BROWSE SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS

Listen & Learn

Let’s not beat around the bush: Interpreting Shakespeare is hard. If it weren’t for 10 Things I Hate About You, a lot of us would probably never understand what The Taming of the Shrew is about.

Everyone learns differently, which makes things particularly hard. Fortunately, ReadThrough has tools to accommodate all types of learners.

Every Shakespeare script on the app is a performance in itself: each character is verbally played by a trained actor. This means subtle ambiguities can be taught directly by the pros. To test their knowledge, students can even attempt the tonality of specific lines before hitting play on recordings. They can rewind to their hearts content to decipher those more pesky puns!

Perform & Outline

No more squabbling over who gets the lead role! With ReadThrough’s recording capabilities, students can play any and all parts. They can record their own lines to perfection, while those who learn by listening can do just that. This even allows virtual table reads.

Using outline tools, students can highlight their lines and filter down to their own lines or to the scene being read. ReadThrough makes it easy to navigate to specific scenes, which is often crucial when working on small sections at a time – from entire scenes to specific soliloquies.

Edit & Write

Are there some students in your class who think they’re better writers than Shakespeare? Well, now their chance to prove it to you.

ReadThrough gives students the power to revise Shakespeare himself. We personally hope they use these powers to make some of the plays a tad less sad.

Teachers can also upload written tasks for students to stimulate the writing process. This might include sonnet templates that students can use as springboards for their creativity or writing prompts that they can really lose themselves in. And not to go on about it, but maybe maybe you can have them do a writing exercise where they give Romeo & Juliet a happy ending? Just an idea…

Comment & Share

If your students engage by analyzing, rather than performing, they can easily document their immediate reactions and perceptions by leaving comments on scripts. These comments can be personal or shared. This is helpful for group analysis, feedback, or – for the enthusiastic scholars – for fun.

ReadThrough, Read Far

Learning, teaching and experiencing Shakespeare couldn’t be easier with ReadThrough. At least not until we figure out a way to bring him – or, if you’re a conspiracy theorist, her – back to tell us how it’s done. 

And not to be all “until then, our app is your next best bet”, but until then, our app is your next best bet. And it’s a pretty darn good one!

BROWSE SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS

Bear with me here.

You arrive at the alley with a set amount of preconceptions: there are going to be pins, there are going to be lanes, there are going to be big heavy balls that sometimes create a suction around your fingers that makes you panic for the second it takes for you to pull your thumb out.

What you don’t do is show up to a bowling alley expecting a speed dating party. Unless some kind of weird event is on.

A bowling alley is designed for people who want to bowl. A film, in the same way, is structured for people who want to be entertained.

This is where the Three-Act Structure comes in. This narrative model has existed since Greek tragedies were written and is fundamentally rooted in what the majority of people find enjoyable to watch. It’s a method of arranging a story’s main plot points, or beats, into relatable and engaging moving parts.

Exceptions can be seen in experimental cinema. These films explore filmmaking as a medium and often blur the line between cinema and art. They’re like the bowling alley that shuts down for speed dating – the people who show up to bowl are going to be disappointed.

Now, let’s put on some disgusting communal shoes and get into it!

Act One: The Setup

At the start of a story, writers are pinsetters. You know – those big machines at the back of the lanes that set up the pins. If pinsetters don’t do their job, there’s no game to be played. Simple.

If a writer doesn’t lay the foundations of their story before launching straight into a battle sequence, viewers won’t have everything they need to properly engage with the text.

Using a flash forward sequence might seem like an exception to this, but it isn’t. Because with the flash forward comes great responsibility. It’s a little promise to viewers that every burning question they have from this scene will eventually be answered. Many nonlinear scripts, for this reason, are still in line with The Three-Act structure. Yes, even Memento.

Act One introduces the main character or characters, their goals, the world and setting, antagonists and more. This hook gives them something tangible to cling to for the rest of the viewing experience.

Act Two

This is where writers turn from pinsetters to flies, spilled drinks, people talking, a sore wrist – anything that inhibits a bowler from getting a strike. 

Act Two is the middle portion of your story. It comes after the pins have been set and typically makes up the bulk of a script. It’s full of action and obstacles and can be viewed as the transitional period between the protagonist deciding what they want and then getting – or not getting – it. The protagonist has a lot to overcome and get used to, and Act Two is where they figure all that stuff out. 

Throughout Act Two, the film’s protagonist – the bowler – is making incremental progress despite the obstacles that are setting them back. Towards the end of this act, they’re going to swat the fly and get serious. They might be hit with a false victory – a spare when they could have sworn they made the strike. But they can’t give up now: they’ve got one pin left in the game.

Act Three

Act Three is the end of your story. Your protagonist needs to face the main antagonist of the narrative so they can finally become changed, for the better or worse. The bowler’s wrist is aching but they need to land that spare. The pressure is on. The final throw is the crux of the game – the climax of the film.

Now, does the bowler get their spare? That depends. Maybe they get what they want. Maybe they don’t. Maybe they lose the game but decide they had fun anyway. Or maybe their wrist actually snapped under the weight of the ball and they now need medical attention. Oops!

Regardless of how the story ends, everything you introduce in Act One and all the main beats of Act Two should be wrapped up with a neat little bow. A pinsetter doesn’t put another pin down while you’re nearing the end of your turn. A screenwriter, therefore, shouldn’t introduce a crucial element of their story at their end – unless they’re planting the seed for a sequel.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to get bogged down in technicality, especially when so many structure guidelines exist. But if you've ever written a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, then congratulations! You’ve followed a three-act structure. We’re so surrounded by storytelling at every stage in our lives that narration comes naturally. 

Having beat prompts in front of you, though, may aid the writing process and get your creative juices flowing. The below may help you if you ever find yourself lost in your story.

Plot Beats to Consider

Act One

World building: where is your protagonist and why should we care about them? What about them is relatable or watchable?

Inciting incident: what happens in those first few moments of your story that shakes up the ordinary life of your protagonist? What gets them thinking about straying from their normal life? What do they want?

Overcoming hesitancy: what’s stopping your protagonist from leaving their ordinary world? Is an external force needed here to encourage your protagonist to take the first steps of their journey? A person? An object? A soft wind from the south that smells like their long-lost sister’s perfume, maybe?

Act Two

Obstacles: what’s getting in the way of your protagonist achieving their goals? Are these obstacles big or small? Obstacles have an overall upwards trajectory in terms of intensity; building towards a crescendo will make your protagonist’s growth feel earned. 

Progress: what is your protagonist learning after each obstacle? These are the little “wins” that you reward them with for pursuing their goals and pushing through the tough times. 

False Victory: this progress point is a big one. It feels like the win. But it isn’t! False victories are often referred to as “midpoints”, though they don’t need to take place in the dead-center of your story. 

Low Point: your protagonist has realized their victory was fleeting. They probably want to give up. What is it that gets them down, and what happens to reignite their passion? 

Act Three

Climax: does your story have an antagonist that needs to be dealt with? Who or what is that antagonist? This is where that battle takes place – internal or external.

Resolution: did your protagonist get what they wanted? Or better yet, did they get what they needed? Maybe they realized it was all about the journey rather than the destination. Or maybe it’s a tragedy, where your protagonist’s growth comes too late to save them.

Whether your plot spans over a few years, or there are multiple storylines that have to be woven together, a montage can be an incredibly helpful tool when laying out all the details. If we didn’t have them, our scripts would either be lacking crucial information, or dreadfully long.

I mean, can you imagine watching Rocky without ever witnessing his triumphant run up those 72 steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Alternatively, think about having to sit through the actual timeline of all that training instead. Both scenarios aren’t ideal, so this is where a montage really shines.

What is a Montage in Screenwriting?

By definition, a montage is an editing technique that groups together a series of shots to form a continuous sequence. Since this allows us to communicate larger pieces of information in a more digestible way, there is a lot of room for creative freedom here.

While there isn’t one standard format montages have to follow, there is a ton of industry approved advice out there that’ll help guide you in the right direction. 

Let’s take a closer look!

Planning Your Montage

Before you can begin putting everything to paper, knowing what purpose you want your montage to serve is essential. By organizing these goals, it becomes much easier to produce something that’ll really resonate with your audience.

There are countless reasons why someone might add a montage to their screenplay, however, the following five are most popular.

1) It condenses your timeline. 
If you’re writing a script and need to speed something up, a montage can help get you from A to B in a more engaging way. Much like the Rocky reference, nobody wants to sit through hours worth of the same scenario! Instead, a montage is perfect for accelerating things without having to sacrifice any key information.

2) It develops your characters.
Montages allow you to filter out any fluff and focus on the vital details about your characters. For example, if you’re trying to showcase your villain as they descend into madness, a montage can help you highlight each character arc without any distractions getting in the way.

