Screenwriting Ideas Advice

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wjones717

Member
Hey guys I just registered here, and had a few questions about my ideas. I somehow believe my ideas..i shouldn't say are better than anyone else's, but for some reason i just think these are very unique topics waiting to be transferred to the big screen. I'm a freshman in college and currently part of an adequate film program here to become a director. So to sum it up basically I have three well thought out ideas, but i somehow can't get the courage to start writing. Maybe if i can get some feedback from you guys i can go ahead and share them? haha there just special to me and i don't want to spill em out and basically have em taken

Thanks glad to be apart of the community.
 
Everybody feels their ideas are the best ever and that is a great feeling. It should make you want to start writing immediately. If you don't feel your ideas are great then they probably aren't. If I were you I would not spill them out. Keep them to yourself. It sounds like you need some motivation to begin writing. How much have you written on them? An outline? If not then begin with a simple outline. Simply put in logical order what happens...without dialog if possible. This happens then that, then this....on and on.

Every idea can be a great idea if it's well written...unique characters. Realize there are probably close to 75,000 scripts written every year so uniqueness comes from you.
 
Foremost, give youself permission to write junk, garbage, that is the key to getting the words on paper. Writing is rewriting. First draft is usually garbage for all writers, to get a lump of clay on the potter's wheel to play with, to later form into the beautiful piece of art. There is no judgement on you as a writer until your final draft; repeat that to yourself. Example: M. Night Shyamalan wrote 20+ drafts/revisions for Lady in the Water. Writing is rewriting; start with junk, let the words spill out onto the blank page. Otherwise you can go the other method and stare at the blank page hour and hours until the blood sweats from your forehead and drips onto the page to form words (grin).

Character or plot? I like the book How to Write a Movie in 21 Days, not that I could ever pull off the 21 days thing, but the author talks about people being two types, Yin or Yang, character or plot. Write whichever type you are first, then go back and do the other later. I am a plot person, so I write plot first, then fill in character on the second draft. Other people like detailing characters first, have a harder time with plot. Character and Plot are inseparable, and will become one and complementary eventually with revisions, just like Yin and Yang are separate but intertwined.

Second, structure your screenplay as an outline of some form if possible before you start writing, using Syd Field structure (google that or buy his book); create a beat sheet as it is called, so that your story includes the eight or so necessary beats or story elements and at the right time points in the story-- 99% of all Hollywood movies follow a structure you need to have in your story. When you are good you can break the rules, until then, stick to the rules. Your story can be creative, from you, but structure it using the 'formula'.

Michael Hauge summarizes screenplay structure nicely here:
http://www.screenplaymastery.com/structure.htm
with applied examples from several famous movies (Gladiator, etc).

Once you have your beat sheet, your structure for your story, you might want to copyright it with the US Copyright Office as a screenplay treatment. $35 for online registration and protection for life (WGA registration is only for 5 years and does not have the legal protections that the US Lib of Congress Copyright Office affords). If your idea really is great, don't share it around with too many people, but don't keep it clenched tight in your fist either or nobody will know about it; I would not share your story on the net, but you will need to share it with protential agents, studios you pitch it to, and/or for coverage analysis feedback; but be sure to copyight the treatment for it at least before any of that.

The other poster mentioned 75,000 scripts are written each year. I am not sure if that is true or not, it might be (if that is the # of scripts registered with WGA each year it might represent a lot of short scripts too, possibly treatments as well--I would be curious to get a better handle on the number of feature scripts regsitered each year, anybody?), but many experts also claim that 90% of all scripts written do not even follow proper format, and another 5% do not even follow the structure I just mentioned. Let's say 50,000 feature scripts are written each year, then maybe 2,500 even stand a chance at having their story considered by readers, for perhaps 1000 movies produced in a year (300-500 in theatres, more straight to DVD, cable, foreign markets, etc). So that's a a 1 in 3 shot approximately, just by having a story structured and formatted correctly; now write three great stories like that and see the odds start looking not too shabby. It is just that the vast majority of screenplays are so poor in terms of format, structure, that they never stand a chance; I have seen this first hand in a local writing group--people who have written 10 feature screenplays and I look at their script and it looks like a second grader wrote it, no kidding, truly amazing. So I believe the numbers, that most screenplays just get automagically plopped into rejection piles even if they make it past a query stage based on their story pitch, logline, etc.

Best of luck, and remember writers write, so get busy writing some [1st draft] junk!
~Randall
 
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Just be careful (anybody) where you get those screenplays, there are many 'screenplays' on the web for free
http://www.simplyscripts.com/
that are not the actual screenplays, but transcripts of the movie, not the screenplay as written by the screenwriter. Simplyscripts has some real screenplays, but also transcripts, the transcripts usually say so at the beginning of the script.

