screenwriters toolkit

A good ending leaves a lasting impression. It also leaves the last impression your viewer will get of your movie. Writing good endings can be a challenging task. Your Task: Watch the endings of 10 movies. Now, answer the following questions: 1. How did you feel after the movie ended? 2. What would you change? 3. Were there any loose ends? 4. Are there any similarities between the ending scenes in the movies you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve watched?

Your Task: Read a newspaper or tabloid article. Pick one story that interests you and write a 1-page scene with the major points of the story.

Take a moment to practice. Your Task: Identify that last 3 people you’ve seen. Now, write a 2-page scene that involves all of them!

You can learn a thing or two about the way you write by delving into what you like. Your Task: Identify your favorite scene of all times in a movie. Get that movie and watch the scene. Now, let your mind go with a 20 minute Freewrite.

It’s repeatedly said that if you can’t grab your audience in the opening sequence, you’ll find it more difficult to grab them as the story moves on. You’re task: Watch the opening scenes for 10 movies. Now, answer the following questions: 1. What pulled you in to the story? 2. What would you change? 3. At what point did you start wanting to know more (or feel like you wanted to keep watching the movie)? 4. What happened in that moment? 5. Are there any similarities between the opening scenes in the movies you’ve watched?

Try getting an understanding of the essence of a place. See what this does to your writing. Your Task: Go to a park, restaurant or someplace you can sit and write a while. Describe this place in detail, including colors, mood, people, etc. Free-write on the question: What is the essence of this place? What creates its’ uniqueness?

Each location you write about has it’s own history. The story of this place interacts with your character and scenes. Your task: Pick a scene from a movie. Name 5 things that have happened in this place. Write about how these shape its’ present?

Let’s practice developing plots. Your Task: Take a movie that you’re working on that uses the 3-act structure. If you don’t have one, download a screenplay online. Identify plot point 1 and brainstorm 25 other possible scenarios.

I was talking to a grocery store clerk about writing the other day, when he asked, “How do you write about characters that you can’t stand?” I responded with saying, “finding compassion for our characters gives us the ability to understand them more which helps when we write their lives.” Your task: Pick a person you dislike. Write a 1-page synopsis for a plot based on their life as a hero’s journey.

Many science fiction movies create whole new worlds for the audience to partake in. Identifying the rules for these worlds and displaying them for the audience is important to explaining your plot. Your task: Write a short science fiction script that’s no more than 7-pages. In this script, write no less than 4 scenes. Before you begin, identify 2 rules for your new world. For example, is there gravity? Gravity is a rule for Earth. Make up the rules and write your script around them.