Writing My First Script

Most people think about a full two hour film when they think of a script. However the first scripts written are usually three to five pages long. The general rule for writing scripts is that a page equals forty-five seconds to a minute of screen time. Now the exception to the rule depends on the speed of the dialog being said. The most basic of scripts has a beginning, middle and end. Although that may seem very silly to say, there are scripts that don't include those three items. But writing a script is extremely simple. The skeleton of the script is the easiest part of writing. The most difficult part is the creation of the plot. But with a few rewrites things will look good very quickly.

The first thing to do when writing your script is the plot. You can't really have characters without a place for them to live and work. Most characters are influenced by their surroundings. There are those scripts where the characters influence the world surrounding them, but those are not very common. So the world that the characters live, breathe and interact in needs to be the first thing a writer creates. This can start with a place of work, or a home or town. However once you start your idea it will eventually expand into the world the characters live in.

Once the plot has been created the characters are the next item the writer should work on. Now this is the hardest part to advise about because each writer has a completely different concept for their characters. So write whatever characters you feel should be in the script. When you look for feedback and work on rewrites the characters will be well rounded for the script.

Rewrites and edits are the next major thing that happens. There are a few more steps in between characters and this step, but those depend on the writer. Once the main plot and characters have been written, critiques and rewrites are next. Now this can be the most difficult and painful part of the writing process. Some things need to be cut out and some thing you may love will need to be changed. The best thing to do when taking your writing before someone else is not to be offended or hurt if the opinions are not what you want to hear. Getting opinions from many people can give the writer a good sense of what works and what doesn't. Don't take one persons opinion and leave everyone else's alone. Editing may hurt in the short run, but all writers have to cut and change their script.