In this article, we’ll share how you can write an award-winning script in 6 simple steps, and we’ll answer 3 FAQs about scriptwriting.
What is a Screen Play?
The purpose of scriptwriting in film is to create the movie’s screenplay. A screenplay is the meat and bones of a movie. Ranging anywhere from 70–180 pages, this document includes the dialogue, acting instructions, and other scene directions of the entire visual production. Most movie scripts average 110 pages, but countless factors play into the length of a film’s screenplay.
You may ask, “what do scriptwriters put on the pages of a screenplay?” Let’s take a look at what it takes to write a screenplay for a film.
6 Steps to Write a Killer Script
Whether you’re a screenwriter yourself or an aspiring filmmaker, it’s important to note what it takes to write a blockbuster script for a film. Here are 6 steps you can take to write the next groundbreaking screenplay:
1. Craft a logline
A logline in scriptwriting is a brief and enticing summary of your movie. Only one to two sentences in length, loglines are meant to hook the reader (such as a potential producer) in and describe the overarching conflict of your film’s story. Think of loglines as concise teasers to your film. When crafting a logline, you’ll want to keep in mind that your main goal is to draw the reader in and make them want to read your film’s entire script.
Here’s an example of an engaging logline from Star Wars: A New Hope: “Luke Skywalker, a lively farm boy, joins a rebellion to save Princess Leia from the sinister Darth Vader, and the galaxy from a planet-destroying weapon, the Empire’s Death Star.” Not only does this logline set up the main characters, antagonist, and general plot, but it also makes the reader wonder what will happen to Luke Skywalker as he journeys this dangerous new path.
2. Create your story’s outline
A film’s story structure commonly follows a three-act structure—a setup, inciting incident, and redemption. The first step to crafting a film’s outline is to write down the central events of your screenplay in sequential order. You can build this storyboard on a page or two of paper, or, if you have extra space, try writing on index cards and pasting them on a wall to view or change differing parts of the story. The sole focus or plot of your film’s storyboard should be answering the dramatic question. What is the dramatic question? The dramatic question is a question that needs to be answered by the end of your film. It often surrounds the central conflict involving your film’s protagonist, and it’s usually introduced when your main character is thrown out of their routine or has some sort of epiphany at the beginning of your production.
The dramatic question often takes the entire film to answer with each plot point adding to the possible answer of the question while continually holding the audience’s attention. Let’s take a look at our previous example, Star Wars: A New Hope. In this film, the dramatic question goes something like this: “Will Luke Skywalker along with the rebel forces defeat evil and win the battle to save Princess Leia and the galaxy?” Throughout the film, countless other small questions keep viewers wondering who will survive, which side will win, and what will be the fate of each character. When putting together your film’s storyboard, the dramatic question needs to be the focal point of your entire screenplay.
3. Write your film’s treatment
Your film’s treatment is an enhanced version of the storyboard and reads like a short story. It doesn’t involve dialogue or specific scenes but rather is a detailed version of your story’s outline to determine if your film’s idea is worth investing in before writing the whole screenplay. Treatments are written in narrative-like prose, highlighting important elements about your film including the title, logline, story summary, and brief character descriptions. The point of writing a treatment is to:
- Lay out your story’s structure
- Set up the world you want audiences to envision
- Identify any plot holes or key missing parts of the story
- Flesh out each character and figure out their importance
A treatment also gives you a summarized version of your film to present to studio executives or producers who may want to help finance your creative production. If you want a breezy scriptwriting process for your film, don’t skip this step!
4. Write your screenplay
This is perhaps the most challenging step of all—writing the screenplay. The best way to start is to sit down with a page limit goal in mind. The general rule of thumb is that one page equals one minute of screen time, so you’ll want to write anywhere from 90-120 pages in total. If you’re just starting, we recommend you go with 90-100 pages for your rough draft! Shorter scripts mean lower budgets and shorter shooting schedules, and 90-minute movies allow distributors to gain as many theater screenings in one day as possible. Anything over 120 pages is often frowned upon due to writing mistakes such as overwritten dialogue, repetitive scenarios, or unnecessary scene descriptions.