3) It evokes emotion from the audience.
When I’m looking to pull on some heartstrings, a montage is my favorite tool to use. I find this technique is especially beneficial thanks to its artistic nature. If I’m trying to build anticipation, for instance, I can splice together quick shots to mimic that sensation visually.

4) It weaves multiple storylines together.
I love giving my characters multiple goals to achieve in a script, but this isn’t always a time conducive practice. With the help of a montage, though, I don’t have to worry about that. They allow me to reveal various themes and intertwine them neatly. You even can use a montage to compare and contrast how these themes influence one another.

5) It presents necessary facts.
Let’s say I’m writing a fantasy screenplay and I need to explain some significant details about my setting. In this case, using a montage to lay everything out concisely would be very handy. The audience needs to know what environment they’re about to step into, but they shouldn’t have to sit through hours of worldbuilding to understand everything either.

Formatting and Screenplay Montage Examples

Now that we know what a montage is and why writers utilize them, it’s time to start thinking about your formatting options. 

Don’t let the lack of strict rules fool you here, this isn’t something that should be chosen at random. Every selection you make should serve a purpose and elevate your screenplay, so you should be choosing a format that suits your creative vision.

The best way to find a set-up that’ll enhance your writing is by asking yourself what your montage is going to look like. Most importantly, you want to figure out how many locations your montage will span across.

Single Location Montages

When writing a single location montage, you'll want to indicate what type of scene you’re writing first. To do this, specify where your montage begins at the start of the scene. You can incorporate as much or as little detail as you’d like here.

If the scene leading up to my montage provides context on its theme, I’ll usually keep my header simple.

However, if my montage is presenting entirely new information, I’ll add some detail about what subject it’s going to follow.

You’ll use a similar system when concluding your montage.

A straightforward END MONTAGE header will suffice, but if your next scene takes place in a new location, you can also use a slugline to show everything is finished up.

Multiple Location Montages

Much like a single location montage, you’ll also want to use headers to highlight where your montage begins. And as you jump from location to location, you can continue utilizing headers to be clear about where everything is taking place. 

Some writers achieve this by adding sluglines throughout their montages.

Simply mentioning each location change can be equally as helpful, though.

The last ingredient needed when cooking up a montage is your structure. You’ve plotted everything out, chosen a purpose to fulfill, your format has its foundation…and now, you can finally sprinkle in those finishing touches by structuring your content.

Many montages follow a structure that breaks each moment down into bite-size pieces. It’s customary to see symbols like dashes, ellipses, and numbers being used to achieve this. You can also forgo the symbols all together during this step, though. 

Each of these options gives a slightly different feel to the montage, and changes the way a reader experiences it. So, I’d always recommend considering the mood you’re trying to convey before picking anything out.

For example, stacking everything together with numericals can make it feel like suspense is building. On the flip side, if I’m hoping to make a situation seem more relaxed, I could use ellipses, to mimic time flowing in an easygoing way. 

Dashes might appear more quick-paced or dramatic, whereas a lack of symbols explains everything neutrally. Some writers even mix and match these options. You could waive the symbols for the longer scenes within your montage, and use something like an asterisk to indicate the quicker cuts that come next. 

You don’t even have to break anything down, though. There are many writers out there who prefer keeping their montages in paragraph form instead. This can be just as productive as the above-mentioned structures, as long it’s still clear you’re writing a montage.

Take note of how this example is presented. The header shares the location while also drawing attention to what type of scene this is. And by designating each time skip, the individual moments get separated without having to start any new paragraphs.

Whether you’re delivering your montage as a full paragraph or a series of isolated sentences, the ability to paint a picture in your readers’ minds will always be your greatest superpower as a screenwriter. If there’s one thing I hope you take away from our article, it’s that!

With a vast array of options out there, it can get a little overwhelming when choosing which route you want to take. By this point, you may be wondering, which choice is right for me? And with full confidence, I can tell you that the right decision will always be the one that best suits your screenplay. 

Be sure to consider your goals, how many locations you’ll be using, and what mood you’re hoping to convey to the audience. The answers to these questions will unlock the secret to an effective montage and have you writing one like an expert in no time!

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The could be a host of reasons why you might 

There actually aren't many free contests out there, so we've put together a list of the best ones!

1) ReadThrough 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown

The 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown is one of the more unique screenwriting contests you'll find, and it just happens to be free! Pit your script against writers from around the world to see if you’ll be the last writer standing!

Once Screenplay Throwdown starts, you have 48 hours to write a short script based on guidelines released at the start of the contest. 

Prizes include cash, free script coverage, screenwriting software, and more! The 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown happens multiple times a year.

2) Roadmap Writers Diversity Initiative Competition

Each month, Roadmap Writers selects one diverse screenwriter to participate in the Pitch Prep Program. The winner and runner up also receive free screenwriting software.

The Diversity Initiative Competition is open for submissions on the 15th of every month with the deadline on the 3rd of the following month.

3) The Script Lab Free Screenplay Contest

A free competition to find the best writers, regardless of financial need.

The winner receives a cash prize, distribution to a network of nearly a thousand industry professionals, a career consultation session and more! The contest opens November 1st.

4) The Athena List

The Athena List is an annual script competition that selects exceptional scripts with women leaders at the heart of the story. As the central program in the Athena Film Festival’s Creative Development program, The Athena List aims to raise the profile of the scripts and the writers within the industry with the purpose of getting these movies made and elevating their careers to the next level. Submissions are open June 1 to September 15.

5) WideScreen Film & Music Video Festival Screenplay Competition

6) Screenwriters Utopia Monthly Logline Contest

Have you ever heard that saying? It’s a nice sentiment, right? Now, let’s apply it to screenwriting:

Your title page is more than just your screenplay’s title.

That’s better! While the cover page of a script does include a title, there’s a whole slew of other details and formatting technicalities to consider. Let’s dig in.

How do you format a screenplay title page?

There’s a place for everything on a title page and everything should be in its place. 

Title and author:

A screenplay’s title and author name go smack-bang in the (horizontal) center of the page. This information should start around 1/3 down the page to give space to other details. 

You want your screenplay’s name to be capitalized and stacked on top of yours, with a written by or by sandwiched between a few line breaks. This will ensure there’s no confusion as to who’s written this masterpiece. Your author name might be your real name, or if you need to be anonymous – if you’re posting on a public forum for example – it could be your stage name, your pseudonym, your Reddit handle. Heck, maybe you don’t want your name on there at all. This is also fine, though you’d have to be really sure that you don’t want people to find you!

Contact details

Contact details go in the bottom-left corner of the page and are left-aligned. If you’re showing people your script, entering it into competitions or trying to get it produced, this information is crucial. Without it, you won’t be able to get the call from the major production studio that wants to buy your script for millions of dollars. Better keep that mobile number updated! 

Any piece of contact information you put here is optional. It can include your full name, email address, home address, phone number, agent details, mail pigeon tracking number – whatever you want. An email address is generally more than enough as a direct line of contact, though.

Contact details

Did you have a writing partner on your project? If so, their name should be right next to yours, separated by an ampersand (&). If another writer joined the project after you, on the other hand, their name would be separated from yours by the word and.

Is your screenplay an adaptation of another work? You can go ahead and pop in a based on credit. Alternatively, if another writer came up with a story that you’ve now been hired to write, that’s is a story by credit.

The copyright symbol

Let’s talk about this for a second. It isn’t necessary to include this symbol, as copyright is automatic in most countries as per the Berne Convention. But if you want to make it extra obvious that you are the copyright holder of your screenplay, you can go ahead and put that fancy little C before your name in the contact details section.

Images and fonts

A different font for the title or a certain image may convey genre or tone. A lot of writers – auteurs and amateurs alike – do graphic title pages really well. But taste is subjective in this way; what you think looks great look silly to someone else. If you believe a certain image on your title page might make your reader roll their eyes, it’s not worth it. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with being plain, anyway!

In WriterDuet, you can easily create industry-standard title pages or upload one you’ve made on a different app. We’ll even let you put an image on it – as long as you promise to make it tasteful! 

You can see the steps to create a title page at our Knowledgebase article here.

The best and easiest way to learn about how to format a title page – like everything with screenwriting – is to see. Here are some examples of title pages, all which follow the industry standard:

It might be easy to judge the logline as unnecessary in the context of a well-thought-out story; to view it as something you can slap together as quickly as your fingers can type. But a logline’s purpose is much more nuanced than that.

Before we get to specifics, let's start with the general: what is a logline? Well, it isn’t really a dog, for a start. It’s a one to two sentence summary of your screenplay that acts as a hook into your story’s world. It may allude to a character arc or central conflict or, if your screenplay doesn’t follow the conventional Hero’s Journey, it might instead be a vague yet alluring outline that denotes tone or genre.

