I'm not sure if this is supposed to be in here or the Screenwriting section so if it's in the wrong section, please move to correct section. I tried asking on Google but with no avail. Maybe I'm phrasing the question wrong. Before you start writing the screenplay, you have to start planning the ideas and whatnot. I was wondering about the story part. Whether you're writing a short or a full length feature, how long should your story be before you actually start writing your screenplay? This has been bothering a bit. I have the basic premise as far as character bios to how I want the story to unfold but I'm just unsure on how long the story has to be or is there no rules to this?
Question About the Screenwriting Process.
- Thread starter royale_flush
- Start date
As long as you want it to be. However, if you feel that you may have too big of a project try this.
Write the whole thing. everything you have in mind for whatever your project is. then of course in your re-write you will notice things that can either be tossed, or tweaked a bit.
Write the whole thing. everything you have in mind for whatever your project is. then of course in your re-write you will notice things that can either be tossed, or tweaked a bit.
Wow, thank you! Always thought there was some rule or something for the length of a story before transitioning it into a screenplay. I will definitely try that approach. I like it. Thank you.
only "rule" i can think of is somthing like a miniute per page of dialouge or something. but like i said write the thing and go over it.
here are some links i used. the top one is really use full check it out.
http://www.screenwriting.info/14.php
http://www.simplyscripts.com/WR_glossary.html
http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv013.htm
http://www.bradleyhardin.com/film_prod/screenwriting/script_abbreviations.htm
Also if you can. look up some scripts. preferably of a movie you know by heart. It will help you get a good feeling of how the director wrote it and what approach they went on to shoot it.
hope this helps out.
here are some links i used. the top one is really use full check it out.
http://www.screenwriting.info/14.php
http://www.simplyscripts.com/WR_glossary.html
http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv013.htm
http://www.bradleyhardin.com/film_prod/screenwriting/script_abbreviations.htm
Also if you can. look up some scripts. preferably of a movie you know by heart. It will help you get a good feeling of how the director wrote it and what approach they went on to shoot it.
hope this helps out.
It depends on what you plan to do with the script, sell or it, or shoot it yourself. Most distributors and film festivals seem to like movies around 90 minutes and that's the magic number it seems, judging by how long a lot of first time directors' movies are.
@mrpink89 thank you for the links. They turn out to be very useful. Do you mean for the story or the screenplay itself?
@harmonica44 I've never written a screenplay before. Attempted before but never got past the 1st page. I wanna try and experiment for this first one considering I've never really went all-in in writing a script. I would want to try and sell it after my second or third one is written and if I get lucky shoot it myself.
@harmonica44 I've never written a screenplay before. Attempted before but never got past the 1st page. I wanna try and experiment for this first one considering I've never really went all-in in writing a script. I would want to try and sell it after my second or third one is written and if I get lucky shoot it myself.
I look at writing stories much in the same way as crafting an essay. The argument structure and the three-act structure have very similar goals so I find it helpful to consider both when writing something. The inciting incident is much the same as the core of the argument itself. The introduction of the argument is similar to the set-up of a screenplay. The body of an argument is much the same as the confrontation of Act II. And the resolution of a story is similar to the conclusion of an essay.
But they are different and serve different purposes. The reason for mentioning it is because it helps to isolate and define certain goals within your writing and by thinking about your screenplay from a slightly different angle, that of an argumentative essay, it can give you a different perspective and different insight. Isolating and defining goals in this way and viewing them through a more critical (argumentative) lens also helps to separate what is extraneous and concentrate on what is important within your writing when it comes to pairing it down, or for that matter building it up, to a screenplay structure.
My personal method is to write a short-story first and then with the above structure in mind, convert it into a screenplay format. Short-stories tend to suit the film format a lot better than novels simply because you're forced to concentrate on what is vital to telling the story whereas in a novel you have the luxury of meandering down diversionary paths.
Of course, by concentrating on these aspects too much, you'll possibly lose out on characterisation which I feel is vital to telling any story. Sympathy or empathy for the protagonist I think is by far the most important aspect of any story. Without it your audience doesn't connect to the story and will lose interest. Characterisation, however, is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish to structure.
Given that you're new to screenplay writing, I'd highly recommend looking into reading three books:-
1) Syd Fields - Screenplay: the Foundations of Screenwriting
2) Robert McKee - Story: Substance, Structure, Style & the Principles of Screenwriting
3) Linda Seger - Creating Unforgettable Characters: a Practical Guide to Character Development
Some will argue that McKee is a hack but I personally found his insights into writing to be interesting and worth considering.
But they are different and serve different purposes. The reason for mentioning it is because it helps to isolate and define certain goals within your writing and by thinking about your screenplay from a slightly different angle, that of an argumentative essay, it can give you a different perspective and different insight. Isolating and defining goals in this way and viewing them through a more critical (argumentative) lens also helps to separate what is extraneous and concentrate on what is important within your writing when it comes to pairing it down, or for that matter building it up, to a screenplay structure.
My personal method is to write a short-story first and then with the above structure in mind, convert it into a screenplay format. Short-stories tend to suit the film format a lot better than novels simply because you're forced to concentrate on what is vital to telling the story whereas in a novel you have the luxury of meandering down diversionary paths.
