GUEST EDITORIAL: Songs And Dialogues In The Hollywood Films: The Creative Writing As The Most Important Skill For This
Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/Ri90j6NHQ3Q
Songs And Dialogues In The Hollywood Films: The Creative Writing As The Most Important Skill For This
by Anne Medina
When it comes to making movies, it seems to easy to write a script and shoot a film. However, this is not the case. Creating a high-quality movie takes time, effort, and financial investments which is why so many movies today lack quality.
But what the film starts from is the script, and if it is written poorly, you can’t expect to have a good movie in the end. That’s why it’s so important to be a good screenwriter before you can be a good director.
Some filmmakers choose to start with creative writing which can be used both for filmmaking and for other types of writing. Hence, here’s how creative writing is a skill that can be used for creating songs and dialogues in Hollywood films.
The Importance of Creative Writing
First and foremost, you need to understand the importance of creative writing. To put it simply, creative writing is a form of writing where creativity plays the most important role during the process of creating a piece of text. Creativity, imagination, and innovation are usually the main focus for creating an emotional narrative.
Indeed, the emotional aspect of creative writing is what makes it so versatile. It can be used anywhere from emotional branding to poetry to short stories – and, of course, screenwriting. Because creative writing is the opposite of journalistic and academic writing, professionals in these fields can first struggle to understand how creative writing works, but it all still comes down to writing which is a skill anyone can learn with enough practice.
Speaking of what makes creative writing different from other forms of writing, there is a special quality in this type of writing that allows you to have a unique emotional impact on the audience through (mostly) fiction. Journalism and academic writing can also have an emotional impact on the audience, but they are closer to non-fiction and don’t focus on imagination as much.
Creative Writing vs. Screenwriting vs. Songwriting
When it comes to using creative writing for making songs and dialogues for film, there are still certain things to consider. As experts from the online writing services review sites say, “Creative writing is not the same as screenwriting or songwriting. Of course, creative writing can be used as more of an umbrella term that encompasses screenwriting and songwriting, but these two forms still have their own ‘rules’ that artists must consider.”
Screenplays almost always follow a three-act structure while novels, for instance, can have a more free-flowing structure or may not have any noticeable structure at all. That being said, writing dialogue for novels and for screenplays is relatively similar as in both cases you can use creative writing techniques to help you.
It’s a similar situation for songwriting. Songs require you to use creative writing techniques, but you should still follow the structure of verses, choruses, pre-choruses, bridges, etc. A song can tell a story much like a novel or a script does, but you still need to use a much smaller number of words to do this.
Types of Creative Writing
As mentioned earlier, creative writing is quite versatile and can also be used as an umbrella term meaning that you could be using it for influencer marketing as much as for writing short stories. That being said, there are several essential types of creative writing that you can learn to use to help you in screenwriting and songwriting later on:
Poetry: Writing poetry is quite similar to songwriting in that both forms use shorter words, phrases, and sentences to convey their stories. That’s exactly why learning how to write poetry can help you then write better songs (or even just use your poems and create music for them).
Short Stories: Though short stories may seem irrelevant to screenwriting, they can actually help you condense ideas and throw out any unnecessary parts of your story. Many screenwriters struggle with this, so learning how to write short stories can help you get ready to screenwriting.
Novels: The best part about writing novels is that they often have a similar structure to screenplays. The elements of creative writing for film (and, incidentally, novels) will be discussed in the next section.
Playwriting: Playwriting is also very similar to screenwriting, especially considering that cinema is like a natural extension of theater.
Elements of Creative Writing for Film
Experts from the top writing services sites usually define a variety of the most essential elements of creative writing for film, including:
Plot: This is the story itself that tells what happens to the characters.
Dialogue: While actions of the characters are important, dialogue is what allows the characters to interact which also helps advance the plot.
Characters: The characters themselves can be unchanging (static) or developing (dynamic). Contrary to popular belief, character development isn’t supposed to be present in every screenplay but rather needs to be used in the right stories.
Themes: What helps develop both the characters and the plot are the underlying themes of your story. These can also add layers to your screenplay.
Visual Descriptions: Descriptions usually talk about character actions, but they can also explain what the environment looks like.
How to Write Screenplays
Learning how to work with all of these elements of creative writing for film will help you write better screenplays. But perhaps one of the best writing tips to keep in mind is that you need to do things your own way and follow these rules more as guidelines than as a manual for any situation imaginable.
That being said, you should still keep in mind such things as formatting. Screenplays need to look a certain way to actually be screenplays. You can’t really write one in the form of a novel. Consider using different automation tools in the form of screenwriting software to help you format such scripts almost seamlessly.
How to Use Creative Writing for Film Songs and Dialogues
Last but not least, it’s important to understand how to use creative writing for film songs and dialogues. Keep in mind all the things mentioned in this article, but you should also try to find your own approach to dialogue writing and songwriting.
A good dialogue is one that serves a purpose in the bigger picture (e.g. it advances the plot, develops the characters, etc.) Songs in films are usually similar to dialogues: they advance the plot, develop the characters, or serve purely as entertainment if used in films for children.
Final Thoughts
All in all, being a good screenwriter is quite similar to being a good fiction writer. Even if you only have a well-developed creative writing skill, you can already be certain that you know some basic elements of writing a good script.
Remember that it’s not enough to only know what creative writing is, but it’s also important to understand its different elements and apply the necessary writing techniques when creating your screenplay. Use the tips and tricks from this article to help you create the best songs and dialogues for movies by using your creative writing skill to its fullest.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Medina is a specialist in different types of writing. She graduated from the Interpreters Department, but creative writing became her favorite type of work. Now she improves her skills while working as a specialist for the different websites. She also has a lot of training and offers assistance and basic writing tips for students all over the world.
