Writing a Screenplay: Three Acts
The first step of writing a screenplay is finding a storyline. All the storylines have been told before—you need to find a new and interesting way to tell your story.
Create a one-sentence concept that sums up your story. This is called a logline. Don’t underestimate the importance of your logline—this can make or break a screenplay sale.
A screenplay has three main parts: the premise, the people, and the plot—the three Ps. Each “P” should carry equal weight, even to the point of using up about the same number of words in the script. The premise is the element upon which the other two are laid, but people and plot are equally important. Picture the three parts as circles that slightly overlap each other.
Everyone loves the movies! And if you’re anything like other aspiring screenwriters, you leave the theater thinking about how you could have just as a good a story if not better. You might dream about receiving an Academy Award for your screenplay.
Once you or your agent has sold your screenplay to a producer, that’s the end of it, right? Not necessarily. The studio is now the de jure author of a screenplay, essentially holding all rights that come along with copyright ownership. However, writers have managed to carve out a few of those rights to keep for themselves. These are known as separated rights.
To receive your separated rights, you need to do one of the following:
Not all good screenplays come of a screenwriter’s imagination. Some are based on novels or someone’s real-life experience and some on a famous person’s life story.
Unless your story is a completely original idea, you need to consider story rights.
Keep in mind that no legitimate producing entity will get involved in a project unless the rights are secured. If you find someone interested in your story who doesn’t inquire about the rights, you are wasting your time. So, how do you determine what rights are necessary?
Most people need training of some kind before they can successfully complete a task. The same goes for screenwriting. You might be a natural storyteller but in the highly competitive field of moviemaking, everyone can benefit by furthering their education. Due to that competition, there are resources covering virtually every medium and every type of screenplay and every type of screenwriter out there.
Once you’ve made a list of agencies that handle screenplays, it’s time to write a compelling query letter. A good query letter catches the agent’s attention and gets him interested in your screenplay.
In the big-money business of moviemaking, a good idea can be worth millions. So, you want to take the necessary steps to protect your work. Here are several ways you can do that:
• File for a copyright with the Library of Congress. This costs $30, but it’s good for a long time, even after you die. This gives you the most protection in a court trial, should anyone steal your script.
The business of screenwriting is all about writing and rewriting. The first step is writing a first draft. Then, step away from your script for at least a couple of days. Come back and read your screenplay all the way through. Read it again and take notes on anything that needs work. Are there any loose strings? Note any and all problems, from problems with the storyline to spelling and formatting mistakes.
Incorporate all of your changes.
There are books, DVDs, tutorials, coaching business and much more devoted to advising screenwriters how to pitch their screenplay. Pitching is a verbal presentation of your idea. Your goal is to sell your idea to a production executive or agent so that they want to hire you to write a screenplay and pay you to do so.