Screenwriting

There is not much that we can share in a professional context that will help one create screenplays that make production studios quake with excitement. Its been an essential part of our film making process but we don’t consider our experience to align with that of a professional screenwriter.

There are some conventions and software that we have experience using and have favored or fallen out with over the years that may prove valuable for those just starting out.

The Basic Styles and Guide

There are many formatting guidelines that exist for creating a professional draft, but only the following are the ones that we tend to follow:

• Clear font style, something like Courier or the like
• Descriptions of scenes, known as Slug Lines, are used to differentiate the location where the action is taking place.
  • These lines are structured like the following:
    • INT. CAR/EXT INTERSTATE - EVENING
    • This immediately reveals where the scene is taking place and the time of day to help visualize the moment.
• Minimal character descriptions are needed in the beginning, but keep character decisions clear enough to distinguish each character from each other as well as reveal their motivations in the story.
• Descriptions of actions are Left aligned while character dialogue is Center aligned and includes the name of the character:

  • A ROBED FIGURE ENTERS FROM THE STAIRCASE. 
    
               THE ROBED FIGURE
          Hello and welcome to my abode!
    

Beyond this there are countless rules and conventions to mix in to make your draft clear and concise. But for us it helps to remember the core tenets above and to let the story writing flow from us rather then adhere to the more professional approach.

The Tools

I used to use Celtix back when it was a free app in the early 00’s. But nowadays I just write my drafts in any word processor, from Google doc to a markdown file.

I personally don’t think expensive applications are really worth it, as all of the guidelines and formatting that they provide is usually able to be applied by oneself in any writing application. I have used WriterDuet and WriterSolo to open old files from those Celtix days though, and can see value in asynchronous collaboration with other folks on scripts that WriterDuet offers. But ultimately, use what works best for you and don’t sweat it too much if you are writing and finishing drafts.

Saladfork

For an example of a short script we wrote years ago, check out Saladfork