Writing a Screenplay: Create a Plan
“To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script.”
Know everything about your story
Next step on our screenwriting journey, we will discuss tools used by the pros to really understand their characters and their screenplay.
The Logline
A logline is 1-2 sentences that describes the protagonist and their goal and/or obstacle for the story. The logline is used to “hook” your audience, potential producers or buyers to want to hear more about the story. Celtx has a great online lesson that breaks down the elements of a logline. It’s not required to write a logline as soon as you start. Many writers submit their script for script coverage (feedback on the script’s structure and quality) and the readers write a logline for the screenwriter. Personally, I like to write one for my own benefit to remind me of what I wanted to capture when I started the script.
The Backstory
Next is figuring out who your characters are. Firstly, a writer usually flushes out the protagonist: the lead character who has the biggest arc and whose goals have the greatest obstacles. Next is usually the antagonist: the “bad guy” or force that tries to prevent the protagonist from achieving their goals. However, the antagonist doesn’t have to be a person. For example, in Twister (1996) the antagonist was the tornado that Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton chased.
Once you have a general idea of the characters you need, the next step is to figure out their backstory. A character’s backstory is everything that happens to a character before the script begins. You don’t have to go all the way back to their birth unless it’s necessary to the character’s development. Who is this character: what are their fears, their desires, their quirks, their likes and dislikes, anything to make their personality unique. Think of your favorite movie or TV characters and think how they became the character you love watching so much. Think about why it is you like them so much. Is it their snappy dialogue, their charming personality or maybe how they react in difficult situations? Really getting to know your character’s personalities will help you understand what decisions or path they take as you develop the story.
The Beat Sheet
A beat sheet will sound tedious when you start, but it’s super helpful if you’re not sure where the story will go. You start from the very beginning of the script’s story and write out in bullet points each important action or decision your characters take. Some of the main beats that will mark your acts are the inciting incident, end of act one (your protagonist's decision), mid-point, low point, climax, conclusion, and resolution. Beat sheets are incredibly important when developing B and C stories as well - these stories occur parallel to the A-story (your protagonist’s main story) and they usually involve your supporting characters. The A-story in a movie is usually what your protagonist wants - their goal that runs through the story. The B-story is usually what your protagonist needs - this is usually something that ties to them emotionally from their past or a flaw in their personality.
If you’re interested in learning more about beats and script structure, I recommend the Studiobinder video on Avengers: Infinity War. It’s a really eye-opening look at modern script writing.
The Outline
After the beat sheet is completed, next is to start the outline. This is the step where you flush out the story more, making it seamless from one beat to the next. Really, it is just expanding the description of each beat to a few sentences. It’s important not to rush through your outline, and to keep an open mind and be flexible. If you find that what you wrote in your beat sheet doesn’t make sense anymore when writing your outline, change it so it makes sense for you! No draft is perfect on the first round and it’s okay to go back and revise.
The Script
Now, you can use the outline as a guide to write out the scenes into a script format. The story is basically already written out so the hard part is over! Now you have to put your story into the industry standard (typically writers use Final Draft). This is where you can have fun with the dialogue and scene descriptions. Scripts go through several drafts before they’re ready to get in front of a producer. It takes patience and practice.
Some projects require more involved planning. Then sometimes, I’m really excited about an idea and jump right in! I open up Final Draft and start writing right off the bat. The most important thing is to go at your own pace and enjoy what you are writing!