While there are no hard and fast rules on how many words are in a logline, the industry consensus is that less is more. If you can elicit an emotional response from your target audience with a single, concise sentence, you probably have a fantastic grasp of your story and character arc. This is why a logline is so often required during the pitching process. It proves that you know exactly how and why your story should exist.

So, how do we write a logline, then? Unfortunately, there’s no official logline template. If your screenplay follows a conventional structure, however, you may consider including who your protagonist is and what or who they need to overcome. 

Let’s have a look at what this may look like; here’s an example of a logline:

To garner the attention of an esteemed producer, a neurotic screenwriter must write a logline for her impossibly epic story – all while dealing with the demands of her high-maintenance chihuahua.

While this may be a terrible concept, we can clearly see here who the main protagonist is and what her goals and central conflicts are. We also get a vibe of the tone and genre of the script.

Depending on your script’s genre, though, a logline might also include elements of world-building, as well as a more tangible antagonist:

A disgraced soldier from the impoverished planet of Smalldogerina is chosen by her Higher Deities to recover the planet’s sole power source – The Golden Chihuahua of Eternity – after it is stolen by an intergalactic space cowboy.

These two loglines have very different vibes: the first feels like a character-driven comedy, while the second feels like an action-packed science fiction film. Let’s unpack why this is:

Firstly, the word “neurotic” in that first logline has comedic insinuations. It sets up the main character to be chaotic and blundering. The additional clause at the end, joined by the en-dash, creates a sense of urgency, while the actual content of that addition is pretty silly. This creates a slapstick tone. 

Ignoring the name of the planet and the power source of that second logline – those are little jokes, just for me – it seems to belong to a pretty serious science fiction film. You might expect a clear-cut hero’s journey from this script. There’s clear emphasis on the setting and who the “hero” and “villain” are. The stakes are also significant compared to the first: saving a planet vs. writing a logline. 

While a logline can be written after you’ve already completed your screenplay for pitching purposes, it’s also a good place to start. It’s an outline that you can build on. It can act as a reference point to ensure you’re following the trajectory of your original premise, but you might even find that it evolves as you write you become more confident in the story you want to tell. 

No matter how or when you decide to write your logline, your main objective with it is to make your script irresistible to your target audience. They should be desperate to give that chihuahua of yours a pat!

As someone who reads a lot of scripts, I can tell you that this is a common problem. It’s easy to write the bulk of a screenplay and then realize all too late that every one of your characters sounds exactly the same. Or, worse yet, exactly like you.

It can also be difficult to find the line between explanation and subtext. The focus is often on getting the entire plot out onto the page that it’s easy to forget that character voices – what they say and how they say it – are what bring them to life and make them real to our audiences.

There’s a tool on WriterDuet that helps with this: the Dialogue Filter. I’d never used this before writing this post, but I honestly wish I had found it sooner.

WriterDuet’s Dialogue Filter allows you to isolate specific characters’ dialogue in your screenplay. With it, you can choose to view individual dialogue lines to make sure they’re consistent, realistic, engaging and unique. You can use it to track character development, too: does your protagonist start out meek and learn to assert themselves by the end of your screenplay? The Dialogue Filter will let you follow this trajectory and see exactly where changes should take place.

I found that viewing dialogue out of context in this way tricked my brain into thinking I was reading my script for the first time. I was able to find every instance where a character blurted out verbatim what they were thinking, or what was happening in the story, and fix it without having to comb through the entirety of the screenplay.

Take the below example of a dialogue exchange between two people. It feels very two dimensional; the characters’ voices are essentially the same and aren’t conveying tone so much as explaining exactly what’s going on and how they feel.

If we filter the dialogue down to Sabrina, we notice that she over-explains what’s happening, which doesn’t allow viewers to use critical thinking. This makes the exchange boring to witness.

Now, let’s isolate Jessica’s dialogue. Everything she says is reactionary – she has no substance or personality because, like Sabrina, she over-explains everything she’s thinking. There’s no tension and the characters feel interchangeable.

Now, I’m going to write the scene with specific character voices: I’ve decided Sabrina is a bit of a brat, because she’s excited about her birthday, while Jessica is more withholding and cynical. This creates a better friendship dynamic between the two, as their personalities are conflicting, and allows their dialogue to feel more realistic. Note that subtext is also used here to make viewers connect the dots themselves; when Sabrina is explicit about their relationship at the end, her sarcasm makes it feel organic. In the first draft, it felt forced.

The Dialogue Filter is a simple, but helpful, tool. It’s so easy to implement it into your everyday writing process. With it, you can double-check your dialogue for your own peace of mind and ensure it’s tactful in its ambiguity (or lack thereof). Let your characters’ voices speak for themselves!

Once Screenplay Throwdown starts, you'll have 48 hours to write a short script based on our guidelines below.

Submit your script through ReadThrough, our new script reading app, and we'll provide feedback comments on every single submission.

Pit your script against writers from around the world to see if you'll be the last writer standing!

Submitted to Screenplay Throwdown?

Share your script in our Readthrough Discord to get feedback from other writers who competed in the contest.

THE RESULTS

CRIME LOOP 
by Barbara McCormick-Thomas

"Crime Loop" showcases a fantastic balance of drama with delightfully irreverent comedy. The script has a clear story arc and ending, which is quite challenging to accomplish in just three pages, and the writer beautifully executed the parameters of the challenge. It was a fun read, and I can’t wait to see more from this writer!

- Featured Judge Alison Becker

READ THE SCRIPT

THE 10 FINALISTS

FLOATERS by Alexis Miranda & Ammar Hassan

CRIME LOOP by Barbara McCormick-Thomas

COOL ENOUGH by David Gallo

SUNDAY DRIVE by Erwin René Jonakaufzki

THE LAST RODEO by Evan Gaustad

DEAD NATURE by Gilbert S. Bock

GROUPIE LOVE by Josephine Estrada

THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN by Katy Conroy and Mike Klasek

ONE LAST SUNRISE by Leila Murton Poole

TRANSITION ASSISTANCE by Nick Harron

The 10 Finalists will be announced MONDAY, MAY 30th

Check back then to see which scripts make the next round!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

In order for your script to be considered, please follow the guidelines below:

No matter what genre you choose to write in or what tone your story takes, your script submission MUST embody the Throwdown Theme. How you choose to interpret that theme and use it in your script's story is totally up to you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

1. Click Submit Now on the Screenplay Throwdown Contest Page  

2. In the submission form, click Add Document to upload a script from your device or select a document from your ReadThrough library

3. Enter your E-Mail address, complete the rest of the form, and click Submit

Wait...That was easy! What's next?

Share your script submission link with friends. They can read your script from any device

Listen to your script using ReadThrough

View comments left by our Throwdown readers directly in your script submission link

If you make the next round, an Award Badge will appear on the Title Page of your script submission

PRIZES

All Contestants

Quarter Finalists (Top 25%)

Semi Finalists (Top 10%)

Finalists (Top 10)

Winner 🏆

ABOUT THE FEATURED JUDGE

Alison Becker is a writer, actor, producer, and director. She is currently the Head Writer on Steven Spielberg’s Tiny Toons reboot for Warner Brothers Animation. GirlWorld, the feature script she co-wrote with GLOW’s Kimmy Gatewood, was bought by Amazon Studios, and she has another comedy feature in development with Paul Feig’s PowderKeg. Becker wrote and starred in the short film, Control, and directed and produced a music video called A$ Level, both of which did very well on the festival circuit, winning several awards. Also known for her acting, Becker played Shauna Malwae-Tweep, the longest running guest star on NBC's Parks and Recreation, and she has appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm, New Girl, Law and Order, Murderville, and some of the most viewed internet comedy sketches of all time. She graduated from Georgetown University, cum laude, and was accepted into the high IQ society, Mensa. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner, and she loves your dog.

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How is this going to get made?

Think Long-Term

You could go with the traditional next steps of hiring an agent/manager, pitching to producers, or submitting to screenplay contests. One caveat of this is that you likely won't have total control of your vision being brought to life.

Now more than ever, screenwriters and filmmakers are taking a proactive approach. They want to stay involved in every step of the process of their script being turned into a film. That's where crowdfunding steps in.

Crowdfunding provides a viable way for screenwriters and filmmakers to get their scripts made. Through strategic planning, they can also move beyond funding a single project at a time into gaining long-term support from an audience, crowdfunding their career. 

Want to utilize crowdfunding to supercharge a sustainable career as a screenwriter or filmmaker? Here are some key areas you'll want to focus on:

Your Audience

Who is your story for, and who is going to rally behind it? Again, this goes beyond just one film project - who is going to be invested in your professional journey? If someone invests in a crowdfunding campaign for your project, work to build a relationship with them beyond the one-time transaction and see them as an invested, consistently growing group of support. If you genuinely value your audience, they will value you back.

