Essential Tips for Writing a Script or Screenplay

by Susan Melony

Writing a screenplay or script is an essential part of making a film, and it’s the foundation that’s going to determine the quality of what you’re able to produce. There aren’t secrete formulas or structures to follow, no matter what you might have been taught up to this point. 

The only real formula you need to remember, which isn’t really a formula at all, is to keep it simple. 

The following are some basic, fundamental tips to create a script or screenplay that can be turned into something that plays out beautifully on the screen or stage. 

Less Is More

The idea of less is more isn’t one that new writers often follow, but they should. There isn’t any particular number as far as the dialogue or scenes you should put in your script, but don’t try to make it into more than it needs to be. 

You want to balance showing and telling. If there’s less scene description, for example, the reader can create the visuals in their own mind, rather than having to imagine the specifics you had in your mind. 

When you’re initially creating a script or screenplay, your first audience will be the reader, and you want to keep whoever might be engaged. 

Also, if you want to get into the details, that’s for a novel. If you’re a screenwriter one of your considerable talents or at least one you want to work on developing is that you can get to the core of whatever a moment is, but you don’t have to write the details. 

Build the World

You want to build a world in your mind before you begin writing, and even though you’re not necessarily going to spell out all of those details in your actual writing, you’re going to know it well enough that, in turn your writing is helping your audience imagine it. 

To build a world, you have to consider the time period, the climate, themes of the story, and the location. Your story themes are what you hope people take from your film and the message you want to resonate most deeply. 

Create a Synopsis

A synopsis is an outline of your story. The synopsis goes in the order in which your audience will view it. A synopsis, for example, will include:

• An introduction to your main character and their world

• An incident that incites the action and begins to move the story

• A turning point where the character is faced with a challenge

• The hero develops their specific goal, sometimes known as a call to action

• There’s what’s called a point of no return where the protagonist takes a significant risk or experiences a major loss

• At the point where all is lost, the hero has to rise to a particular occasion

• Many screenplays will include a second turning point, where the stakes are upped even more

• The climax of the synopsis is when there’s a resolution to the story

At this point, you might also consider writing a treatment. A treatment is like an outline of your screenplay or script, but it’s going to be fleshed out more and do more of the heavy lifting for you. In fact, a treatment is somewhat like a short story. 

If you’re going to shop your script, the treatment may be what you use as part of your pitch. A treatment is also an excellent way to see if you can convey what you have in your head. 

Consider Your Audience

Often, when you’re writing something, you’re only thinking about what you have in your mind and what you’re trying to get across, but you don’t necessarily consider your audience. You want to think about who will be reading it, whether it’s a producer or an agent, for example, can make a difference in how you write. 

Understand Cinematic Storytelling

Finally, as you’re planning a script or screenplay, make sure you understand the basics of cinematic storytelling and what sets it apart from other types of writing. 

Unless you’re creating a stage play, where the main storytelling element you have to use is dialogue, in a screenplay you have the dramatic action to move your story along. You also have imagery, but that’s not really up to you. That’s something more up to a director. 

The structure of a screenplay is more along the lines of many short scenes, whereas a play is a few extended scenes.