Here are a couple of pointers to keep in mind when writing your screenplay:
- Write in the present tense
- Show the audience what’s happening instead of telling them
- Don’t over-edit your first draft
- Let the ideas flow first, and the structure will follow
If you focus hard with a specific goal in mind, you’ll have a breathtaking screenplay written in no time! Don’t be afraid to show your screenplay to friends, family, or fellow creatives to gain insight and glean fresh ideas from them during the process.
5. Properly format your screenplay
There are plenty of script templates available online, or you can invest in scriptwriting software to arrange your screenplay into the proper format. There are countless tools to choose from, but here are some of the best scriptwriting softwares out there:
- Final Draft 12
- Celtx
- Highland 12
- Fade In
The film industry standard for a script format is 12-pt Courier font, with a 1-inch right margin, 1.5-inch left margin, and 1-inch margins at the top and bottom. Format your screenplay, and you’re ready to move on to the editing and presentation process!
6. Edit your screenplay
It could take several rounds of editing, rewriting, and revising to get the final script you feel proud of. However, the editing process is well worth the hours of dedication. The author of The Elements of Editing, Arthur Plotnick, shares the power of editing with this statement: “You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.”
Editing your screenplay ensures your audience will receive the powerful message your film has to offer. While editing your script is hard work, it is the only way to promise that your original vision comes to life on screen in the way you imagined it to.
3 FAQs About Script Writing
Here are a few common questions we hear about scriptwriting for film:
How do you get into scriptwriting?
There are a couple of roads that can lead you into a screenwriting career. First, you can try film school to develop writing skills, make industry connections, and find internship opportunities. If you’re not interested in getting a degree, you can start by building your network of film industry connections. You can also apply for entry-level roles that relate to screenwriting such as a freelance writer, editor, agency assistant, or content specialist position. Whether you decide on school or not, the most important practice you can implement is to write every day. Write sample scripts, read movie screenplays, join a writing group, and never stop working your way up to becoming the next hit scriptwriter.
How do you get ideas for script writing?
You can generate screenplay ideas from your everyday experiences, current world events, inspiration from other films or writers, or simply from your imagination. Don’t wait for a story to come to you. Instead, go out and experience the world around you! Meet new people, get out of your comfort zone, people-watch, or go to your favorite city. The best scriptwriters don’t wait for an idea to come to them—they create stories out of seemingly mundane circumstances. Whether the ideas are off-the-wall, simple, or intellectual, don’t wait to write the next groundbreaking script.
What is scriptwriting for YouTube?
If you’d like to practice screenwriting in your free time, YouTube is a great place to start! You can create a channel of your own and film just about anything you’re passionate about. When you’re brainstorming ideas for your next video, it’s vital to create some sort of outline for your video. This is where scriptwriting comes in handy! Essentially, a YouTube script is a written framework for your video. It will include specific dialogue, visual cues, and multiple calls-to-action (CTAs) to mention so that you stay on-topic while keeping your audience engaged 100% of the time.
Hire Screen Writers for Your Upcoming Film Project
Let’s say you’ve gotten out of your comfort zone and generated a never-before-seen idea for an upcoming film, but there’s one problem—you don’t know how to write out your new story on paper. The Avalanche Studios team is here to help! We have a team of award-winning writers, editors, producers, and creatives passionate about telling powerful stories through visual productions.
We will partner with you to craft your idea into a stellar screenplay, and we’ll make sure you approve of it during the entire process! For 40 years, we’ve worked with a variety of creatives and filmmakers to craft high-end movies that wow audiences and leave them asking for more. What idea do you want to be transferred onto the big screen? We’ll help make it happen. Request a quote from Avalanche Studios’ team, and we’ll get back to you with an accurate price.
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