Your Team

You'll want to gather a reliable and dedicated team to take your screenplay from the pages to the screen. Using a crowdfunding campaign can give your networking efforts a more focused purpose, and cultivate professional connections. Who you choose to connect with can also help attract interest (and funds).  Join forces with people who are just as determined as you in growing their creative career through this process.

Your Pitch

Like every other step of screenwriting, framing your story takes patience, time and effort. This is your time to shine. Your pitch is the best chance to connect to your audience and leave a lasting impression. Don't underestimate the importance of selling the complete package: presenting your story and yourself in a clear, exciting way is an invaluable skill you can utilize for the rest of your career.

Your Platform

Choosing the right crowdfunding platform is crucial. This sets the foundation for you to build your audience, connect with your team, and craft your pitch, all from one home base. Find a home base that embraces your creative voice, one that is invested in your long-term vision and success. A great crowdfunding platform is not just there to provide a place for you to get money for your movie: they're there to support your projects so that your projects can start to support you.

Kick Things Off!

We recommend our partner Seed&Spark as the ultimate crowdfunding platform for filmmakers. Through the WriterDuet // Seed&Spark partnership, you'll have exclusive access to 1:1 mentoring sessions with their crowdfunding specialists. We encourage you to sign up here and kickoff crowdfunding your creative career!

At WriterDuet we're empowering creators at every step of the process. If you're crowdfunding a production, we want to accelerate your campaign and help make your project a reality.

We offer:

Promotion of your campaign to our community of writers and filmmakers

Perks/incentives for your campaign supporters with up to $1,000 in WriterDuet credit

Pledging a financial contribution to select campaigns

Software for the duration of your production

Award-winning screenwriting duo Alisha Brophy & Scott Miles (Inside Job, Netflix) use a 4 phase process to outline their script and turn a story idea into a finished screenplay.

Why outline?

Scott Miles: "When you’re first starting out, it’s tempting to skip the outline stage. Just go straight to pages, knock out a vomit draft and hope to fix it all later. But why do that to your future self? Outlining is basically time travel for screenwriters. You’re gifting future you a blueprint for how to write the next great movie or binge-worthy tv show".

Phase 1: Logline

Alisha Brophy: "Some people try and do a Mad Libs logline".

A [CHARACTER]

In [WORLD/SETTING]

Must do [OBJECTIVE]
Otherwise [CONSEQUENCES]
With [OBSTACLES]

Alisha Brophy: "So you're basically filling all of those in. If you're missing one right there from the logline step, you realize 'Oh wait, I should work out my story a little bit more".

Example Logline:

Scott Miles: "You should definitely be able to see what the conflict of the movie is going to be in that logline".

Phase 2: Paragraph Pitch

Alisha Brophy: "Once we’re confident in the logline, we're going to write out just purely as a story, usually three paragraphs, each paragraph dedicated to an act. So we're making sure the story has a beginning, a middle and an end".

Scott Miles: "Or if it’s a TV pilot, we'll write out a paragraph for each A, B, and C storyline. And we never go more than a page".

Alisha Brophy: "It's just a way to stay very blue-skies, very macro and make sure at that larger level the story works. We don’t at this stage have a ton of specifics yet, but we know what they need to be in general so we'll write things like 'he does a big sacrifice for his ex.' We don't actually know what the sacrifice is yet, that’s a later problem".

Scott Miles: "Here we just need to know: does the story check out? Are these characters you want to see? Is this the journey that’s necessary for character growth? Will this be a satisfying end? Figure these things out now, and Future You is going to be eternally grateful".

Phase 3: Sequences

Alisha Brophy: We break our stories out into those eight, roughly 15-page blocks of  story so we'll have two for Act I, four for Act II, and two for Act III. 

Scott Miles: "We just find that it’s more manageable to write in blocks. And also, if you treat each one as a mini-story with a beginning, middle and end, it always keeps the script moving ahead with purpose."

Alisha Brophy: "We don't keep it as macro as just hero's journey headlines but we but we do use broad headline titles. It'll basically give you a sense of what that section is going to be about. So it will be like 'The Truth Comes Out' or 'Preparing for the Big Event' - that kinda thing.

Scott Miles: "Once we have these big headlines, we write short bullet points under each one for the scenes that need to happen to get from the beginning of that story block to the ending, which ideally asks a question or ends on a story beat that propels us into the next broad sequence."

Phase 4: Beat Sheet

Scott Miles: "We treat it [the Beat Sheet] as a true blueprint for the script, so it needs to be as worked out as possible. We even put scene headings in there and you know with the comedy it needs to have all the fun setups and payoffs and the big comic set pieces before we go to pages. And so we sometimes write in dialogue but we don't get bogged down in that; we've found that funny dialogue can hide story weaknesses. So the project has to be funny in paragraph form just at a pure conceptual level for each scene before we move on."

Turn Your Outline Into A Screenplay

Scott Miles: "It pretty much is a road map the entire way which is kind of nice because it means that writer's block isn't really a thing. So when we sit down in front of our computer first thing in the morning we may not know exactly how we're going to tackle a scene but we know what we're gonna be writing that day."

Alisha Brophy: "If you've done all the hard work at the beat sheet level it's now just having fun like now you're just like finding all the little details and the character moments that surprise you, they pop up as you're flushing it all out. I mean that is in WriterDuet so we're actually building out from the outline and we are just making it 90 pages longer".

Scott Miles: "Right, and that's you know that's the gift of an outline it just makes it easier to make those changes because when you're writing forward you know what's coming".

Alisha Brophy: "But also it helps you write backwards there's the time travel right all those little discoveries along the way. You don't want to get rid of them but having them land this late, it feels kind of out of left field. But if you go back in the outline you can just kind of skim backwards and find a great place to put in the setup for it so then it feels organic. At the end of the day your screenwriting it's just making all these connections from the beginning to the end, back and forth, and you should be able to at that macro level look it over and connect all the dots that highlight the character's arc or all the scenes that make this twist work. Building an outline is like building a cheat sheet to your own story".

Scott Miles: "Outlining is super hard but not outlining is just infinitely harder so just do the heavy lifting up front and your future self will thank you or you know don't but who in the right mind is going to turn down a free time machine."

Here are our biggest takeaways, which aren't absolutes but seem generally useful to consider:

Characters Captivated Us When They Wanted Things Real Bad

A strong desire can lead characters down some wild, intriguing paths. We were hooked by characters who demonstrated what they were trying to achieve, without long stretches of expository dialogue. Our favorite scripts were those that used behavior to show characters working for their desires, and shifting their tactics when facing ever-increasing obstacles.

Instead of leaning on characters saying exactly what they’re after, the best scripts have characters who just go for it, and take readers with them on their journey.

We Preferred Scripts That Let Us Imagine The Movie For Ourselves

Your script is a blueprint that might someday guide a production team to create a film, but until then, that’s not your audience. As readers, we’re capable of creating the movie in our heads without every camera direction and intricate detail of the setting spelled out for us. Reading unnecessary descriptions interrupts our flow, and limits our imagination.

Our goal is to get so caught up in your storytelling that we forget we’re reading a script at all, we’re so busy picturing the movie. Think about your scripts from the perspective of readers; if all your words are serving us, or slowing us down

Reading Scripts Makes You A Better Writer, Faster

While writing, we find it easy to become numb to our own limitations. Have you ever written something you loved, then come back to it years later to wonder what horrible monster rewrote your beautiful story? Reading other scripts shortcuts that process, because you can think more critically of others and apply the same lessons to your own work immediately.

Look for scripts that are written with a style you enjoy, regardless of the experience level of the writer. Reading the best professional scripts is great for inspiration and gives you a target to aim for, but when you’re in the early stages of writing, we think the practical lessons gained from seeing flaws in other scripts is even more important. And the act of sharing your feedback with another writer will help cement the concept for yourself!

Want To Start Reading Some Scripts?

Check out the Finalists & Winning Screenplays from WriterDuet’s 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown contests!

THROWDOWN SCRIPTS

Share Your Scripts With Each Other!

WriterDuet wants to build “the world’s largest writers group” with our new platform WriterDuet Read!

Create a Publish link of your script and post it in the comment section below along with a quick logline. Read each other’s scripts and give each other feedback!

Thank you to all of the amazing writers who submitted to the WD 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown: Summer '21 contest!

Over 900 writers from around the world submitted their scripts to the contest, making the selection process for our Ten Finalist spots difficult, but also a blast! The WD Community is full of some incredible screenwriters!

