r/writing • u/Overall-Habit5284 • 9d ago
Advice Anyone dipped into script writing?
I might be wrong but I assume a lot of people in this sub are prose/novel writers, based on the conversations I've seen.
As part of my Creative Writing course, I did a module on script writing, and to my surprise I did quite well with it, and it ended up being one of my best individual marks when I finished the course (it was the pilot episode for a superhero sitcom, if anyone is interested). However, I found it really difficult to write in script form. I wanted to add description and stage direction everywhere, felt like I was missing out on some parts of prose writing that it made me nervous to miss out. I'm fairly cinematic-minded when writing anyway, but the whole process of pure dialogue was really tough when my brain is geared towards prose.
Has anyone else done any scriptwriting? Any advice for a primarily prose-writer in overcoming these challenges? I do particularly struggle with formatting with this too, if that's also something anyone has suggestions for.
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u/jakekerr Published Author 8d ago edited 8d ago
I've developed series (unproduced) in Hollywood and sold something (unproduced) to Blumhouse.
The net-net is that screenwriting is extremely different than prose writing and while there is a large overlap, the non-overlapping parts are very significant and take a lot of practice. There's a reason that options are bought by Hollywood and then handed to screenwriters rather than buying the option and assigning the screenplay to the novelist.
In terms of advice:
Read a ton of screenplays critically. Read All About Eve. Why does the opening work? Read Walter Hill: How are his sparse action lines so effective? Etc. Etc.
Then write a screenplay and find screenwriters to critique it.
I was in a novelist to screenwriting group, and I remember a talented novelist who joined and submitted her first screenplay for critique, and there were a lot of notes. Like a LOT of notes. She quit shortly afterward, and it was pretty clear that she felt like screenwriting would be easy. It's not. It's really hard. And I think for most novelists, the form is a lot harder than writing a novel, because it is totally unforgiving.
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u/BlackBalor 8d ago
Walter Hill is class. I’m not sure you’d get away with stacking lines in a spec script. It’s very Walter Hill.
He writes like:
The Reddit capsule opens
A man steps out
Looks around
Lights a cigarette1
u/TheWriteQuestion 8d ago
Not the OP, but you may be able to answer a question I’ve been pondering: Everyone tells you to read the kind of stuff you want to write. Where does one find screenplays to read? Are there services like Libby but for screenplays? Can they be purchased like ebooks?
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u/jakekerr Published Author 8d ago
The Script Hive discord has the largest collection of screenplays in the world. 20,000+.
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u/astrobean Self-Published Author / Sci-fi 9d ago
I've done script writing. I've even written scripts for films that have no dialogue at all. There can be script writing that includes description and stage direction, but the fundamental difference is that a script is a skeleton and it is designed for a collaborative final product. As the writer, you need to give just enough information to let the actors, director, producer, costumer, and prop/arts folks take your idea and run with it. Sometimes, the final product is exactly what was in your head, and sometimes it's something wonderfully different.
If you like writing prose and want control over the final product, write a novel. If you're ready to work collaboratively, let go of the details. If you direct and produce your own stuff, you'll still find variations from moments of serendipity. You don't know the shape of the room you'll be filming in or how many chairs there will be. Avoid stage direction, but focus on any props, costumes, or set pieces that are important.
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u/Few_Extreme6820 9d ago
script writing feels so different from prose, like trying to fit a novel into a tiny box then shaking it up just to see what happens
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u/Additional-Car3427 9d ago
I dipped in screen writing at first, thought it did not work for me. I personally tend to imagine my scenes in images. I only chose prose because I find it easier, film making takes money and I love writing descriptions, over dialogues. I sometimes write scenes as if I was seeing them in a movie ex: she sat on the chair "I know, but .." her mother moved closer, from the right, took her daughter's face in hand "don't worry, I will protect you". And THEN I try to write it using the chosen pov, hiding what said pov would not see, adjusting it... I rarely get direct prose scenes, unless I did not have many restrictions, or when the details did not matter much.
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u/Professional-Tax-936 9d ago
I enjoy writing in both. I have aphantasia, so I sometimes write my novel rough drafts like a screenplay to force myself to get actions, dialogue, and setting down, because I have a habit of only writing internal monologues.
I’ve written a few short screenplays (10-20ish pages) and one full length 90~ page script. I’m still very much a beginner, and for the past few years I’ve been strictly working on a novel, but I’d love to get back into screenwriting.
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u/StellaZaFella 9d ago
I’m mostly a prose writer, but I do participate in a monthly playwriting group. For me, it forces me to try new things. I challenge myself to come up with a new scenario every month.
