Screenplays?

[Lawfire]

The other night, out of curiosity, I looked at some screenwriting sites. I found myself oddly intrigued with the idea of writing a screenplay. I could not help but wonder if there was anyone in this community that has attempted (or completed) writing a screenplay, fantasy or not.

So, has anyone given it a shot? What was the experience like? Would you recommend it, or do it again?

Selling a novel can be a Sisyphean endeavor, I imagine there is an even smaller market for a screenplay...

 

[Helen]

Yes, I've written more than a few.

Ask all your questions at the donedealpro.com forum where everyone's doing it.

 

[Lawfire]

Thanks for the link.

Do you enjoy writing screenplays more than a novel? Have you sold any screenplays?

 

[Butterfly]

Funny this... Big coincidence... I just discovered this beat sheet via another forum. I think it's useful for general plotting and writing, not just for screenwriting.

Beat Sheet | FiveSprockets Resources

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Screenwriting is much more difficult than prose writing, for the following reasons:

1) The constraints are much tighter. There's lots of things you just can't do in screenplay format.

2) The market is much more competitive. You can self-publish a novel; you can't really self-publish a screenplay, unless you are willing to go to the effort of turning it into a movie yourself, which is extraordinarily difficult.

3) Screenplays are much shorter than novels, and writing a complete story in a shorter space is more difficult. As the old (probably apocryphal) story goes, the famous writer ends his letter to a friend with, "I am sorry for writing such a long letter; I did not have time to write a shorter one."

It can be a fun experience (I wrote several screenplays for fun when I was younger) but it's in no way easier.

 

[Penpilot]

I haven't written a screenplay but I've read a few screen writing books and they've contributed to my understanding of story structure. My favorite is a series called Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. Here's their site. They have their own beat sheet and have examples of that beat sheet filled out plotting the beats of recent movies. Save the Cat!®