We are honored to announce the Semi-Finalists and Ten Finalists of Screenplay Throwdown Summer '21:

SEMI-FINALISTS

(Top 5% of Scripts Submitted)

The Un-Terminatable Turner - Mario Gonzalez
Pencing - Jimwell Camilon
AMOUR - Gentian Gjikopulli
Yolanda's Story - Gianna Ragogna
FOR I HAVE SINNED - Priyansh Lamba & Rishabh Bhagat
High School Sweetheart - Yoran Praet
Did You Get My Text? - Julien Perez & Mike Rowland
Agent Cherry: Case 36, The Lizard in the Diner - Theodora "Teddy" Udsholt-Clayton
The Undertakers - Lucy Gibb-Smith
The Man of Graphite - Divyansh Kulshrestha
The Alley Cats - Jameson P. Murray
Gone Rogue - Ted & Aidan Parkes
OSIRIS - Steve Duenes
THE SOCK - Nick Nordstrom
Faulkner's Mantis - Philip Lemon
ANYTHING TO DECLARE - Aaron Ducker
R.S.M - Samantha Moody
Safety Measures - Jen Diamond
Aftermath - Malcolm Gari Love Owens
The Pencil Case - Naomi Clarke
GNAW - Natasha Williamson
Star-Crossed Lovers - Janine Zaruski
I Am Enough - Trusha Navalkar
Hysterics - Allison Slice
The Tortured Toreador - TJ Jaeger
Creola Park Drive - Reuben Smart
Just A Contractor - Grace Jiang
MOMMY DEAREST - Cody James & Mark Gonzales
The Local Lead Dealer - Ryan Chiu
Off The Record - Lukas Santus
Nine to Five - Quinn Hansen
ANACHRONISM - Amy Bauer
The Target - Amy Csaki
The Last Line - Dylan Patrick Morley
Lucky's - Jerry Marchenkowsky
The Prodigious Pair - Fennell Harris
INOCULATION - Himmler Lorissaint
No.2 - A. Mercer
The Sales Lead - Dylan Gonzalez
They'll Never Know - Stephen Yu
Wednesday - Honey Goudard & Anthony J. Lenzo
2B or Not 2B - Curtis Mutter
Mr. Goodbar's Secret - Brian P. Gross
Identification Please - Siddhartha Verma

THE TEN FINALISTS (+1)

• MY NAME ISN'T GRANDPA - Amanda V. Cabral
• I KNOW WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED - Max Hallam
• Vigorously Average - Alexandra Keister
• Advanced Makeup Application Techniques - Rhys Kroehler
• Junior High Stakes - Lewis Mackie
• CULLER - Melanie McCoy
• POLYGRAPH - Mitchell LeBlanc
• THIS MACHINE SURROUNDS HATE - Jennifer Ramsey
• AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB - Murphy Rhodes
• Blind Date - Annie Sudler
• EXAM - Jay Wright

THE 1ST PLACE WINNER

Junior High Stakes - Lewis Mackie

"Junior High Stakes gets high marks for not only embracing the theme of secret identities but also using the pencil as the linchpin of the whole cat-and-mouse game. The use of grizzled male voice-overs as the inner monologues for 7th-grade girls was absolutely inspired. Great fun scene that tickled me throughout." 

Andy Bobrow
Featured Judge

Which Finalist script was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Wrote a script for the Screenplay Throwdown? Post your script's publish link in the comments!

WHY 11 FINALISTS?

It has been brought to our attention that one of our Finalist scripts did not follow the Submission Guidelines fully, using more than 2 speaking characters. 

We apologize for this oversight and really appreciate our writers' patience!

As a very small team reading a large number of scripts, we worked hard to avoid making mistakes but missed the mark on this one.

In response to this, the WD Team has decided to include an additional Finalist to the list!

WriterDuet Plus will give you unlimited scripts and collaboration!

Get ready to rumble again! It’s time to throw down your screenwriting skills and see if you’ve got what it takes to be the last writer standing!

Enter the 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown screenwriting contest to flex your writing skills and pit your quick script up against other writers in the WD community!

Ten finalists will get a chance to have their script submissions read & judged by professional screenwriter/showrunner Andy Bobrow (Community, The Last Man on Earth)

FREE to submit! Effortless to enter! And a fantastic opportunity to win CASH PRIZES to help support your writing journey!

SEMI-FINALISTS & FINALISTS HAVE BEEN ANNOUCED!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

In order for your script to be considered, please follow the guidelines below:

No matter what genre you choose to write in or what tone your story takes, your script submission MUST embody this Throwdown Theme.

HOW TO SUBMIT

TEN FINALSTS WILL WIN

• $100
• 1-year free WriterDuet Pro
• Script Submission featured as a Readable Publish Link and read/judged by professional screenwriter Andy Bobrow

THE 1st PLACE WINNER WILL WIN

• $500
• A WriterDuet Pro Lifetime subscription
• Feedback on Throwdown script submission from the featured judge Andy Bobrow

(The 1st Place Winner will receive these prizes instead of the Finalist prizes)

ABOUT THE FEATURED JUDGE

Andy Bobrow is a sitcom veteran who began his television career on the hit Fox series Malcolm In The Middle. Andy has written for some of the most popular and influential American TV comedies, including Community and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Andy was also Executive Producer and Co-Showrunner of Fox's The Last Man On Earth, and is currently Executive Producer and Co-Showrunner of Fox's Bless The Harts.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTEST?

Reach out to us! help@writerduet.com

Character Names

A simple but important one that may come up in your first page, all the way until the end: how do you introduce character names within a script? Do you introduce them simply as MAN, YOUNG GIRL, SHADOWY FIGURE? Do you give the name right away? What I have found useful is to just play the “movie” in your head: are we meant to think of this character first as an insignificant figure or do we want to be placed squarely in an emotional connection with them right away? Depending on how you’d like their first scene to play out, you could always hold out on the first time another character refers to them by name. But as the norm goes, you might just want to give the character name right away.

Quick Tip: While it may seem like a good idea to have characters address each other by name in order for the on-screen viewer to know who’s who, think carefully about when this would be most natural. Nothing feels clunkier than characters who call each other by name at the start of a line.

Scene Transitions

Read a handful of screenplays and you will see the choice to have “CUT TO” in between each scene is anything but certain. This is more something you would find in a shooting script as it is a technical note more than anything. However, as a writer, you should constantly be thinking about the flow and rhythm of your story and how each scene goes into the next. If a dissolve or a black screen in between sections is what feels best for your story, write it in.

Quick Tip: Like many other technical aspects of a script, don’t include a CUT TO simply because you feel you need to. Think of all the clutter this adds. Page space adds up!

Scene Headings

How do you know how to properly designate the times of day and specific areas/rooms of a location? Again, it's best to read other scripts that you think have a similar sense of geography as yours. Some writers hold that there should only be a designation between DAY and NIGHT, but if you feel a more specific time of day is essential to the plot or atmosphere of your scene, then by all means go for it!

Page Count

Perhaps the most important and confusing of the unspoken rules, a carefully calculated page count can be a writer’s best friend and worst enemy. You never want to feel like you are just filling space to reach an 80-page target range, but you also never want to cut things out because you’re crossing that 120-page territory. Ultimately, your story defines the scale; use your intuition and think long and hard about the kind of film you are writing. Don’t be afraid to go short, sometimes something barely crossing the 60-page range is enough to evoke the scale of a short feature film with emotional impact. But if you feel your story is compelling enough with the right structure and payoff to warrant something over 120 pages, go for it and revise your script as many times as needed to get it somewhere.

Quick Tip: Readability is key when starting out as a spec writer. Think of all the scripts from friends you haven't read yet — and think about how enticing a brief page count might look to you when choosing what to read next.

Make Sure Your Scripts Shine

Before reaching out to representatives, make sure your scripts are stellar. You only get to make a first impression once. Use reader feedback from peers and script competitions to polish your screenplays. Triple check that there are no typos or formatting errors. Understand what you’re trying to say with each script and its central themes, and use that information to write an exciting logline. This will help you stand out in your query letters!

Do Your Research

Once you have two strong writing samples, you’re ready to start reaching out! Make a list of potential managers to reach out to and understand why you’d like to work with each one. Do they have clients whose trajectories you’d like to emulate? Have they worked on scripts that you love in your genre? You can use industry tools like IMDbPro and Variety Insight to see managers’ client lists, but you can also learn more through a quick Google search. In my own quest to find representation, I’ve reached out to managers because I liked their social media presence, watched SXSW panels to get to know their management styles, and read screenwriters’ websites to see what opportunities their clients are getting.

Shoot Your Shot

Reaching out to managers can seem daunting, but when you boil it down, it’s just sending an email! If you have existing connections to a literary manager, a recommendation will put you at the top of their list. Use your networks to get introduced. If that’s not the case, don’t worry! Many screenwriters have successfully found representation through cold queries.

A cold query is a quick email that introduces you as a writer. It contains the logline of the script you’d like to share. Personalizing the email to the manager you’re reaching out to can show that you’ve done your research and you’re not just blasting the same email to every rep in Hollywood. Managers are busy and field a ton of queries. Make sure your email is short and sweet, but still stands out. Do not send your script or any attachments: this will get your email automatically deleted. If they’re interested in reading more, they’ll request your screenplay when they follow up.

