It can take quiteleap to get fromwritten word tomovie screen.

A screenplay, for all its clear descriptions of where characters are and what they say, has to work hard to meetdramatic immediacy that we expect from films.

one. Stick To The Present Tense

Writing inpresent tense helps, keepingtext direct and different fromprose you’ll find in most novels or short stories.

two. Add Sound Effects

Sound effects can be effectively replicated onpage, using onomatopoeia such as BANGS for gunshots and SCREAMS of characters in danger.

three. Keep It Tight

Keepingwhole script tight is one ofbest ways to capturein-your-face nature ofmodern movie. Concise dialogue and snappy scene descriptions will help you to avoidnovel’s tone.

four. Write Pictures

Thinking visually ismost important part ofprocess. Writers are not always inclined to ‘talk in pictures’, creating images onpage.

By cultivatingvisual eye, you can createscript that’s written to be SEEN, not just read.

Just as in any form of writing, those images will jump out atreaders and stay in their minds. Screenplays just happen to bemost image-driven of all forms of writing.

Start looking, recording dreams, taking notes.

Get hold ofcamera - still, video, film, whatever you can get your hands on - and look throughviewfinder.

You don’t have to stop loving words to start thinking in pictures, so get inhabit of finding appropriate pictures.

When you’re writing your script, take every opportunity you can to tell your story using those kind of images, ones that resonate with you and your characters. If they’re relevant and containelement that hasn’t been seen before, they’ll resonate with your readers.

After all, movies aren’t referred to as "Pictures" for nothing.

This article was posted on November oneeight, twozerozerofive