Learning to Write Screenplays: Begin with Shorts?

T

True|Funk|Soldier

Member
I have read a lot of the threads in this forum and have seen a number of books recommendations, all of which seem helpful if you have some degree of experience or, more often, an idea that is more or less fleshed-out in your head.

I am completely new to screenwriting but would like to try my hand. Unfortunately, and perhaps this is typical, I feel like like I only have discreet "scenes" in my head and that those scenes aren't particularly connected. When starting out, is it fair to simply focus on shorts and even super-short shorts where there is perhaps just a moment of conflict, as opposed to something that is more fully-fleshed out?

I know that question is not as focused as possible, but I am just looking for some ideas as to how to get started...

Thanks in advance.
 
Always, always start small.
Begin with those 'discreet' scenes you have in mind, just as isolated, individual pieces to explore. Probably the most important aspect of good screenwriting is the dialog. I've almost never seen well-written dialog in student shorts. If you have a knack for it, you can go very, very far, fast. If not, then you should start developing it soon.

After that, start writing character-based shorts. Try to get those made, but, if you can't, that's fine as well.

Once you've done deep research on creating a feature-length, as well as many successful, acclaimed shorts (films, that is) under your belt, then you can try your hand at feature length.

In summary, just start writing! Let the rest follow.
 
I think shorts are a fantastic way to learn the craft of screenwriting. I would also recommend you read as many possible to get the feel for what works and what doesn't.

If you interested you can do both for free at MoviePoet.com
 
Terry Rosso - Pirates of the Caribbean, states that he writes disjointed, takes scenes and then somehow pulls them together. If that works for him, should work for you.
 
If you can determine your strengths and weaknesses, that's a step forward.

You could start by writing scenes or shorts. I think both would help organize your ideas and get you adjusted. Shorts are a little more intimidating in my eye, because the audience expects instant gratification in some form. Scenes are just about changing values and character development.

If you are tempted to write individual scenes to ask for critiques, feel free to do so. Just give the dvxusers an idea what you were trying to accomplish within the scene with the chatracters and story.
 
StefanHaynes said:
Always, always start small.
Begin with those 'discreet' scenes you have in mind, just as isolated, individual pieces to explore. Probably the most important aspect of good screenwriting is the dialog. I've almost never seen well-written dialog in student shorts. If you have a knack for it, you can go very, very far, fast. If not, then you should start developing it soon.

After that, start writing character-based shorts. Try to get those made, but, if you can't, that's fine as well.

Once you've done deep research on creating a feature-length, as well as many successful, acclaimed shorts (films, that is) under your belt, then you can try your hand at feature length.

In summary, just start writing! Let the rest follow.
Click to expand...

I agree with the summary, your last point, but not about dialog being most important. I'd say it's least important. I think structure is the key element of a good script.

In general though, writing a good scene is very hard to do and a great place to start for a new writer.

Having said that, one of my best friends who had essentially never written anything aside from grocery lists, wrote a feature in 28 days and sold it for 75 grand. It was subsequently produced! If he'd listened to all of us he'd be 75 grand poorer. The moral of the story is, if you think you have it in you to knock out a feature then by all means jump in.
 
Charli said:
Terry Rosso - Pirates of the Caribbean, states that he writes disjointed, takes scenes and then somehow pulls them together. If that works for him, should work for you.
Click to expand...

His website wordplayer.com is a great resource. Might want to check it out before diving in.

He's a talented writer and great teacher. However after suffering through 3 hours of "Pirates III" it just goes to show that even sharpshooters miss the target sometimes. The scene with the Dead Kracken on the beach is a great metaphor for that franchise.
 
Yeah I'm not certain dialogue is "most important" even with a Kevin Smith or Tarantino screenplay.

Dialogue certainly is an obvious strength but wouldn't have gotten either filmmaker very far without a sense of structure. But still I get Stephan's point. Great dialogue can motivate you from scene to scene.
 
Plot vs Character

Plot vs Character

The age old battle.

Start with shorts and master formatting, brevity, and writing visual. Go for the simple plot and a surprising ending.

When you graduate to features, structure will be far more demading.

By then you will have worked out the mechanics to where it is second nature, and then really be ready to expand on writing great dialogue, weaving an intricate plot, and holding together a sound structure with compelling characters.

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
Knoxworth said:
Yeah I'm not certain dialogue is "most important" even with a Kevin Smith or Tarantino screenplay.

Dialogue certainly is an obvious strength but wouldn't have gotten either filmmaker very far without a sense of structure. But still I get Stephan's point. Great dialogue can motivate you from scene to scene.
Click to expand...

Yes, those two guys are masters. But I've read a lot of great scripts where the dialog was fairly ordinary but situations were so dramatic that the dialog is really secondary. Maybe "ordinary" is the wrong word but unlike Tarantino and Smith, some dialog just doesn't call attention to itself, like good scoring or photography, it's seamless in regard to the overall dramatic experience.

An example the comes to mind is that scene fom "enemy at the gate" where Jude law and the other guy are casually discussing whose turn it is to jump across the break in the hallway. Neither one knows that The ed harris character has his sniper rifle set up to nail the first living thing that enters that space. In my book, that's drama yet the dialog is incidental.
 
True|Funk|Soldier said:
I have read a lot of the threads in this forum and have seen a number of books recommendations, all of which seem helpful if you have some degree of experience or, more often, an idea that is more or less fleshed-out in your head.

I am completely new to screenwriting but would like to try my hand. Unfortunately, and perhaps this is typical, I feel like like I only have discreet "scenes" in my head and that those scenes aren't particularly connected. When starting out, is it fair to simply focus on shorts and even super-short shorts where there is perhaps just a moment of conflict, as opposed to something that is more fully-fleshed out?

