How to Write a Screenplay

Screenplays are as creative a form of writing as poetry or prose, but they are also, essentially, technical documents. They're really blueprints for the finished film. And that means there needs to be a consistency with the way that they are written so that everyone in the production process knows exactly what they're supposed to be doing and when they're supposed to be doing it. Great. But doesn’t screenwriting software take care of all of that for you? Well, just knowing where to put a scene heading doesn't mean you know how to use it. Just knowing where to put the action description doesn't mean you know how to maximize its impact on the page. Knowing how to use each of these different elements effectively can make your screenplays more professional and more effective. In How to Write a Screenplay: The (Not So) Basics of Formatting, we'll cover scene headings, why we need them, when we need them, and what they need to have in them. We'll talk quite a bit about action description, what it's for, what it's not for, and how to make sure that it's visual and active and impactful. We'll talk about dialogue, parentheticals, and special cases like how to write a montage and how to incorporate text on the screen. In short, we’ll cover all of the basic elements of screenplay format and discover the creative potential within the "rules" and restrictions of the form. The goal of the course is to help you create polished, professional screenplays that reflect your creative voice as a writer.