then ask, “Would you pay $10 to see this movie?” If they wouldn’t pay the ten bucks, be sure to ask why and make mental notes. If over 85% of the people you pitch your story to say they WOULD PAY their ten bucks to see it, you just might have a great idea for a movie.
Go to a screenwriting workshop. I know, I know… Money’s always a problem but if this is REALLY what you want to do, then you gotta find a way to do it. Try to attend at least one screenwriting workshop a year. Consider starting out with the annual Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles. Not only can you learn a massive amount of screenwriting information in a short period of time, you can network, pitch an idea or a screenplay at the pitching workshops. On top of this, meet other writers who are going through the same thing YOU’RE going through! Trade contact information. Maybe you can read and critique each other’s work. Try to make it part of a vacation… Once a year.9) Go to the movies… Yeah, I know most of them suck these days but that’s kind of a good thing… Why? You can go and learn what NOT TO DO! Trust me, Hollywood WANTS GOOD STORIES! The problem is that there aren’t too many people writing them these days. Go watch a movie and see how it works. Do you identify with the characters? If so, WHY? Where did the story slow down and lose your attention and why? Count the clichés. Did the ending satisfy you? If so, WHY? If not, WHY? Get a sense of how the film was structured. Get a sense of pacing. Watch the hero’s journey.
10) Read entertainment news. No, you don’t have to subscribe to Variety or the Hollywood Reporter but it’s not a bad idea… LOL. You can read just about all the same news online if you know where to go. These links will get you started.
http://movies.yahoo.com
http://entertainment.msn.com
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment
http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=e
http://www.hollywood.com/news/home.aspx
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment
http://www.topix.net/entertainment
http://www.entertainment-news.org
http://www.moviehole.net
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/entertainment
http://www.darkhorizons.com/scripts.php
http://www.darkhorizons.com/interviews.php
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news.php
http://www.netweed.com/film
http://www.indiewire.com
http://actionadventure.about.com
http://www.aintitcool.com
http://www.cinemablend.com
http://movieweb.com
http://www.timeout.com/film
http://www.filmstew.com
http://www.cinescape.com
Be sure to investigate the NEWS links at all the sites. Lots of great information about the industry.
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