forum How do you write a screenplay?

Started May 23, 2019 by @ElianaRose15

tune

I know, I know. It’s a dumb question, everyone knows it’s not that hard to write a screenplay…but I’m just so…stuck? Like, it isn’t writer’s block, and I know what to write, but how do I do it? I just..

It's just like writing a story, but you just put the characters name before the line, and any movements are in parenthesis. Sorry, I don't know if that's helpful or even what you're asking, but hey, I tried.

I know that part (not trying to be mean) but what I’m asking is…how? Like maybe it comes from my zero drive to write my ideas down, but I have no idea where to start even though I know everything I want written.

I really don't know how to help you there. I've written a bunch of screenplays before, but I just kinda sat down and just… started. I really don't know what advice to give here lmao.

I'm really into screenwriting myself, and I think I can relate to your situation. I always know what I want for my story, but when it comes to writing it down I just… don't. The first step is to find a good place to write it down- on paper or on computer. I use a free program called Celtx, it's really great for formatting and all. After you've found out where and how to write, you've gotta figure out what you're writing. Personally, I've never written anything in order. My advice would be to write a scene at a time, not necessarily in order. Start with writing down the most vivid scenes in your mind, the ones you're most excited about. Think through the speed of action, the mood, the dialogue, everything. Immerse yourself in your own story. Then write it all down. It will definetly take a few re-writes before you're happy, but that's a good thing. After you have a few scenes written, start putting then in order, then work to fill in that gaps. With novel writing, you follow a chraraters point of veiw. The gift of film is that you can follow multiple plot points and multiple points of veiw at a time. This might be the hardest part of screenwriting, to break your story down into pieces the audience can follow. Visualizing scenes is a similar challenge, but maybe the funnest. I'm sure you can find tons of good sources for screenwriting online.