Screenwriting Tips: How to Write a Creative Script
Screenwriting is a visually exciting writing form that is well known for its distinctive format typed in a 12-point Courier typeface. While essays and other academic papers require an author to follow a specific structure, it’s a total flip of the script when it comes to screenwriting! Unlike an essay or novel, when writing a script for the moving picture, everything must be written in specific visual way so that way the Film Director, Director of Photography, and Film Editors can easily translate the words into moving pictures. It’s all about visual translation!
When writing a screenplay, an author must first plan the characters and solidify the key story beats (events) prior to writing. And once the story outline is prepared, the writer must keep in mind that all components of a script should follow traditional script formatting.
Whether it is a film, show, or video game; a well-written script should convey:
actions
dialogue
visual character descriptions and location detail
shot type and transitions
If you’re feeling a little confused or nervous about getting started, don’t worry! This post can help you build and/or strengthen your writing skills. Awesome tips on how to write an interesting script are just a few words away!
“Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the internet”
Write everything down
All films, TV shows, and even YouTube videos start from an idea in someone's head. So if a really good idea crosses your mind, write it down immediately! Use a notebook, laptop, or even a smartphone - there’s lots of screenwriting apps you can try too. If all you have on you is a napkin, grab that napkin! That being said, be sure to transfer the idea into a word document or screen writing software once you’re able to. The point is when you have an idea, you owe it to both yourself and this fabulous idea to write it down.
Next, expand on your idea by writing a script with no interruptions. Try to eliminate thoughts like, "Is this idea really good?" or "What will others think about this?" By avoiding any doubts, you are giving your idea the opportunity to grow into something significant.
Even if your script seems poor in quality or unsatisfactory, remember that you can always polish it later. If you find yourself lacking skills in the exciting art of editing, you can hire expert writers.
Find Inspiration Anywhere
It's nearly impossible to come up with new ideas for creative scripts while sitting at home. If you experience difficulty generating new ideas, feel free to seek inspiration outside of your four walls. After all, the best stories come from experience. You must live so you can write!
Get some sun and vibe with nature, explore the internet, immerse yourself in movies or sports. If you’re a people or animal person, take Fido or friends for a walk. Some would say that even a little time with yourself or “you time”, can be a great way to get inspired. Still need a bit more inspiration? Here are the top five ways to find inspiration:
Spend a few hours outside.
Surf the WEB for new ideas.
Try doing something new to you.
Gather friends and brainstorm.
Make new connections and listen to others' stories.
Show, Don't Tell
Unlike novels, films don't provide depth on a character's thoughts, state of mind, or plans through the written word. Instead, films represent a character with the help of dialogue and visual actions. So it’s up to you to avoid worthless information and focus on how characters will look and speak on screen.
If you’re not sure how to visually write about your character’s traits start by reading real movie scripts that made it to the big screen. Seeing how the pros do it will help kickstart and inspire your own scripts.
If you’re a student, don’t be shy to use academic writing help services. Using them, you can delegate your assignments to professionals so you can focus on reading scripts and writing your own.
“Everything I’ve written is personal- it’s the only way I know how to write”
Use Your Strengths, Trust Your Voice
If you want to write a creative and interesting screenplay, identify and use your strong suits. If you know many jokes and funny stories, make your characters funny by tapping into your knowledge and experience. If you can hardly create funny stories but can misdirect an audience well, create a script that is full of unexpected turns and grand reveals.
In the case that you have zero talents mentioned above, you might be good at finding interesting information through research. Use your research skills to supplement a script with interesting facts that are worthy of captivating the attention of your audience.
Develop your characters, avoid cliches
Do you want your script to be boring and obvious? Assuming the answer is no, don't be afraid to make your characters unique and remarkable. Add some personality traits that can be applied to your specific characters. You can also create unexpected circumstances that reveal a characters' unforeseen sex, age, or nationality. Feel free to develop the personalities of your characters by picking traits and peculiarities randomly.
Anyway, if you’re a student who uses a fast custom essay writing service to create top-grade papers, use randomness. Feel free to develop the personalities of your characters by picking traits and peculiarities randomly.
Like real people, characters should have a realistic past that’s filed with unique dreams and goals in their lives. By observing this rule, you’ve established a foundation that helps rationalize their actions. Use this free Character Development worksheet below to help you.
Excerpt from Inception
Also, build a creative plot by showing the path your characters take to achieve their goals. Feel free to add some obstacles on their path to success to make your script more interesting. Remember that all characters should have a proper place in a script. You can't merely add new people without an introduction or purpose. All characters should have at least one augmented reason to appear in your script.
Story Beats
Once you have your idea and characters, make the script writing easier by mapping out your story beats. A story beat is a significant event that impacts or transforms your character. Some people like to refer to beats as crucial checkpoints throughout the story, points that must take place to create your complete story - or character transformation.
So how do you write beats? You can use this film beat sheet template and watch this beat sheet example of the Matrix.
Once your film beats are made you can then start writing and formatting the script by including dialogue, action lines, transitions, montage, and more. New to dialogue? Practice writing dialogue with this step by step.
Here is a full breakdown on how to format your script.
Bottom Line
Producing a creative and top-notch script is hard work, however everyone can do it! If your scripts' quality is unsatisfactory, that’s ok! There will be time to go back and refine! Do not be shy to make mistakes and learn from them. Never stop practicing if you want to achieve significant results in script writing.
May the next pages of your script be just as fulfilling as the life journey that brought you here to the writers table.
If you need further help with writing in general check out Speedy Paper.