Writing a Screenplay - Finding the Right Story

Writing screenplays are not like writing in other mediums. The major difference between writing a screenplay and a novel is a screenplay is a visual medium.

In a novel you can say what your protagonist is thinking or feeling, in a screenplay it most be shown. You can only write what the viewer will see.

If your protagonist is sad or angry, you have to show it, screenplays are literally a show and tell medium. If you cannot figure out a way for your character to show it, it does not belong in the script.

There is no one way to write a script, sure, there are certain rules that must be followed but for the most part it's up to you to decide how you choose to tell your story.

If you were to check your local book story, you will find hundreds of books, with hundreds of different ways to write a script.

A good example is Quentin Tarantino's scripts "Pulp Fiction" and "True Romance". Two great stories wrote in two totally different ways. Remember it is not the format that sells the script it is the story.

The story is what sells. It does not matter how beautiful your script looks on the paper, if the story does not hold up your script is going to end up where thousands up end everyday... on the bottom of the pile.

The secret is knowing what to write. The truth of the matter is a writer usually has a ton of story ideas floating around in his/her head at any given time the trick is knowing which ideas are worth spending your time and effort developing.

You have to be cold-blood, ruthless when it comes to deciding on which stories to write. Think about it this way each rejected idea brings you closer to the gem that is more likely to become a good script.

You will know when you find the right idea because it will not let you go. It will be with you before bed and right there when you woke up in the morning.