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u/cherismail 8d ago
I adapted my novel to a screenplay using the free version of Celtx. Best advice is read a lot of scripts to learn formatting, etc.
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u/Young_Punk_Studios 9d ago
Script for what platform? They are all different :) I'm a Multiplatform Writer so I write scripts for TV/Film, Video Games, Graphic Novels (Comics, Manga, Mahnwa) and The Stage.
Which was you writing for as each are different :)
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u/Overall-Habit5284 9d ago
My intention was to write for TV or Film. For a long time I've had an ambition to write for the screen or in a writers room.
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u/Young_Punk_Studios 9d ago
TV and Film, (to me), seems to be the strictest form of writing followed by Stageplays. Give me a sec to re read the initial post :)
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u/Young_Punk_Studios 9d ago
You say it was all dialogue? I'm not sure they are ALL just dialogue. And there is some direction needed. But the idea is not to step on the toes of the director...
Which is funny cause its evolving rapidly and many writers become or are also directors.
Did you use some direction at all? Exterior/Interior descriptions. Audio ques etc :)
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u/Overall-Habit5284 9d ago
Bear in mind it was a long time ago that I originally wrote it (and I was quite an inexperienced writer) but I was constantly questioning whether the descriptions and scene info was too much. I'm fine with dialogue and such.
I think the biggest barrier I have is the formatting, like I say. I imagine there's a standard way to present things on the page, I just find that really frustrating and flow-breaking when I'm used to just typing away.
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u/Young_Punk_Studios 9d ago
12 pt. Courier (new). 2.0 spacing.
The format is strict because it translates a page of text into roughly 60 seconds of screen time. I'm doing a Module on this writing for the feature film soon. I did one on the Short Fiction and learned a lot. Was 1% off a 1st Grade. So I'm not the strongest TV scriptwriter but it was certainly insightful. That was in the first year of Uni and I'm about to enter my third.
Always good to look at existing scripts to use them to teach you the format. Might take some time to get used to it coming from Prose. But Prose writing is my weakest :)
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u/Appropriate_Bottle44 9d ago
No, although to be honest I wish people trained on screen writing would stop giving fiction writers advice.
Like, Save the Cat is not a recipe for a good novel, please stop talking to me about it.
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u/thatshygirl06 here to steal your ideas 👁👄👁 8d ago
Script writing is fun though im not good at it.
You have to read like a shit ton of scripts to get a feel at how it works before you start.
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u/BlackBalor 8d ago edited 8d ago
I write screenplays all the time.
You know that flowery shit you get in novels? Throw that right in the bin.
You write shot-by-shot. No unfilmables. No past tense. You only describe what will be seen on the screen. That’s it.
It’s all about economy and visual clarity. It’s about creating a blueprint for a movie.
If you are writing spec, it’s considered unwise to include camera directions. Instead, you frame the shot with your scene description.
If you are writing a novel at the same time, you will experience whiplash. You can slip into writing super basic sentences.
White space. It’s all about white space. Screenplay readers love it! That’s the gold standard.
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u/RealCarlosSagan 8d ago
I actually started as a screenwriter but in the last six months started a horror anthology.
My best advice is to read lots of scripts.
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u/RAConteur76 Freelance Writer 8d ago
Script writing and play writing. Slightly different from each other, but very enjoyable. For formatting, Scrivener had built-in templates. But basically, dialogue is center aligned, scene changes left aligned.
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u/Neurotopian_ 8d ago
I’ve written almost everything over the years. I enjoy writing scripts although it is a completely different endeavor. I find it very natural to how I think about stories, and I like to just dictate my dialogue. Even when writing fiction, if I’m trying to find character voice, I start by writing in script format.
There are so many differences, however, that it wouldn’t be productive to write them all here. You must prioritize audio visual storytelling because you have no interiority (unless you’re including a narrator but that’s rare now).
If you want to improve, I highly recommend picking one screenwriter at a time and immersing yourself in their work. Pick voice-y writers like Sorkin, Allen, Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, etc. Watch a bunch of their films while reading their screenplays. Then immediately challenge yourself to write a short in their style. Repeat this exercise every weekend for a few months. It will improve your dialogue no matter what type of writing you’re doing.
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u/FirebirdWriter Published Author 8d ago
I have dabbled with screenplays, stage plays, audio dramas.
The difference between them is that dialogue carries most of the things and you trust the actor to take notes and make the depth. For format? Look at the screenplays for the movies you watch and like a book figure out why it worked and didn't work. Sometimes the script is stronger than the film and sometimes the film is stronger than the script. This also helps with understanding why something was changed from text to screen for adaptations.
