A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your First Movie Screenplay: What’s Important to Know?

Are you passionate about movies? Are you dreaming about entering the industry and unleashing your creativity and imagination? The movie industry is full of opportunities, so you should not think twice before saying yes to an opportunity within this field. However, at times it might seem challenging to be part of it, as many people want the same thing. 

So, if you like screenwriting, then why not try your chance and write your first movie screenplay? Do not let the thought of not having enough experience cloud your beginning or demotivate you. No screenwriter was born with the skills to be successful in this domain, so do not put pressure on yourself. Looking for some tips and tricks on how to start? Here is a step-by-step guide to writing your first movie screenplay. 

Thinking About Your Logline

Well, the first step you should begin with is writing a logline. Even though you might edit it as you advance in your screenplay writing, it is essential to have it from the start. What is a logline? It is that short paragraph or sentence that tells the main idea of your movie. However, a logline should follow specific characteristics or answer some questions. 

For example, it should answer the question about what the movie is about. Avoid giving the name of the characters involved, but rather focus on their current status and what events or conflicts arise that help the character progress. Your logline should have a maximum of 50 words, so make sure you are concise. 

Creating an Outline

You now have the main idea of your story and what happens, so you could go to the next step. Writing your first movie screenplay is a new process, so you will learn how to do things differently. You might have written essays or papers during school or college. And making an outline is one of the crucial steps that allow you to create a logical and smooth piece of paper. Well, the same goes for writing movie screenplays, only the outline takes a distinct form. 

There are two ways you can do it: either by the traditional way of writing the actions on a paper or writing each action on a separate piece of paper. You could glue them to your wall and then organize them. Make sure you do not lose sight of the basic structure most stories have so that you will not lose time reorganizing the actions. 

Writing a Treatment

Even though this choice of words might confuse you, you should know that in the movie industry, treatment is a short story. It is something many screenwriters decide to write before they start working on the actual screenplay. Reading it to other people can help you understand if the storyline is well built and if your movie screenplay would catch the interest. 

Writing the Screenplay

Well, the next step is to start writing your screenplay. One of the most crucial tips and tricks is not to focus on how the sentences sound. Or on your choice of words. It would be helpful to focus on just letting your thoughts and ideas pour on paper. 

But do not forget the basic rules when it comes to screenwriting. Your role is to show the people what happens or the connections, not to tell them which they are. More important is to use the present tense when you are writing. As you probably know, plagiarism is not tolerated within any industry, especially in the movie-making one. So, if you want to check your text, you can test this plagiarism tool, It is a free tool you find online that helps you make sure that your movie screenplay is 100% original.

 

Formatting and Editing

Last but not least, you should save some time for formatting and editing. A movie screenplay should have a specific format so it is essential to use it. You can find some tools online that could format the screenplay for you. Besides formatting, it is crucial to edit what you have written too. There might be typos or mistakes you haven’t spotted. Or, you might want to rephrase some sentences or paragraphs. 

Final Thoughts

Writing your first movie screenplay might feel overwhelming. But this is due to the feeling of not knowing where to start, considering this is the first time doing it. This step-by-step guide will help you write your movie screenplay. Follow the steps presented here and you will end up with a compelling, smooth, logical, and catchy screenplay. 

Author’s Bio
Cory Shilling is a content writer and blogger. He loves watching movies and has seen over 1,000 until now. Watching movies is his favorite way of spending the evening after a long day at work.