Well, a good script makes for a good film, TV show, or story. But the process of writing a good script is long and tiring. If you do not know how you must approach these issues then no worries because we are here for you.
How To Write A Script?
We are going to show you the easiest and the most assured way of writing a good script. So just follow the method and you will know what to do. Thank us later. Now let’s get started with the first step of the process.
Step 1 – Creation of a story
Think of a theme that you want to talk about. The main theme of the story is important. The overall theme that you are going to portray in your story is the one that is important. This will be the binding theme of the entire story.
You need to give this the foremost thought if you haven’t already either. Take inspiration from the world around you. Carry a notebook wherever you go so that if you get an idea, you can immediately scribble it down.
Next, you need to pick a genre for your book. It all depends on what you want to do with the story. You can pick horror if you want to scare people. You can pick action if you like action movies. If you want you can also pick romance or comedy.
Next, a setting is required. Where is the action taking place? This has to relate to the theme and genre of the story. Otherwise, it won’t make any sense. For example, a horror story can not take place in a happy town.
Next, you have to think about your characters. Make up a good antagonist and a better protagonist. Introduce the supporting characters too. Do not excessively highlight the protagonist. This makes the other characters bland.
Try to shine the light on each one of them. Your protagonist should stand out but not excessively. The antagonist has to be a well-written character too. Give them some goal other than just interfering with the protagonist. Give goals to the supporting characters too.
This makes the plot more interesting. Finally, write a logline for your entire script. This can be one or two sentences. It just summarizes the main plot of the story in the most basic manner.
Step 2 – Outline your script
An outline of the script is the next step. You can use an index card to write the different plot events that will go on in your story. The different index cards can help you organize your events in the story better too since you can move them around.
We suggest that you write every plot idea that comes to your mind, even if it is bad. You can easily remove it later on if you want to. Once you have written all the ideas on your cards you can arrange them however you want. Place them on the table and play around with them.
Then after getting an outline of the entire plot of the story. You should go through each scene and then figure out what’s the main point of the scene or event and how does it keep your story moving forward. This is necessary because even a seemingly useless scene can hold some importance to the future of the story.
The pace of the story should also be determined. Take into account the amount of time your audience or reader is willing to put into the story. So research is a bit important before you decide on the breaks and then the pacing of the story.
Step 3 – Formatting your script
Create a title page for your story. You need to write the name or rather the title of the story. Then you have to include your name under the title of the story. It is important to have the script’s writer’s name on the title page. Credit should always be given Where it is due.
Give a little bit of info about yourself along with your contact info at the bottom too. If the script is based on another story or book then you should also mention that on the title page.
The 12 Courier font is the one that is preferred by scriptwriters. You should also use that. Using any other formatting can distract your reader. We suggest that you also refer to the scene heading when the story is moving from one place to another.
This helps clear up the script for the readers. You should also include action blocks to the left margin of the page. Try not to be direct with what the character is thinking of doing. Go about it in an indirect way. Suggest but do not prompt it. This leaves a better impact on the readers as they are bound to think for themselves.
The introduction of a character whether it’s the main character or important side characters are very crucial to the story.
You should write their name in the capital when you are introducing them for the first time but then use normal format text when you are referring to them. Also, keep track of the dialogs that the characters are going to speak. They should be aligned.
Step 4 – Writing the first draft
Set a goal. That’s very important. You need to set a goal for yourself to complete the script. It depends on you completely but try to keep it within 8 to 12 weeks. That’s the basic time that all scriptwriters will usually get. You should keep it in mind that time won’t wait for you.
Mark the deadline on the calendar and set a reminder on the phone that will help you. Try to write around 1 to 2 pages every day. You must write one to two pages every day. It is not necessary to use articulate words or perfect grammar but get those pages down.
When you are writing dialogues for your characters a trick to see if it is natural or not is to say it out loud. So speak out your dialogues loud and you will know if they are ok or not. If it sounds confusing or unnatural to you then you should highlight it and then come back to it later on.
You should also give each of your characters a unique voice or a different way of speaking. This will help the readers to distinguish between the characters and will give depth to the characters too.
Keep writing until you have reached 90 – 120 pages. A standard script will have that usual amount of pages so you need to keep that in mind while writing too.
Step 5 – Revise your script
After completing your script you should take some time off. Around 2 weeks should do the trick. After the completion, you can go for a tour or something or do anything you want, just do not look at the script.
Since you have spent so much time on your script you need some time off. After taking the break of 2 weeks you can come back and look at it with a fresh set of eyes.
Now you can start re-reading and revising your script. It is important that you read from the start to the finish. Mark the places where the story seems confusing or the Characters don’t make sense.
You can also give your script a do-over if you want. If you are not satisfied with it then we suggest that you start from scratch. You can rewrite it as many times as you want. If you have the time go for it.
You can also share this script with some trusty friend or family who can give it a read and then tell you about their thoughts on it. This can be very useful too. However, only give it to a trustworthy person.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you in some way or the other. Writing a script isn’t that easy so you need to focus on the scriptwriting a lot. There can be certain hurdles along the way that you need to overcome.
It can be anything from a block to something else. So you need to understand the intensity of the process. Rome was not built in a day and you can’t write a good script in one day either. Trust the routine and the process. If there is a discipline in writing a script then it will definitely come out good.
We have outlined the 5 Major steps along with the sub-steps of scriptwriting that you need to know. So hopefully you have learned something from that.
Do share this article with others who might find the article useful. We also appreciate the time you spent on this article, reading it. Thank you so much. Have a great day and good luck with the script. You can do it!