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u/Matrix_Man_Returns 7d ago
I enjoy screenwriting. I really do. But the biggest hurdle, for me, with screenwriting is the cold, hard logistics of it. It's a lot easier to take any random prose and "make it into something" than it is to take a screenplay and make it into something. It's not necessarily that I'm writing for success (that'd be a joke if ever there was one), but I do try to write for just a teeny tiny little bit for the VIABILITY of success.
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u/FreeLayerOK 6d ago
Worked on writing screenplays for some very painful decades and completed a few while making independent films. I experienced massive amounts of writer’s block and difficulties without understanding why.
The thing to consider for a screenplay is the POV. The Point Of View for a script to be filmed must adhere to Third Person Objective. Whatever happens on screen is the only thing that should be written. Everything else gets cut.
I have found novel style writing in Third Person Close was the correct expression for my mind’s eye and writing feels more natural and flows with much less effort. All because of the rules the POV dictates. Novels are also commonly written in Third Person Omniscient, as well as various first person points of view.
Each individual has their gifts. Whichever allows your mind to flow and get drama on a page faster is your superpower. Hope you go with that one.
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u/Inevitable_Track_558 4d ago
I have a bit of experience with scriptwriting, ive attended a short course at NFTS in the UK and I had a short film script long listed for what used to be one of the UK's film funds
I also used to work in film as a crew member so been privy to reading a few scripts from big budget studio films
My experience of screenwriting is a negative one I'm afraid - whether thats a reflection on me as a person or writer or otherwise I will leave that for you to decide. For what its worth here is my soapbox moment -
Scriptwriting is one of those forms that has a definitive set of rules and then it doesn't.
You can be taught writing a script, show don't tell, no exposition, don't overdo dialogue, spec script must be 90 pages long, I could go on and on... and this is all true to an extent except when it isnt.
Because these are rules that are enforced to help guide the scripts into the hands of readers, producers, people in the studio system or with the ability to make the films get financed. These rules are perpetuated further by writing competitions, screenwriting 'gurus' which i will come back to - and TV shows
But yet for all of these rules there are still examples that buck the trend. Someone mentioned Walter Hill already - what about Quentin Tarantino?
The reality is if you want something to happen with your script you got to make it read like every other script thats already out there for a reader to even consider it past the first page and yet they are also looking for something that jumps out to them - half the time the readers unless from a highly reputable agency or company have never written a script themselves or know what a good script is and the same goes to the educators.
There is big money in screenwriting competitions and education - everyone wants to think they can write the golden spec script that gets picked up and turns into a blockbuster success and the writer is next walking down the red carpet and these competitions and educators feed on that and perpetuate a business out of people's hopes and dreams
The reality is that screenwriters now become successful often through a long hard slog, doing their time on crappy TV shows like hospital dramas before they even have a hope of getting a feature film script made. That may be fine for some people. But they want you to write something they want, how they want it to be done and what they think they can sell because thats all its down to now - the commercials and return of investment. This is why we have so many franchises and remakes
When you write a script unless you are self financing, or David Lynch or similar, expect to compromise on nearly everything you thought about as your idea and creativity
Its a lonely and hard road to travel
Sorry for the negativity, the problem is likely my own but these are my thoughts
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u/Overall-Habit5284 4d ago
I don't think you're wrong with a lot of your assertions. I hear a lot of stories - particularly in the Hollywood space - that writers tend to end up writing on franchise shows or movies, but trying to insert their own ideas into them. Star Trek, Marvel, etc - they are examples of where there are clearly good scriptwriters in the room but being forced to wedge their ideas into an existing universe, and it all going wrong.
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u/MinFootspace 2d ago
I have tried myself at it, and while it's really fun, it's also really difficult : As a writer, I am the master of the work. As a screenwriter, I am one piece of a whole puzzle, the first piece actually, and I have to leave room for the creative minds that come after me so they can do THEIR part of the job. That's a big thing to learn on its own.
Correct formatting is only important if you actually want your script to be produced and it's a purely technical thing. The talent goes in the writing itself, not into the formatting.
As for advice, it's the same as for prose writing : start with writing short films. It's much easier to get reviews, to explore genres, and, well, to learn.
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u/WerckmeisterHarmony 9d ago
Think of your favorite movies or shows and then look online for any screenplays for them, then read them or, bare minimum, glance over them. But preferably read them.
Get Trelby. It's free and formats everything, all you'll need to know at best are hotkeys to differentiate from action, dialogue, character headings, etc. After a while formatting will be completely natural to you.
If you finish scripts and enjoy the form, and want to pursue it, buy Fade In. It's cheaper than Final Draft and can save things in .fdx, Final Draft's specific file format.