by Carl Hose

Created on: October 26, 2009

A screenplay is a story written for the screen. At its most basic level, a screenplay is written in present tense, with nothing more on the page than what you can see and hear on the movie screen. If you want to write for the movies, you need to be able to create a screenplay.

Unlike a novel or short story, a screenplay requires industry-specific formatting. It isn't difficult to learn this format, but until you get the hang of it, you should keep a handy reference guide. "Screenwriting for Dummies" will give you the quick and dirty information you need to understand the elements of screenplay format. Another book to keep on your shelf is the "Elements of Style for Screenwriters by Paul Argentini. This book is handy to have around for quick reference.

Armed with your reference books, it's time to take your story from your mind to the page. You'll want to choose a screenwriting software to help you do this. Screenwriting software is a word processor for screenwriters. Screenwriting software will format your screenplay for you, automatically, typically with just the TAB and ENTER keys, leaving you time to focus on writing. The two big names are Movie Magic Screenwriter and Final Draft, but if these programs are too expensive for your budget, try web-based screenwriting software such as Scripped, which doesn't cost anything. You can also use Celtx, which is feature rich screenwriting software that doesn't cost a penny.

Now it's time to write. Consider a screenplay to time out at about one minute per page, which means a sceenplay of 120 pages will be roughly a two hour movie. Now break the structure down into three acts. Your first act will take up about thirty pages, ending with rising action that has your protagonist facing a problem you've hopefully set up early on. At this point, it should look like there's no hope for your hero. The second act will take up about sixty pages. This act will consist of your hero doing his best to overcome the obstacles you've placed before him. The second act should end with a little brighter outlook for your hero, though he won't have reached his goal just yet. The third act should be about thirty pages, and it's during this time that your hero overcomes all obstacles and your story is concluded appropriate to the story.

These guidelines are general, and you don't need to be aware of the three-act structure as you write. Let the story take its course. The three-act structure will typically fall into place with a well-written, evenly paced story.

Learn more about this author, Carl Hose.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.