Cold Query Letter

Here is an actual cold query that I’ve sent out that received a response:

Hi [Rep’s Name]!

We met at the roundtable last night (I was the one whose dog thought it'd be cool to jump in on the end of the meeting). I’m a queer, Chinese American comedian and screenwriter. I love writing messy, complicated protagonists making bad decisions with humor and compassion–my characters blow up their lives so I don’t have to.

Alice, Everywhere: A recently divorced 30-something navigates single life, getting over her trust issues, and keeping her ability to teleport a secret as her investigative journalist ex-husband unwittingly closes in on her mysterious string of druggings around the country.

It’s Search Party meets Love Life: the highs of a binge-worthy rom-com and the lows of someone lurking at the edges, threatening to expose a life-shattering secret. If you’re interested in receiving the full script, I would love for you to take a look. 

Thank you!

The Meeting

If a manager is interested in meeting with you after reading your script, this means they liked your writing and your voice, and they’d like to see if you’d be a good fit to work together. It’s less of an interview and more of a vibe check. Understand your career goals, practice a blurb about yourself as a writer, and get excited to talk about your script! Use the meeting as a chance to get a sense of their working style, what meetings they might set you up with, and what they envision for this partnership. A great manager will help you navigate the industry and work with you to drive towards your long-term goals.

If you both decide it’s a good fit, congratulations! You've landed your first literary manager!

Let's take a look at five of the best coming-of-age screenplays of the last decade and see what can we learn from them!

Dope

Beloved by critics and a modest audience upon release, Rick Famuyiwa’s indie teen romp DOPE is an excellent fusion of teen comedy, crime caper, and inner-city drama. The descriptions and pace of this script are incredible, with lightning-fast setups and clever narration that propel the reader through its teenage protagonist’s unlikely journey from Bitcoin-farming nerd to prolific drug dealer. Looking for unique dialogue and world build? Interested in genre-blending that creates a film fresh enough to stand out amongst familiar territory. Then this script is for you!

Diary of a Teenage Girl

Director Marielle Heller’s adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel is an excellent distillation of what makes the teen film so captivating. Diary of a Teenage Girl is the ultimate contradiction between what a young person believes the world to be, and how the world actually is. While the film is known for its animated flourishes and hyper-stylized surface, this is an incredible script built mainly on a structure of multiple scenes that find the protagonist Minnie Goetz negotiating her personal life, from her art to her sexual discovery, with different characters to varying cringey effect. Read on for a script built on minutiae and even thriller-like tension between an idealistic main character and the harsh lessons she must learn.

20th Century Women

Largely autobiographical, Mike Mills’ ensemble drama is about a mother raising her son in the tenuous cultural moment of 1979. 20th Century Women focuses on a young man’s education in how to be a functional adult in a society torn between consumerism and making something meaningful of yourself. It is also that special kind of film in this genre that recognizes coming-of-age as an experience that can happen to all ages and not just teenagers, with a window into the emotional growth of a variety of characters ranging from teenagers to fiftysomethings. Mills’ dialogue is funny and enlightening, and his use of multiple voiceovers is one of the most engaging stylistic choices in a script for a reader.

Lady Bird

Much has been written about Greta Gerwig’s debut feature, an expert lesson in economic storytelling where every scene is paced to maximum effect and goes together perfectly to propel us through a year-long journey within a brief running time. Read and study how Gerwig introduces her characters and how much detail she chooses to give us about body movement and even set dressing — who can forget the Eternal Flame prom decorations? It’s a rich script full of detail and assured vision even in its writing. It shows us how to wring out a central emotional conceit (a daughter’s connection to her mother and her town) that could make the most jaded reader cry.

Eighth Grade

Praised for its documentary style and Elsie Fisher’s breakout performance Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade's rich and detailed screenplay is often looked over. This is possibly due to how natural and improvised its dialogue seemed. It's a unique script punctuated through long monologues delivered by main character Kayla to a webcam, and effectively the audience. These self-help diatribes reflect and contradict the other vignettes throughout the film that see Kayla try and mostly fail at putting herself out there as an eighth-grader navigating the jump to high school amidst toxic boys and an unforgiving social media landscape. Look at how Bo incorporates the fits and starts of teen-speak, but also look at where and when he chooses to drop dialogue and funny moments and when he lets the action speak on its own.

Faster Load

This is where the majority of our technical time has been spent recently. For any scripts, books or boards you have that were slow and choppy, the difference should be shocking.

Docs are easier to use

A project contains docs such as your script, title page, and a private notepad. Docs can be viewed in page form, as ordered scene cards, or as a mind map. Therefore, you can add docs to your project in order to create unsynced mind maps, character boards, treatments or anything else without leaving your project.

This has been true for a long time. So why is this the first you're hearing about it? Because we needed to make design improvements and open up docs to more users in order to enable the full power of projects.

Cards and Mind Map

The Cards and Mind Map views should be more intuitive now, in addition to being faster. Draggable headers and a simplified look make it easier to see and manage them at a glance– which is kind of the whole point of cards!

In addition to these updates, you'll notice design and usability improvements here and there that we hope will make your writing experience better and more enjoyable. Let us know how we're doing, and where we are or aren't hitting the mark with Simplicity and Power.

Head over to https://www.writerduet.com/script to try the new version! You may need to reload the page a few times before you see the updates. 

Let us know any and all thoughts– about WDv7 or about WriterDuet in general!

Nail Down Their Perspective

Develop your character's unique voice. Try to inform it by their age, status, profession, backstory, and history. When you picture them, do they move a certain way? How do they interact with the world?

For a good example of this, look to Arrested Development’s Lucille Bluth. While Jessica Walter’s flawless delivery steals the show, each line is written from a point of view that is laden with status and her relationships to her family members.

Figure out what your characters’ series wants are. What are their episodic wants, greatest fears, and fatal flaws? Think through what they need (what thematic lessons should they learn as they grow and change through their arc?) versus what they want. These motivations are helpful to revisit when you’re stuck and not sure where to take your plot next. As you build your characters’ backgrounds, keep a document to refer back to as you write.

Draw a Character Map

See how your characters connect each other by creating a web of your world. Start with your protagonist at the center, and then branch off with your other main and side characters. Write their relationships with each other, how they feel about one another, their core motivations, and what Character A wants from Character B, and vice versa. Once you’ve connected your main characters to your protagonist, try connecting them with each other. 

Drawing a character map allows you to visualize the connections of your world and spark new ideas to drive your script forward. You may realize, in crafting your web, that two discrete side characters would have a fun dynamic: find a way to connect them! If your web is a house party, this is your “I didn’t know you knew each other!” moment.

Monologue in Their Voice

If you’re stuck trying to figure out how a specific character would react in a situation, let yourself experiment by monologuing in their voice. Like ourselves, our characters have rich internal dialogues and complicated emotions, and as a result, there are many ways to write a genuine and interesting reaction. Freely verbalizing from their point of view is like a sandbox–it’s a great way to work through several options and can help you break through an initially obvious reaction to develop your characters in a more nuanced and specific way.

Dig Deeper

One of the most rewarding parts of writing can be creating a character and seeing them grow as you flesh them out. Realizing your characters beyond the ways they serve your story is a helpful tool in developing their unique points of view. Delving into your characters freely with a few questions like these can help you see them as real, complicated people:

• When did they cry last?
• What’s their favorite movie?
• What memory from childhood sticks with them today?
• What’s their astrological sign?
• What’s their ideal family night?
• Is there something they’ve never told anybody?
• How are they similar to me?
• How are they different from me?

Who Are The Coen Brothers?

Joel and Ethan Coen might be the most well-known filmmaking duo in recent film history. With an eclectic filmography of almost twenty feature films and several screenwriting collaborations with directors such as Steven Spielberg and Sam Raimi, their distinct genre-defying voice has shone through to general audiences, critics, and aspiring filmmakers alike. They are, however, notoriously secretive about their process. It would be a hard process to describe anyway. Their scripts range from outright parody to solemn meditation, sometimes all at once.

Luckily for all of us who would want to learn more about their collaboration, they have spoken on various occasions about the rituals they do and do not follow, as well as the long road to actually finishing a screenplay. We’ve gone through their interviews over the last few decades to see what they had to say about writing together.

How The Coen Brothers Write

What is one important step of the process for both of them? As it turns out… napping?

“We sleep a lot… we waste a lot of time, you know. We just kind of stare at the ceiling. [Both our spouses] are always saying, “I know you guys just go to the office and take naps.” These things take a long time to ripen."

- Joel Coen, to Tricia Cooke for a 1998 book on The Big Lebowski.

So what comes after that? Outlining?

“No, it’s all sort of really vaporous ideas and then we just start writing at the beginning. And that’s how we crystallize the ideas — not by doing an outline, but by starting to actually write the scenes in order.”

