Screenwriting

IsThisIt???

Hi, I am looking for some advice. I'm looking for some sort of book on screenwriting that gives advice on formatting, style and any other aspect that makes screenwriting different from other types of writing.

Can anyone recommend a good place to start.

Thanks for any help.

Exar Khun

You could take a look at Aristotle's Poetics and The writers Journey by Christopher Vogler for a start

deyo

IsThisIt??? wrote: »

Hi, I am looking for some advice.

Fiction or non-fiction?
Just wonder, can't help too much, unfortnately

IsThisIt??? wrote: »

I'm looking for some sort of book on screenwriting that gives advice on formatting, style and any other aspect that makes screenwriting different from other types of writing.

Documentary Storytelling (Bernard)
Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Video (Rosenthal)
Directing the Documentary, Part 4: Screencraft (Rabiger)
Blueprint for Screenwriting (Baloon)
Writing the Short Film (Cooper)

IsThisIt??? wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good place to start.

http://www.iadt.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/SchoolsCourses/SchoolofCreativeArts/MAinScreenwriting/
I wish I could attend...
Or any creative writing course helps, I guess.

Ellian

If you are serious about writing screenplays, you should get your hands on some screen writing software which formats for you automatically. Final Draft and Sophocles are both pretty good. There are a couple of free downloads floating around but I can't comment on those as never used them.

In terms of structure, there are literally hundreds of books on this subject all more or less saying the same thing which is three act structure, inciting incident on page 5, each act building on the act before, mid point halfway through, journey for the hero, set ups and pay offs , keep the whole thing between 90 and 120 pages and make sure you spell correctly.

Best examples I have seen are on wordplayer.com, a series of entertaining essays by Terry Rossio, a screenwriter with a pretty good pedigree - all for free. Have a look at those - they are very entertaining and actually make you want to go out and write stuff.

Oh and finally - tattoo to the inside of your eyeballs. Writing is rewriting.

Fatboydim

Judging by your signature you've already read William Goldman.

If you want an How To... Then as much as I loathe him Robert McKee - Story is the place to start.

If all you are after is "How to layout a script" Then as already suggested get yourself a copy of Final Draft. FD is industry standard. It also has the layouts for various types of script. For example TV Comedies have a different layout to TV Dramas. Some shows have a hard return after all scenes [New Scene / New page] some don't. FD has templates that do all this for you.

hcass

Hey - I'm doing screenwriting as part of my CW degree. The books mentioned were on my reading list but TBH I found them boring and long winded and gave them a miss. Instead I learned format and structure from reading scripts and in my opinion this is the best way to learn. I also use a free programme called Celtx and it formats the scripts for you - it's an excellent programme and like I said; it's free! There are tutorials on how to use it on youtube but it's very simple and with a bit of practice you'll be flying http://celtx.com/ Any more questions just ask!

Oh! I can email you some of my info pack that our tutor gave us - it is packed with scripts and books and other stuff to help you too. Just PM me if you would like it!

Ellian

Good advice. Read as many screenplays as you can. Assume you know IMSDB.com but if not, it's a great place to get scripts for free.

kickarykee

If you plan to venture into screen writing I suggest that apart from reading books you get yourself an IMDBPro account and take a look at the forums there.
There are not only many people willing to help you get into the actual trade but also those who post job offers and such.