I know that question is not as focused as possible, but I am just looking for some ideas as to how to get started...

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I like to write shorts every once in a while. It's a good form of exercizing the writing muscles in a short impact sort of way (it's also good to try your had at different genres too).

I would recomend writing them just to get a feel of format, character, dialogue, premise and story w/structure. It's a good 'sample' (that can also be sold) that you can farm out to people to read to see if you're on the right track.

IMO, with shorts, everything is important (dialogue, character, premise, story). That's because you have such limited time to shine, and to not raise all those levels of the script to the best they can be, is not doing yourself service as a writer, nor doing full service to your story either.

EJ
 
brian - so true, even the best miss the mark, shame. He has some great articles over at wordplayer, I think I've read them all, be good for anyone to go take a look.
 
i plan on writing a few shorts for distribution at the end of this year

before i wrote my first screenplay, i wrote a 3 page play, and then i did a 30 page short and then a feature. But I was in a class where I basically wrote along with the lesson. Took me an entire semester, but by the end, I turned in a 96 page feature.

It was pretty terrible. But you know, for me, the most important thing was knowing that I could write that many pages! It took me a third of a year, but once I had figured out that yes, I did have the attention span to write 100 pages, I could go back and do it again, only better.

But also, I was in a class at the time and learning structure, which is also vitally important
 
What helped me when I was starting out:

1. I adapted a short story into a short script (Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart). This helped me with structure and deciding what is cinematic vs. what is literary or only fit for prose. It also forced me to figure out how to visually portray important concepts and elements from the story.

2. I took a screenwriting class at community college. Homework was we had to write a minimum of 10 pages per week, resulting in a complete feature length script at the end of the quarter. Not my best writing, but helped me understand things in a deeper way than by just reading books on writing. As you will hear often in filmmaking, "the best way to learn is to go and do it."

3. Read books on screenwriting. This helped me understand structure and basic craft. Three that I recommend are Syd Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (get the new version), Karl Iglesia's Writing for Emotional Impact, and Myth and the Movies by Stuart Voytilla. Also, magazines like Script and Creative Screenwriting are also great resources on all things screenwriting. These focus mostly on feature writing, but all of the principles apply to shorts as well.

4. Read scripts. You can find them all over the web. My favorite script sites are drew's script-o-rama and simply scripts.

These are things that helped me. Just thought I would share. Good luck with your writing projects.
 
Thanks to everyone who responded to this thread. I sincerely appreciate the insight and the advice and apologize for not responding earlier (day job = busy corporate lawyer).

I think that, for me, the biggest thing is having the confidence that I will be able to finish what I start. That is what makes the idea of a short attractive to me - it seems like a manageable task.

If people are cool with wading through the initial drafts of a complete newcomer, I would more than welcome the constructive criticism of the community here...one of the reasons this place seems so slick.

Again, thanks for the help.

P.S. - Maybe I should take the bar in CA and become an entertainment lawyer... :D
 
True|Funk|Soldier said:
I have read a lot of the threads in this forum and have seen a number of books recommendations, all of which seem helpful if you have some degree of experience or, more often, an idea that is more or less fleshed-out in your head.

I am completely new to screenwriting but would like to try my hand. Unfortunately, and perhaps this is typical, I feel like like I only have discreet "scenes" in my head and that those scenes aren't particularly connected. When starting out, is it fair to simply focus on shorts and even super-short shorts where there is perhaps just a moment of conflict, as opposed to something that is more fully-fleshed out?

I know that question is not as focused as possible, but I am just looking for some ideas as to how to get started...

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I disagree with people telling you to start with shorts. If you're serious about writing feature-length screenplays then start with writing feature-length screenplays! You become good at what you do and if shorts is what you do then that's what you're going to be good at.
 
Learning to write takes a lot of time and experience...with that said, you have to start...The biggest lesson in writing a story...short or feature is that you have something to say...a message...a theme. Without that as the foundation you wind up with a bunch of scenes or unconnected ideas...I always reccomend that people don't take writing lightly. It is a craft, an art and if you want to make memorable movies, you should learn about story writing, thjeme and character from an institution like a theater where they instruct on the writings of the great writers of our time...then learn about structure...

It sounds like an effort but it all depends on how seriously you take it...For starters though, think about what you want the audience to learn from this project or script...think about what theme you are basing your story on and everytime you get stuck go back to that...see if everything connects...think theme!

Good Luck,
Stan Harrington
www.xristosproductions.com
www.igfdb.com
 
True|Funk|Soldier said:
...I think that, for me, the biggest thing is having the confidence that I will be able to finish what I start. That is what makes the idea of a short attractive to me - it seems like a manageable task....
Click to expand...
Try Viki King's Inner Movie Method.
you can get it online, used, for $2 or $3 dollars

The bad subtitle is "How to Write a Movie in 21 Days"
Which is just a marketing tag line, for, as she points out in the foreword, writing screenplay is of course very challenging and the book is a really a method for getting through the 1st draft on to the page.

But it's a good structural guide and gives you daily tasks to get from page 1 to 100.
 
Say you write a short script... and make it... (Or somebody else makes it...) And it's sent to film festivals...

Ontop of that, you also have the full story written out for the feature + character descriptions and stuff like that, but you haven't yet written the script because right now you just wanna see how the short makes out in festivals... How people react etc.

Keep in mind all your written material along with your short movie has been sent to the copyright office. (Are you supposed to send the dvd to the copyright office?) Well, incase you do, lets say it is :)

Now, some filmmaker see's your short in a festival... Likes the concept, and decides to turn it into a feature... Your screwed out of luck right?

EDIT: And I'm sayin... They're feature version or characters might be different than the feature version you had in mind and add characters you didn't have in mind... But they're basically using the same gimmick you were goin for...
 
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