Of course, by concentrating on these aspects too much, you'll possibly lose out on characterisation which I feel is vital to telling any story. Sympathy or empathy for the protagonist I think is by far the most important aspect of any story. Without it your audience doesn't connect to the story and will lose interest. Characterisation, however, is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish to structure.
Given that you're new to screenplay writing, I'd highly recommend looking into reading three books:-
1) Syd Fields - Screenplay: the Foundations of Screenwriting
2) Robert McKee - Story: Substance, Structure, Style & the Principles of Screenwriting
3) Linda Seger - Creating Unforgettable Characters: a Practical Guide to Character Development
Some will argue that McKee is a hack but I personally found his insights into writing to be interesting and worth considering.
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There really is no science to this aspect of screenplay writing. Some people will disagree with me and try to shove the Three Act storywriting structure down your throat, but don't find that to be a helpful format, personally.
One time I wrote an entire first draft for a short between 5AM-7AM. Other times it's taken me months to finish a draft. And I start every story differently - sometimes I start with a character, sometimes I start with a scene, sometimes I simply start with a motivation.
Whatever the catalyst is, I take it and I marinate it with inspirational material. I seek out photos, movies, music, video games, etc. that resonate with my creative vision and I cherry pick the parts that serve my story. This is how I build my foundations for my own originality to stem from.
When you ask how long your story should be before you start the screenplay, I say they are one in the same. I am rather unorthodox in the sense that I sort of brainstorm as I write the screenplay, so if that's too chaotic for you, then brainstorm enough for one scene and write that.
I advise just writing. A lot. Try different styles and methods until you find what works for you. I myself put a lot of emphasis on history and backstory - things that aren't necessarily shown or discussed in the actual film, but contribute to the character's overall composition and motivations.
One time I wrote an entire first draft for a short between 5AM-7AM. Other times it's taken me months to finish a draft. And I start every story differently - sometimes I start with a character, sometimes I start with a scene, sometimes I simply start with a motivation.
Whatever the catalyst is, I take it and I marinate it with inspirational material. I seek out photos, movies, music, video games, etc. that resonate with my creative vision and I cherry pick the parts that serve my story. This is how I build my foundations for my own originality to stem from.
When you ask how long your story should be before you start the screenplay, I say they are one in the same. I am rather unorthodox in the sense that I sort of brainstorm as I write the screenplay, so if that's too chaotic for you, then brainstorm enough for one scene and write that.
I advise just writing. A lot. Try different styles and methods until you find what works for you. I myself put a lot of emphasis on history and backstory - things that aren't necessarily shown or discussed in the actual film, but contribute to the character's overall composition and motivations.
Heh, I thought this was normal. I generally try and plan a lot of things first in my story, but usually find it taking it a completely different direction as soon as I start writing. I often write a story multiple times without referring to the previous copy, to get a range of ideas.
1) I think of a story in it's most basic form - beginning, middle and end. I play it vaguely in my head until it 'feels' like a full length movie.
2) I roughly plot scenes on sticky post-it notes with a brief scene description. I go through it all make scene changes where necessary.
3) I start writing the screenplay based on my scene notes. The whole process takes around 2 months to get a first draft out that should be around 90-120 pages.
Note: the better you plot your scene's before-hand, the less major editing you will end up doing to the screenplay itself.
2) I roughly plot scenes on sticky post-it notes with a brief scene description. I go through it all make scene changes where necessary.
3) I start writing the screenplay based on my scene notes. The whole process takes around 2 months to get a first draft out that should be around 90-120 pages.
Note: the better you plot your scene's before-hand, the less major editing you will end up doing to the screenplay itself.
I usually start out with a main character and an idea. I figure out where the story begins and where it ends. Then I come up with a major event that will drive the story to the conclusion. Once I have that, I figure out how the story gets from Point A (beginning) to Point L (major event) and from there to Point Z (end). From there it is just a matter of figuring out how to connect the points with other points. To do that, I give my characters as much back story as I can. That will tell me how these particular characters would react to certain situations and what they would say and how they would say it. To craft characters that people will care about, you have to know your characters intimately and keep their actions true to themselves.
I will look up those books and give them a read DDK. After reading everybody's responses about two or three times, I recall a few months ago I had an idea for a screenplay. I ended up writing the idea down in my notebook along with the character bios. I wrote the story which turned out to be like 10 pages long. I noticed myself becoming detailed oriented or something along those lines. I cannot find the word to put it on, haha. It was basically everything I wanted to happen from beginning to end but without the characters talking with each other.
Is it bad to be really detailed oriented knowing I may or may not be able to fit everything in the screenplay? I guess that's where I was getting at as well. For my first screenplay, I want to write a horror slasher screenplay just to get my feet wet. I know majority of the horror films are like 90 minutes. I don't want/mean to bring confusion to anyone. It's just something I thought of while typing this response.
Is it bad to be really detailed oriented knowing I may or may not be able to fit everything in the screenplay? I guess that's where I was getting at as well. For my first screenplay, I want to write a horror slasher screenplay just to get my feet wet. I know majority of the horror films are like 90 minutes. I don't want/mean to bring confusion to anyone. It's just something I thought of while typing this response.