SCRIPTWRITING - SCRIPTWRITING PROCESS

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTWRITING PROCESS

Who doesn’t like a good story? A story of a protagonist, an underdog, going against all odds and preferably winning in the end. I sure know I do. Lately, I have not found a movie that would speak to me enough to catch my interest though.

It takes a lot of work to create a masterpiece that will be watched by millions, or even billions of people around the world. Today we will take a quick look into the process of scriptwriting and what can make or break you.

FROM AN IDEA WHAT WILL SPRING FORTH?

Do you ever find yourself being bombarded with all sorts of ideas? One after the other they pop up in your mind and overflow. All excited you get, only to be disappointed when the first real problem arises. Not every idea produces what we initially imagined it will.

Similarly, every story begins with an idea, a story concept. (2, 3) Not all ideas convert well onto the screen. Before we put all of our sweat and tears into an idea, we should answer the following questions:

Is there an underlying theme or message?
Are there certain motifs or symbolism that could enhance your story’s goals?
Is there a specific genre that you want to stick to?
What should the audience take away from your story?

Once we have answered the question we can begin creating an outline and decide which format is best for our selected media. (2)

DEVELOPING OUR WORLD

After we have tested our idea, we can begin the fun part of brainstorming for ideas. Slowly we begin the building of our world setting and characters. And of course the building of the plot.

A ROUGH SKETCH FOR THE BEST CATCH

Before we begin writing our first draft, we should create an outline that will assist us and keep us on track. It is extraordinarily helpful and saves time in the long run. It can be the game-breaker. (2)

The outline can be a simple document with just the basic information: the character’s main want, the obstacle opposing this want, and how the protagonist will overcome this obstacle. it can also be more detailed and include scenes and some dialogue. (3)

DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTERS

There will be three major parts in your development of an outline. One of them will be developing your characters. Start with the protagonist himself. What are his motivations? What is his journey? Do the same for all major players, including the antagonist. Some questions that your character sheet should answer:

Who is this character?
What is their personality?
Why are they in the story?
What motivates them?
Do they have an important backstory?
How do they relate to the other characters?

A great script requires that the characters have depth. They need to take the audience on an emotional journey. (3) Discovering what your characters want and making their journey of achieving it hard will be helpful. (2)

Also creating compelling characters will drive your story, keep the audience hooked, and make your narrative come alive. Either they will root for them, love them, or love to hate them. They need clear motivations, real-life traits, and flaws that make them relatable. (4)

THE SETTING OF THE STORY

Developing the world setting is as equally important as developing the characters. Actually, it has a direct impact on the personality of the characters and their motivations. For instance, someone from Japan might have a completely different set of wants, motivations, responses, expectations, and life goals than someone from America. The culture of the setting matters. (3) Also, is the person from a so-called ‘ghetto’? Is he from a richer neighborhood? Where is the story taking place? Is it taking place on Earth or in space? The answers to these questions matter as they help us determine how different locations will affect the characters and their scenes (2)

As you build your world, answer these questions:

Are there specific world rules that will affect characters?
How do the characters relate to this setting?
What is the history of the world?
How do people communicate?
What does nature look like? Or architecture? (2)

BUILD A PLOT

A very important part of scriptwriting is building a plot. It is extremely helpful to sketch out the major beats or events for each character. Key moments, like introductions, conflicts, climaxes, and resolutions, should be outlined to ensure that the narrative of our story runs smoothly. After all the plot is the roadmap that guides the story and each scene needs to advance it forward. (4)

FIRST DRAFT

After we have done our outlines, the real writing begins. Overall, the script writing structure generally sticks to the common three-act structure:

First act:

In the first act, the main protagonist is established and the scene set. The act usually ends with a major event that jumpstarts the story.

Second act:

In the second act, the protagonist has a main goal but must face obstacles to reach it. Usually, this is where the main character reaches their lower point.

Third act:

In the third act, comes the climax. The protagonist achieves or fails to reach their main goal, bringing resolution to the story. (2)

This three-act structure may also be substituted for a five-act structure that similarly outlines when the build, climax, and final resolution will occur. (2)

The three-act structure could be seen as the foundation upon which we build. In the end though, each scene needs to have its own reason to be included in the overall narrative. The timeline also has to be determined:

Are there flashbacks?
Is the story told in chronological order?
Will there be time jumps? (2)

Overall, a first draft needs to include all three acts with scenes, dialogue, character arcs, and a complete story. (3)

TAKE A STEP BACK

After you have placed the last dot on your paper or computer screen it is highly advised you take a step back. Enjoy other projects, do other things, and perhaps choose other activities altogether. This will allow you to approach the editing process with a fresh mind and new energy. (3) After all, if a writer is too entrenched in their current script they may miss out on identifying where potential improvements can be made. (2)

REVISE YOUR DRAFT INTO THE FINAL DRAFT

Congrats on successfully writing your first draft. Now comes the more tenuous, although for some easiest, part - editing. Essentially this is the process of rewriting and improving the first draft, which usually tends to include lots of cutting of scenes and sometimes characters. (2)

When editing, writers are thinking about the big picture of how each story element brings their concept to life and how each fine detail fits in the bigger picture. (3)

In this stage, it is very helpful to get constructive feedback as it will ultimately improve the writing and final draft (2)

CONCLUSION

Every story begins with an idea, a story concept. Generating a story concept, or idea is the first step in every scriptwriting process. Testing it is second. After we have decided that our idea has potential, we begin the process of creating an outline. This includes developing our characters, the world setting, and building a plot. After we have a rough sketch of each, we begin with creating the first draft. The finalized version of the script comes after a rigorous editing process, where usually lots of cutting takes place.

SOURCES

Image created via canva.com
Routledge. Tylor and Francis Group. A Guide to Script Writing. Available at https://blog.routledge.com/humanities-and-media-arts/a-guide-to-script-writing/
Indeed Editorial Team. Learn How To Write A Script in 8 Simple Steps. Updated July 30, 2024 Available at
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-script
Kelly Konya. How to Write a Script: A Complete Guide. Updated on October 17, 2024. Available at
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/creative-writing/script/

Until next time!