• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

Why you should writing a screenplay—right now!

In my opinion, you should write screenplays, too. It’s so much easier and so much helpful. And here are the reasons why:


1) It helps you to write the important stuff only. A screenplay has a strict style. If you wanna show that the character’s mind speaks, you have to use voice over. If you wanna write an argument, you have to write the dialogues and the action. Not more. No character’s thought. No info dumping.


2) It helps to train to find the perfect word. How I told ya in No. 1, you can’t use every sentence you like. That’s why it’s important to choose the words carefully. And that’s helpful in novel writing, too.


3) Every exercise is good. So, it isn’t a time-wasting.


But what’s your opinion on this topic?
 

Saigonnus

Auror
I have been toying with the idea myself and even started a bit for one of my projects, but I haven’t progressed as far as I would have liked due to a very busy schedule.

I think it could good practice if you wanr to get to the bare bones of your story without too much extraneous detail.
 
I've never written a screenplay, but I do think the exercise could be very helpful.

The stage direction portion could be a kind of outline of the non-dialogue bits, an abridged synopsis of these things.

The dialogue can help to develop the character voices.

Not more. No character’s thought. No info dumping.

This is very good. However, as an extreme novice vis-a-vis screeplays, I still think that some of them do "tell" the character's thought processes and emotions in the stage direction. In fact, aren't many stage directions also the epitome of info dumping, heh? Example:

The group walks down a street and pass under a flickering neon light in the color of red, the villain's thematic colors, without noticing it. The building is in fact the villain's lair.​
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
There's an abundance of how-to advice written about screenplays, and putting together a screenplay while following that advice can be a great exercise. But I don't think there's anything particularly useful about a screenplay in and of itself.

Most of us need to work more on developing a narrative voice that does a better job of capturing the character's mindset. A screenplay leaves that completely out.
 
Not more. No character’s thought. No info dumping.

Again. Here's Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network:

INT. CAMPUS BAR - NIGHT

MARK ZUCKERBERG is a sweet looking 19 year old whose lack of any physically intimidating attributes masks a very complicated and dangerous anger. He has trouble making eye contact and sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s talking to you or to himself.

ERICA, also 19, is Mark’s date. She has a girl-next-door face that makes her easy to fall for. At this point in the conversation she already knows that she’d rather not be there and her politeness is about to be tested.

The scene is stark and simple.​

We are being told, more or less, Erica's thoughts. "She already knows that she'd rather not be there."

This happens in other places. He describes the boat race scene with the Winklevoss twins: "They know that the others aren’t in their class and even though they’re highly competitive athletes, they don’t like showing anyone up, least of all their teammates."

A bit earlier, a little info dump on the club featured in one of the early scenes:

A bouncer--a townie in a tuxedo and a headset--is manning the velvet rope that guards the thick, wooden, red double-doors that lead to, believe it or not, one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.
The fact of the matter is that different screenwriters do it differently. :sneaky:

Yeah, I would very much be an amateur at writing a screenplay (as I mentioned previously), but I've read some. I think I mentioned "stage direction" in my last comment; but these examples are scene headings or "sluglines." (So yeah, I learn these things as I go...)


Your Example is very amateurish. Pros like Steven Spielberg or Tarantino don’t do this. - less is more. The director does the main work.

I do find it odd to suggest writing a screenplay, presumably a new concept for writers who normally don't write screenplays, while suggesting that they only do it as well as the Greats if they are going to do it at all—there's a great gulf between novice and master, right?

But since the suggestion is a suggested exercise, then perhaps doing it in different ways might be beneficial? I mean, if we are exploring the benefits of doing it.
 
Top