Writing a Screenplay for Beginners: The Top 3 Things You Need to Know
by Noi Sabal • June 28, 2022
As a beginner, it can feel intimidating when you start to write your screenplay. You come up with an excellent idea for a movie, but… then what? How do you begin writing your script? What needs to be included? What doesn’t?
So many things happen behind the scenes in a screenplay; it’s far more story than just what shows up on the screen. A screenwriter has to communicate and include all kinds of things: theme, character development, story and plot arcs, world-building…
But learning script writing doesn’t have to be a mystery. Here are 3 major things professional screenwriters agree you need before you start writing.
Top 3 Writing a Screenplay for Beginners Tips
Writing a Screenplay for Beginners — Tip #1:
Pick ONE Protagonist
Choose a single main character and know who they are — before you write.
Almost every movie script ever written revolves around a single character. Even when it’s two characters who do everything together, as in “Thelma and Louise,” there is one main character. (According to screenwriter Callie Khouri, the protagonist is Louise because she’s the one who drives the plot and has the biggest change.)
No matter how many characters you have in an ensemble, just pick one and make that one your Protagonist. Hang your story around them by knowing:
Know Your Main Character
• Who are they now (their current situation)
• Where they’ve been (their history, as it relates to this story)
• Their ultimate goal (what do they want more than anything)
• How they might talk (what’s their unique voice?
When you know your main character before you start to write your screenplay, you’ll know what they’ll do in any situation. What they’ll say, how they’ll react, and what they will or won’t do to achieve their ultimate outcome.
Writing a Screenplay for Beginners — Tip #2:
Know Your Story Bookends
Know where your story ends before you begin writing.
There’s a time and place for spontaneity — and it’s nowhere NEAR film script writing or planning!
Successfully writing a movie script is all about pre-planning. Brainstorming before you write so you can develop a plan — even if it’s just a basic two-part plan of “This is the beginning – and this is the end” — will ensure you have a story.
If you want to make sure your script reader (and, ultimately, your movie audience) are satisfied with the WHOLE movie – including how it ends – you should make sure you are writing towards that outcome, right from the first scene.
Writing a Screenplay for Beginners — Tip #3:
Decide on a Universal Theme
Stories that have a Core Idea with wide appeal are easier to write – and sell.
When you think about Star Wars, you don’t think about the political allegory “How does a democracy die?” — which is what George Lucas says he originally wrote. And while you might think about The Force and The Dark Side — you probably think of Lightsabers and Jedi and Space Cruisers before you think of the Universal theme: how the balance between good and evil exists and is what influences personal decisions.
When you chunk your story idea up to it’s highest level — from the personal life of the character, to the world that character lives in, and ultimately to all the people in that world — you can get an idea that will resonate with a large audience. Take your story’s Core Idea and make it widely attainable and you’re more likely to attract a wider audience and get your screenplay optioned. And isn’t that why we’re writing film scripts? 😉
Hope these Top 3 Tips for Writing a Screenplay for Beginners has helped!
Want to learn more about screenplay writing or how to structure a screenplay? All of this and more is explored further in our Screenwriting Ninja screenplay structure articles.