Are you someone who loves writing? Are you passionate about film and eventually someday wish to write the NEXT BIG MOVIE?! Do you ever wonder how the prominent writers in Hollywood do everything? Well, guess what? You are about to find out for yours...
What else is there besides writing a script, you may ask?
Well, there are tons to prepare if you want to be a professional!
Logline: Basically, loglines describe your story in a few sentences.
Synopsis: A Synopsis summarizes your story from the third person's point of view.
Character Development or Character Sketch: How you present your character. How do they look and act, where they're from, and their name? Character sketches are not drawn-out sketches of your feelings. It's a written-out vision of your character.
Scene Heading: The Heading of the script shows if the scene is inside or outside, where it is occurring and if it is day or night.
Dialogue: Conversation between two or more characters in a script.
Synopsis: A summary of what happens in the script.
Protagonist: The good guy (s)
Antagonist: The bad guy (s)
Beat Sheet or shortlist A collection of scenes from your script lets you know what will happen next—this technique is typically used for TV shows.
Foreshadowing: Hinting at something later in a movie or show.
Outline: An outline is like your resume. It has your name, contact information, the title of the script, synopsis, Logline, a Small description of your characters, and the first scene or a snippet of your writing to give the person you are showing a small look at what you can do.
Storyboard: A storyboard is drawings of a scene in your script showing what will occur and its angle. I learned it doesn't matter if you're an artist; just freaking draw! You've got this.
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Last, you've got to present. Put on your best suit or a dress and show the industry what you've got! There are plenty of playwriting contests out there waiting for talented people like you! What's stopping you?
So, you've got a script. Now, what do you do?
You pitch it!
Your next step is to get it on the blacklist of scripts. That's your goal! If you can't get it there, at least reach out to get it read by your drama teacher. You have the talent, and they need to listen to you!
Can you get anywhere without trying?
The best place to pitch your script is by registering it with the Writers Guild of America WGA. The cost should be between $25 - 35 dollars. You will have time to show your talent; not everyone makes it. My instructor told us it typically takes seven scripts to get that one script that finally makes it.
Another thing you should do is get your script under copyright. It is a must so that another writer will not take your idea.
In the WGA, you have five years to live to own your script as long as you can prove you wrote it. YOU want to ensure everyone knows YOU wrote that script, and you must NEVER send a work in progress. They will not accept that. That also includes just the treatment alone and never the beat sheet. Make sure everything is together, including the script and treatment.
If you can follow that, you're on the right track and ready to go!
Work on entering contests and getting into the film industry if that's what you want. Keep trying, and don't give up! Never give up!