- Ethan Coen

Should a writer worry if they’re not following the usual screenwriting structure of outlining and structuring your story? While talking to Little White Lies about making a new process that works for them, Joel jokes around:

“When we write a movie, we don’t worry about doing it wrong. People… they do an outline and make index cards. It’d probably take us forever. We’d be sat there, years later, filling out index cards. Or you finish the screenplay and find a card that slipped under the table, “oh fuck, I was supposed to put this in!””

- Joel Coen

Ethan adds:

“In spite of the fact that we don’t outline and don’t generally know what’s going to happen later in the story when we’re still early on in the story, in the case of this one, we recognized early on that we wanted to have the beginning come back and be the end. Even before we had any idea of what was going to happen in the middle. Then… it goes where it goes… It just goes where it goes. We don’t worry about it. We don’t even worry that it might not come together at the end.”

- Ethan Coen

How about dialogue? When asked by Fresh Air’s Terry Gross about how they come up with their unique style of conversation between characters, Joel answers:

“We don’t split it up… it’s not like one of us is reacting to the other. We talk through it together. A lot of our conversations have to do with specific things that people say in a scene… so one of us may something. And then the other person may just sort of answer it with what might come next.”

- Joel Coen

On a trivial note, Tricia Cooke asked the brothers: “Does one of you sit at the computer while the other paces?” Ethan’s response?

“We take turns. Although I usually type because I type faster.”

- Ethan Coen

Not much is known about the brothers' next project together. Joel Coen's first solo project, a feature adaptation of Macbeth for A24 starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, is due later this year.

Hosting a table read lets you experience your script from an outside perspective and get real-world feedback from an actual audience. It can help you go into rewrites with more clarity and focus. 

It can be intimidating to put your script out there for the first time. But remember: it doesn’t have to be perfect! Once you’ve taken your rough draft to a polished first draft, hosting a table read can be a great tool to see your vision come to life and find ways to strengthen your work in progress.

Before Your Table Read

1. Set Your Details: Decide on a time, place, and guest list for your table read. Invite your friends, creative peers, and mentors! If you’re hosting an in-person event, you may need to book a space. If you’re meeting virtually, ensure your guests receive the meeting link ahead of time.
   
2. Cast Your Actors: Cast people who feel comfortable reading scripts. While you don’t need to hire professional actors, try reaching out to local theaters or acting programs. Maybe ask your friends. Let everyone know which character(s) they’re reading for, along with a short character breakdown. Be sure to cast a reader for stage directions as well. 

Hosting Your Table Read

3. Make Your Guests Feel Welcome: For a virtual read, record your meeting and ask your audience to remain unmuted to hear their honest reactions. For in-person table reads, set out snacks and refreshments as a thank you for attending. 
   
4. Start and End Your Reading on Time: Account for about one minute per page of your script with an additional thirty minutes to an hour for questions and feedback (depending on length).
   
5. Kick Things Off: Give a short introduction of yourself and your script. This is a good time to share things like your logline, why you were inspired to write this script, or any goals you may have for the work. Thank everybody in attendance and introduce your actors.
   
6. Sit Back and Take Notes: Print a hard copy of your script and take notes. Listen for audience reactions as well as any stumbling blocks for your actors. Your table read is a time for you to listen and observe, so don’t cast yourself to read at your own table read.
   
7. Ask for Feedback: After your table read concludes, offer up a few questions as jumping-off points What questions did you have about the world? Could anything be cut? What do you want to know more about? Is my protagonist’s motivation clear? What worked and what didn’t? Take notes to revisit as you go into rewrites, and be an active listener. Feel free to explain what you were going for if your audience has questions, but don’t fight your notes.

After Your Table Read

8. Send a Thank You Email: Show your gratitude for your actors and attendees with a short and thoughtful thank you note. You can also send a link to your script’s PDF and welcome any additional feedback your audience might have.
   
9. Rewrite Your Script: Take time to absorb the notes and feedback you received at your table read, and then polish your script. Use the feedback to focus your editing: for example, if your audience had questions about your characters, take some time to hone their wants and needs. Use your table read to take your screenplay to the next level.

It’s an old film school adage we’ve all heard many times, one originally attributed to French filmmaker Robert Bresson. In a way it’s obvious: of course all films must go through those phases of production, and of course each one brings with it a different element to the film. But what do these phases mean when it comes to the very core nature of storytelling?

Phase One: The Screenplay

This is the stage we all find ourselves in the most often, and for the longest. Years can go by and we can still find ourselves wrangling that story from our mind’s eye to the page. How do we turn those many pages to one cohesive, readable script?

One could argue this is the purest phase. All that exists is an imaginary story in the mind of the writer or writers behind the keyboard. But it’s not that simple: anyone from the director to the actors (or, god forbid, the financiers) could be involved in this stage. Still, there are many who find joy in writing and feel most comfortable in its relative solitude and simplicity.

If you are a writer-director, chances are you just want to get it over with so it can become a film. Speaking to the Blacklist, Damien Chazelle reveals it’s his least favorite part of the process.

“Actually putting stuff onto paper is almost always a really, really tough one. There are moments of exhilaration when you’re shooting on set, and while editing. Editing is maybe my favorite part of the entire process. Writing is the worst. I do that in order to be able to get on set.”

Damien Chazelle

Although he makes a good point about remembering the value of a well-written script:

“I think truly great writers — whether they’re screenwriters or novelists or poets, it doesn’t matter — are able to make something that stands alone. You can read a William Goldman script and have as full an experience as you would watching the movie that results.”

Damien Chazelle

Phase Two: On Set

If cinema is the art of what’s in the frame and what’s not, then production is the most important phase of a film’s creation. Save for expensive re-shoots, what you get on the day is what will become immortal on screen. It is, for this reason, the most chaotic and least manageable phase as well. The director, actors, and crew become the authors of the story during this stage.

Normally, the script is adapted faithfully and the entire production revolves around getting it just as it was written. However, many directors will eschew this in favor of capturing something authentic and unpredictable on set. There are many famous cases of this. Terrence Malick (Days of Heaven, Tree of Life) considers the script merely an excuse to get to the “reality” of production. The present moment is all that matters. Improvisational directors like Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies) and Mark Duplass (Togetherness) also prioritize spur-of-the-moment remarks and behavior over whatever was written the day before.

This is critical to remember while writing. Ultimately, what happens on the day will end up as much a part of the story as is the perfectly selected wording in your draft.

Phase Three: The Edit

The editing process can be the most vague and unknowable part of making a film. It's also what truly makes it cinema rather than a play or a novel. The editing team and director (sometimes working with the writer) are now making the decision of how the film flows. What information is revealed to a viewer and when? What deserves their attention in any given scene?

A scene that may have been written from an objective viewpoint may be refashioned in a way to make it highly subjective. The very structure of a script can (and perhaps should) be completely changed and refashioned in the timeline of the edit. Sometimes this can lead to vast improvements on the source material, like with Steven Soderbergh’s The Limey, a stunningly original neo-noir that would have been flat and lifeless without Sarah Flack’s ruthless restructuring of the narrative.

Making a film can be a chaotic process. While some scripts completely transform, this is many times not the case. You will notice some production drafts are very similar to the finished product. Remember that as the screenwriter, you are the film’s first editor. Think long and hard about your script’s structure and why certain scenes follow one another. This is the first chance someone has at imagining a film from start to finish, and like many things in life, the first impression is the most important.

Here are 5 TV show cold opens examples for you to check out and pick up some pointers for your own scripts!

Fleabag (Series 2, Episode 1)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge begins the second and final season of Fleabag with expedient tonal whiplash. The script is almost Spartan in its efficiency. With only four lines of dialogue, we linger on each moment just long enough to set the mood. A warm and cozy Sinatra delicately transports us to a crime scene of a nosebleed for just as long as we’re able to ponder “how did we get here?” We meet Needy Waitress and Hot Priest, only briefly, but as Fleabag dabs her face with a wet napkin, we meet the gentle calm of a newly reformed, actively growing series' two protagonists. One who just punched her brother-in-law in the face. The cold open finds humor in the growing pains and the messy bits. This is a love story: in romance, family, and self-love.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer S1EP1- Welcome to the Hellmouth

Buffy’s pilot cold open is a great example of a strong hook. By subverting 90’s slasher tropes, it quickly shows viewers why Buffy is new and exciting. It feels like an instant classic that viewers want to know more about. As the first minutes of the series, the pilot’s cold open serves to introduce us to the world and its idiosyncrasies just before we meet Buffy and her world. She’s an almost-normal student just trying to make it through her first few days at a new high school, cunning vampires be damned.

Futurama S1EP1 - Space Pilot 3000

Futurama’s pilot cold open builds a world and tells the story of Philip J. Fry in under three minutes. It’s a great example of efficient exposition: it paints the scene, shows us how Fry feels about waking up a thousand years in the future, and shows us the stakes of his success in the year 3000. It builds an expectation for his new life, only to tear it away when he’s assigned to be an intergalactic delivery boy.

