Things To Know Before Writing Your First Script

When you watch a movie one thing that will always matter is the storyline of it, you may not even know who wrote the script but the way it is written will always affect the final product. If the script is trash, no amount of good acting, direction or editing will save it. Writing is all about creativity, the more unique the script is the more it will stand out, anyone can write clichés but only some can write scripts that people will remember for ages. But before you begin the journey of writing, there are a couple of things you need to know!

Concept is everything

The script is not something that is done overnight, they are going to take up a lot of your time that is why it is important to have an idea that is worth spending all that time and effort on. Whatever concept you choose to work on needs to have a reason behind its existence, you need to know what makes your “idea” different from that of others? It needs to have individuality.

If you are into writing films, you probably watch them a lot too! What this does is trick your mind into thinking that, it is the kind of content you want to create as well, so most people end up writing scripts that are heavily inspired by their favourite movies, don’t settle for that! Challenge your creativity.

Main Character

You must know this, most stories revolve around one main person or sometimes 2. The idea is to know who your main character is, characters are a way for the audience to connect with the story, the audience will develop significant connections that will help them understand the movie even better. That is why it’s not only important for them to be realistic but also they should develop as the story moves forwards. Later we will talk about the “circle” of story writing and you will get a better understanding of this.

Outline it

Once you have the idea it's time to pen it down, no not like a script yet just an outline for now!

What is an outline?

It is an overall look of your film, not visual but how the story will roll. All the actions that will take place and it’s a written plan of how your film is going to be. The outline comes with its own benefits such as the following!

• It will help you write faster because you will know what to do

• You won’t get stuck on the script because you know exactly what you want out of it

• It will help you research any fact you are putting in your movie, you can confirm them before writing script

Draft

Now you have all your ideas written down and the next step is to write your first draft. Many people who are just starting out are not familiar with scriptwriting format. Just writing down character names and dialogues is not enough, you need to write it in such a way that the director understands it well enough to bring life to it. That’s why a proper script writing format is created for you to follow, keep an eye out for our next blog to learn more!

Rewrite

Be ready to do it all over again. One thing you must know before you sit down to write your first script is you will have to rewrite it again and again. Your first draft is not going to be perfect, maybe even the fifth draft is going to suck, the goal is to write it again and again until you are completely satisfied with it.

Read your script, again and again, highlight what doesn’t make sense or sit right with the story. Start with a fresh mind and pen down how you can make improvements to it.

As eager as you are to start your first script make sure you don’t limit your creativity! Go all out and write what you want to. The story of harry potter didn’t make sense to many but it did to JK Rowling and it honestly gets better every time you watch it. Explore your mind and surprise yourself