Start here · Story Foundations
How to Write a Screenplay
A friendly route from the idea in your head to a complete first draft, including what to plan and when to stop planning.
01 / The idea
Where should a new screenplay writer begin?
Begin with a promise you can picture: a particular person, a problem that knocks their life sideways and a reason the outcome matters. Develop only enough to make choices, then move into pages before preparation becomes avoidance.
A lot of screenwriting language makes simple ideas sound more mysterious than they are. So let's start with the version you can actually use while you're writing.
02 / What to remember
Three things worth holding onto
You don't need to hold all of this in your head at once. These are three things worth coming back to when the idea feels slippery or the pages stop sounding like the film you imagined.
Premise before plot
A premise tells you whose story this is, what disturbs their life and what kind of film you are promising the audience.
Trouble shows us who people are
You do not need to know everything about a character before you start plotting. Give them problems that bring out their habits, fears, values and ability to change.
The first draft is allowed to be rough
A first draft is not a bad final draft. It is the first time you get to see the whole story, and it will teach you what the film wants to become.
03 / On the page
Try it this way
There are plenty of ways into a story. This is one route you can try—not a formula, just something to get you moving when the blank page has been staring back for too long.
- 1
Write the one-page version
Describe where things stand at the beginning, then the major commitment, central reversal, crisis, climax and final image. Do not worry about making it elegant yet.
- 2
Build a flexible scene path
List the scenes you currently need, but allow discoveries in the draft to replace the outline.
- 3
Finish forward
Mark problems rather than solving every one immediately. A complete rough draft teaches you more than forty polished opening pages.
- 4
Rewrite by pass
Separate structural, character, scene, dialogue and polish passes so one problem does not disguise another.
04 / Trouble spots
If this feels familiar, take another look
The concept has no active protagonist.
The outline contains events but few consequential decisions.
Research continues because the writer is frightened of committing.
The draft is line-edited before the ending exists.
Don't treat this list as a scorecard. Every draft has a few of these. Pick the one causing the most trouble, find the earliest place it appears and work forward from there.
05 / Have a go
Try this on your script
Write a 250-word version of the whole film. Then circle the three choices only your protagonist would make and build your outline around them.
A couple of questions writers ask
Where should a new screenplay writer begin?
Begin with a promise you can picture: a particular person, a problem that knocks their life sideways and a reason the outcome matters. Develop only enough to make choices, then move into pages before preparation becomes avoidance.
How can I practise how to write a screenplay?
Write a 250-word version of the whole film. Then circle the three choices only your protagonist would make and build your outline around them.
Official sources & further reading
Where to go next