Writing a Screenplay - Any advice?

[Bellamy's Caddy]

There's a course running at the moment:

https://thelowry.com/whats-on/5-week-screenwriting-course/

Thanks mate. Unfortunately it doesn't let you purchase tickets for that one, guessing its as the course has started but I'll keep an eye out for others. Cheers

 

[Bellamy's Caddy]

I practiced writing a screenplay by writing one for a programme I liked. Mine was Family Guy and The Race To Mars. I'm laughing now thinking about it. :)

That's a great shout, I'm going to give that a go. Thanks

 

[Magicpole]

That's a great shout, I'm going to give that a go. Thanks

It will allow you to develop plot ideas, dialogue and character interaction. It will also allow you to work out timescales for scenes and develop editing skills. I would suggest initially not to focus on the edit until you write out your story. It will become evident to you where the fat is that needs to be trimmed. This process is difficult because you may get rid of stuff you later want to incorporate. So, keep the original copy seperate, make a copy, then make edited copies that you can look back at the original to check it has improved. Good luck.

 

[mccity]

These days there are plenty of books out there. Check out Youtube and:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/wiki/meta/resources
https://www.reddit.com/r/writers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/

and give https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/ a go.

If you are legitimately desperate to write a screenplay, the above should do it.

 

[davek1808]

You need a good strong character, someone who is wealthy but not so good on the looks side of things. He needs to be on his third wife, always works that, at least one of the previous wives has gone lesbian, adds a little spice does that. He must have a few kids as well just to weigh him down.
As for a storyline? How about 3rd wife is always shopping whilst he slobs around the house drinking and farting, one day he sees his arse and strangles her. He buries her body in the foundations of an apartment block he is building in the city centre. No one suspects a thing until he blabs off his mush to an online forum full of weirdos, ne'r do wells and drunks. They laugh then shop him to der Dibble ?

What do you reckon ?

Lol now what's that number.

 

[bugsyblue]

The two biggest pieces of advice I can give you. Firstly, it takes time to find your voice. Trial and error. The best writers in this country have all written a piece of shit at some stage in their life and each piece of shit has been an important stepping stone on their journey to finding their voice and becoming a professional writer.

Secondly, the best writers are tireless at re-writing. They aren't scared to kill their babies but they know when they need to hold onto something. This comes more with experience but often young, inexperienced writers will hold onto a good scene, or a good few lines of dialogue despite it possibly not being right for the story. Fundamentally understanding the story you want to tell is a lot harder and complex than it might sound.

Good luck my friend.

 

[mat]

Fantastic thread @Bellamy's Caddy

A mate of mine took a risk and left work to start script writing/filmmaking. He's done some great little horror works which have been screened at Frightfest.

Good luck. I hope it leads somewhere fantastic for you.

 

[kaz7]

Can you act ? I will direct, Two Gun Bob or what ever Taxi is called now can be camera man, BMR can do the lighting and Kaz can be the fluffer We just need a lesbian, a dwarf and a baby elephant.
I will start writing my acceptance speech now,

I'll take one for the team and go lezzer

 

[Bellamy's Caddy]

It will allow you to develop plot ideas, dialogue and character interaction. It will also allow you to work out timescales for scenes and develop editing skills. I would suggest initially not to focus on the edit until you write out your story. It will become evident to you where the fat is that needs to be trimmed. This process is difficult because you may get rid of stuff you later want to incorporate. So, keep the original copy seperate, make a copy, then make edited copies that you can look back at the original to check it has improved. Good luck.

That makes sense, all good advice thanks mate. At the moment I'm just trying to get it down as I've been faffing about planning and overthinking. I will do as you've suggested and keep one copy separate when I do get to editing but that's a long way off yet!

 

[Bellamy's Caddy]

These days there are plenty of books out there. Check out Youtube and:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/wiki/meta/resources
https://www.reddit.com/r/writers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/

and give https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/ a go.

If you are legitimately desperate to write a screenplay, the above should do it.

Thanks for the links, really appreciate it. I've just lost an hour to reddit, some really helpful stuff on there and things I hadn't considered, all really useful cheers!