Writing a Screenplay People Will Read

When you have a great idea for a movie you might let it bounce around in your brain for a whole before turning your thoughts to the wonderful world of Hollywood. Just thinking about the massive amounts of cash being freely handed from party to another is enough to make someone want to really buckle down and write that citizen Kane sequel. There is a problem however, because chances are your script will be flipped though then tossed on top of a pile of other rejects by the merciless hand of the movie producer. It doesn't matter if your screen play would have been if it doesn't jump at the lackey who reads screenplays for the big shot movie producer in charge of the money.

A common rule of thumb is that a script will never be read past the first ten pages. The fact is it doesn't take very long to be able to tell whether a movie is watchable or not. If the first ten pages of your screenplay is confusing or hard to follow then it's assumed it will be just as hard to read on the next 100 pages.

You need to spend enough time as possible to produce first ten pages that will be able to set the stage for the rest of the screenplay. You need to pack the first ten pages with what your story is about, who your characters are, and the who, what, where, when, and why of your story. Spend as much time as possible to makes these first ten pages pop.

Another way to think of your screenplay to make it get read is that one page of your screenplay should translate into one minute of film when it's produced. Ergo, a 90 page script will produce approximately a 90 minute movie.

You don't want to drag a movie on and on to try to make it better. Hasn't everyone at some point watched a movie that just kept going, boorishly charging on towards what the audience already knows what is going to happen. That's the main point; the audience already knows what is going to happen. They know the bad guy will be killed. They know that the guy will end up with girl. You don't have to drag it out because people already know what is going to happen. Just give the audience the satisfaction that they clearly came for.

Ink To Pixel Inc., http://www.screenwriting.info/ ,Screenwriting