I think reading at least a few screenplays in the genre the OP is writing would be beneficial. I have purchased quite a few scripts here, good source of affordable legitimate screenplays:
http://scriptfly.com/

craigbowman said:
Start by first reading at least 20-30 screenplays of successful movies.
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Thanks everybody for the feedback especially Randall, your advice has helped a lot and i appreciate you taking the time to respond.

My ideas are mostly drama just because i feel like those have the most impact on me. I see movies getting made each year about stupid dogs in Mexico (Beverly Hills Chiahuha) and it kills me to see that as the top grossing movie, when Ridley Scott's film (Body of Lies) or Ed Norton's (Pride and Glory) are sitting at a mere 8th for the weekend or something but truly have a fantastic story line.

If i was to write a lets say 15 min drama short, would i still have to get an agent/copywrite it? Since it would be me directing the short, does format really matter on the script? as long as i can clearly understand it?
 
wjones717 said:
...If i was to write a lets say 15 min drama short, would i still have to get an agent/copywrite it? Since it would be me directing the short, does format really matter on the script? as long as i can clearly understand it?
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Stupid me! I should have asked short or feature. A short does not have time for character and plot development as for a feature. Shorts usually take place in a very limited time and space, i.e. single location often, and usually a single point in time. Exceptions, but you get the drift. Shorts usually start with the actor in a situation.

I have registered copyright for my shorts, but that is me. If you write several shorts, or features for that matter, you can register the copyright of a bunch as an "Opus" or collection of shorts, e.g. "Five Short Screenplays" and just pay the $35 fee once for all five (or a hundred!). You never know-- shorts could take on importance in the future with mobile phone users wanting to watch shorts, so if it was me I would not want to chance legal issues over even a short script or short film. Others might say don't worry about copyright registration of a short.

I think you should learn to follow the professional standards for screenplay formatting even if it is a short. You can of course ignore that advice, write it out however you want to on the back of a napkin or whatever. But your cast and crew, if they know anything in the realm of film, acting, scripts, will expect a properly formatted screenplay and might respect you more as a writer-director if you have done so.

Go get screenwriting software-- Celtx is free. (I use Movie Magic Screenwriter but that costs some dough; if you are a student you can it cheap at academicsuperstore.com)
http://celtx.com/download.html
Makes it pretty easy, painless. Write it all in present tense, as there is no past or future tense in a script because when you watch a film it is all in the now, present, as you watch it. Here is a good basic guide to formatting a script, from the Academy of Motion Pictures, i.e. oscars city!
http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/format.html
Also, by formatting a script properly it generally works out to one page of script being one minute of screen time, regardless of action or dialog, so that helps you plan your filming.
 
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Yea I've been using celtx lately. I'm debating whether to make this a feature or a short because if heard there's no in between, there's either a short or a feature if your looking for some sort of deal.

This story consists of I'd say at least 3 main locations but is centered around a street. Is 15 min too much for a short? I have a friend who sent in a 45 min to various festivals but didnt get to much recognition since it was so long.
 
I think up to 45 min can be a short, but different festivals have different desired lengths. Also consider your production costs, longer script, more cost. Figure maybe you can film 2-4 pages per day.

wjones717 said:
..This story consists of I'd say at least 3 main locations but is centered around a street. Is 15 min too much for a short? I have a friend who sent in a 45 min to various festivals but didnt get to much recognition since it was so long.
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Okay thanks, is it possible to register a short script on wga?

also I'm thinking about joining inktip.com what do you think?
 
You can register shorts on WGA. But for $15 more you can register with the US Lib of Congress Copyright Office where you have boat loads of more legal protection and remedy compared to WGA. $20 on WGA for five years and very little legal protection compared to lifetime and $35 with US Copyright Office and serious legal protection. Your choice though.

You can post short scripts on inktip.com without registering there I think, at least no fees required just for selling shorts there.

wjones717 said:
Okay thanks, is it possible to register a short script on wga?

also I'm thinking about joining inktip.com what do you think?
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Welcome WJones,

Besides unique ideas, there are many other dimensions to a successful script, not the least of which is the story structure. I suggest you get a (free) ID at Triggerstreet, start reading scripts submitted by others, check out the review critiques, try submitting a few shorts of your own (not your super-secret novel ideas), and start getting up to speed. And yes, after dozens of tries you'll be better equipped to write your BIG ONE.

Good luck, Michael
 
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