This post also includes a premise worksheet to help you nail the three elements mentioned above.
(Check out loglines on IMDB for other examples.)įor specific instructions on how to write loglines, visit my post on writing a story’s premise. This, actually, may even be more effective than using a character’s name.įor example, the logline of Star Trek might be:Ī headstrong orphan and his Vulcan nemesis must save the Federation (and themselves) from a revenge-seeking Romulan from the future. It’s also helpful to put a summarizing adjective in front of your characters to give a sense of their personalities. Loglines generally contain three elements: In other words, loglines help your story stay on track. Loglines also function as a helpful guide to focus your writing on the most important aspects of your story. (It also should be used in your elevator pitch.) When a studio executive asks you to give him your best pitch, your logline is the first thing you’ll mention.
While this doesn’t mean you should follow these steps exactly, hopefully this will be a helpful how to guide as you write a screenplay of your own.Ī logline is a one-sentence summary of your story, and they’re primarily used as a marketing tool. Most screenwriters follow these five steps to write a screenplay.
(Although, since script format is important when writing a script, I will give you some tips on this at the end of this post.) I needed a plan that uplifted my friend’s pitch with an entertaining plot and STRUCTURE. So before I began working on this new project, the one pitched by my lawyer friend, I had to re-familiarize myself with the script writing process. I needed a step-by-step process that would allow me to write a spec script I was proud to share.Ī good story that was worth a production company’s investment. My default is novelist, not screenwriter. Īfterward, I wrote three short screenplays, one of them with a producer of MTV’s Made.Īfter getting my mind around the strange script writing formatting (which is easiest to master by using a solid screenwriting software), I learned that creating unique stories for film production in such a compressed form is hard.īut it’s been several years since I tried my hand at writing a screenplay. The most important part of screenwriting is STRUCTURE. “What’s the most important part of a screenplay?” he would ask at the beginning of nearly every class.
In college, I took a class with John Wilder, a veteran Hollywood film and TV writer, who began the class by writing, “STRUCTURE! STRUCTURE! STRUCTURE!” on the chalkboard. And, like always, practice is always good for your writing process.Īre you thinking of writing a screenplay? Check out Oscar winner and TV hitmaker ( The West Wing) Aaron Sorkin’s masterclass.
In my experience, most writing projects like this don’t work out, but when they show up, it’s important to give them your best.Īfter all, at the very least, it’s good writing practice. “Maybe this isn’t a complete waste of time.” It’s getting someone to fund the process of bringing the story to life (do you have a hundred million dollars lying around to fund a movie?).įortunately, said the lawyer, he’s friends with several people at a major Hollywood studio.
The hardest part of making a movie isn’t writing a good movie script. But then he told me the story, and it was awesome-a family’s search for the American dream, drug dealers under the scrutiny of the law, police corruption, an adrenaline powered shooting, everything you could want in a major motion picture. Screenplays are like books: everyone thinks they have one in them. He was closing a tragic but fascinating case, and he thought it had potential to be a major film. Learn how to write a movie script that filmmakers-and an audience-loves!įADE IN: Why I’m Thinking About Writing a ScreenplayĮarlier this week, a friend who’s a lawyer approached me about a writing opportunity.
In this post we’re going to look at the five step process professional screenwriters use to write a screenplay. In a visual age, with the decline of traditional publishing, you might look to script writing as a way to create the “literature of the future.”īut what is the process of writing a screenplay? How do you even begin? And why is it important to know how writing films are different, but also can be similar, to writing a novel? Have you ever wondered how to write a screenplay? Have you fantasized about writing a Hollywood movie or, with a bit of luck, creating the next great TV series?