The Office S5EP13 - Stress Relief

The Office has so many perfect cold opens, but the chaos of Fire Drill is an excellent tool for character building: we’re able to see the primal instinct and basest motivation of every character in the ensemble. Each character’s point of view is instantly clear: Dwight is lethally serious, Oscar fends for himself, Jim keeps his cool, and Michael blunders through. More than anything, I love this opener because it shows you how fun screenwriting can be! This script’s humor swings for the fences while still teaching us more about the characters and serving as an expositional tool as the episode’s inciting incident. Sidenote: I would give an arm and a leg to see the stage directions for this cold open.

Detroiters S2EP8 - Hark Moters

Speaking of fun screenwriting, Tim Robinson (SNL, I Think You Should Leave) brings his sketch comedy background into scripted TV. Detroiters inhabits a heightened absurd reality, and this quick 30-second cold open showcases it. His character and the mother and son duo trade-off presenting as the reasonable and absurd characters, subverting the audience’s expectations. TV writing can feel like sketch comedy! Trust your gut. When you write, write for yourself. Trust that your voice has its place in the world, and don’t try to fit into any box of what TV should look like.

What are some of your favorite TV show cold opens? Let us know in the comments below!

Let’s go deeper and explore why you might or might not want to soundtrack your reader’s experience with songs.

Why Songs In Your Screenplay?

By now you must know that every rule of screenwriting can and has been broken by many successful writers. In this case, why is it important for you to describe the soundscape of your story?

What if a specific song is a plot point or a source of bonding between your characters? Or what your film is centered on musicians or the music industry? Wouldn't it be essential for you to specify certain songs or types of music throughout?

There are plenty of rich reasons for specifying the music in a film. After all, what says more about a character than the kind of music they listen to? This goes beyond telling us that a moody teen listens to alt-rock. Imagine not specifying in the script for American Psycho that Patrick Bateman listens to "Walking on Sunshine" on his way to work.

How Waves Wove Songs Into Its Screenplay

One script that not so much broke this rule as it did completely throw it out the window is the 2019 film Waves by Trey Edward Shults.

Right off the bat, the script has no less than over twenty specific song cues: from billboard charters by Kanye West and Frank Ocean to lesser-known tracks by Animal Collective and Colin Stetson. Waves was written by a writer-director who knew his film was about to be financed by A24, but that did not guarantee they would have the money for any of the tracks in what was essentially a spec screenplay.

Shults did not do this to simply flex his music taste: it was part of the formula of the film. He envisioned it as a musical without singing. It is a coming-of-age film that tied to the music teenagers listen to with their headphones all day. The music was in the DNA of the script, much like Baby Driver by Edgar Wright or Dazed and Confused by Richard Linklater.

There is a commonality between those three films: all three writer-directors had already made at least one successful film prior. If you are writing your screenplay for spec, you’re not going to want to lay style on too thick. However, it does make a big difference in how you imagine your story. Does it rely heavily on ambient noise and quiet tension? Or does it flow to the sound of instrumentation and beautiful melodies to be created by a composer later? There is nothing stopping you from describing these beats if it makes economic sense within your script.

At the end of the day, if your desire with writing in music in your screenplay is to enhance the emotion and experience of reading your script, go for it! Isn't that the purpose of every screenwriting tool? The confidence of your vision is your most important quality as a storyteller. Don’t half-ass it! Truly weave it into the rhythms of your script.

Please take 30 seconds to answer a few questions to help inform what we do now and in the future!

Here are some tips to share your vision with the world.

Call Yourself a Screenwriter

Don’t be afraid to call yourself a screenwriter or filmmaker! It’s easy to think that you “don’t qualify” for those labels if you haven’t sold your scripts or been hired into a writer's room yet. If you’ve written scripts or filmed your projects, you’re doing the work!

By distinguishing yourself as a writer, you’re telling the world to meet you where you’re at. So many of the opportunities that I’ve gotten have been a direct result of being clear about my screenwriting dreams and sharing the writing process. Share scripts for feedback (and return the favor!), celebrate competition or career wins, and host table reads with stated next-step goals for the project.

Tell Your Story! 

Write a bio that tells your story as a writer, and get good at saying it out loud. Whether it’s a pitch or a meeting, having a succinct and memorable blurb is a sure-fire way to stand out from the crowd.

Rather than a bio of facts and competition wins, use your storytelling skills to share why your voice matters and where it fits into Hollywood. How does your personal experience influence your writing? A recent application for a WarnerMedia Fellowship asked: “explain who you are, as a writer, in a tweet.”

Drill down your essence into a quick blurb. Showcase your personality while explaining what you love to write and why! 

Set Your Goals 

Make a list of projects you’re interested in. Showrunners you’d love to work with. Your dream networks or producers/distributors that you’d love to work with. Know your voice and your comps (existing work that feels tonally similar to your work, i.e. it’s Brooklyn 99 meets Barry).

Keep this in your back pocket to bring into meetings and to share your dreams with others. You never know if one of your co-workers used to date an A24 exec in high school or one of your comedy friends used to write with the showrunner of your favorite show. You’ll be surprised how many doors open just because you were loud and clear about your dreams!

Make Your Social Media Count 

Even if you use social media primarily for news or memes, it’s still a good way to connect with fellow screenwriters. Put “screenwriter” or your competition wins in your bio. Tweet that you’ve finally written a new first draft. This will help connect you with peers that you might not have the chance to meet in your own network.

In my screenwriting career, Twitter has given me mentorship opportunities, connected me with like-minded comedy writers whose pilots inspire me to swing for the fences, and turned the solitary act of writing into something I get to share with my community. 

Get a Website

Once you’ve written your blurb and set your goals, get a website! There are plenty of resources for free web-hosting (Wix, Weebly, WordPress) and domains can be as cheap as $10/year. Put your website in your email signature and your social media bio. That way, people can find out more about you without having to ask. 

Hone Your One-Pager & Pitch

Now that you’ve branded yourself as a screenwriter, give your scripts the same treatment. Sell people on your vision by having a memorable one-pager. Craft a verbal pitch with a great hook that explains what your story is about and why you’re the right person to tell it. These tools can be someone’s first impression of your script, especially if you have plans to develop and produce it. Hit your major plot points, keep it succinct, and showcase your personality!

Unlike a novel or poetry, screenplays are a means to an end. They're documents created to become something far bigger, with financiers and collaborators helping to bring them to life in movie form.

In ways, the screenplay has more in common with sheet music and librettos than anything else; even stage plays are read and circulated more widely as stand-alone pieces of art than most screenplays. Will English students one day be reading Charlie Kaufman instead of Shakespeare?

But if a screenplay is merely a blueprint for a movie, does that mean it can’t still read like a beautifully written novel or section of prose? Let's explore the balance between the two, and ultimately the artistic and pragmatic qualities of your script.

Visual Description

A novel is written for the mind’s eye: there are no budgetary constraints on what a novelist can spark in the reader’s imagination. The screenplay is ultimately written for the camera’s eye. But. Until the cameras start rolling, it is still a written story that must excite and conjure up an imaginary film in the mind of the reader. Keep this in mind if your script calls for set pieces or extraordinary images that you want to stay with the reader.

A great example of this can be found in the way Barry Jenkins describes the final shot in the screenplay for Moonlight:

Those waves heard crashing moments earlier are on full display, rushing ashore at a frothy run. Dark out, extremely dark save for the lights of beach bars a ways down the ocean front. The undulating rhythms of the Atlantic catch the moon, glint it all over.

As we observe this movement of water and dance of light, shoulders appear, bare, gaunt: LITTLE. Calmly, methodically, Little moves across the sand, approaching the water. A beat more of Little easing up to the surf, then… he looks back. His dark skin moistened in the ocean spray, moon catching him same as its catching the surface of the Atlantic.

Compare that with the way Paul Thomas Anderson describes the opening shot in his much sparser screenplay for Phantom Thread:

CAMERA begins on a close-up of ALMA, sitting by a fire.

Characters and Inner Voice

Unless you intend on using voiceover, one of the biggest differences between a novel and screenplay is the absence of the inner monologue and the eternal third-person perspective. A film can be subjective, it can be highly personal and highly distorted via the main character’s perspective. But ultimately, cinema is an objective medium. We do not get the run-on inner monologue, we get what is unfolding in front of our eyes. In the absence of dialogue, we get action. Descriptions of what the characters do and how, what, where and when they do it.

If you want to bump up the emotional resonance and provide a window into what a character is feeling, try brief descriptions of expressions, or perhaps a character hesitating. Body language is crucial. Even if it will ultimately depend on how the performer or director will execute it on set.

Here is a brief but excellent visual description of a key inner moment in Whiplash by Damien Chazelle:

He pulls out his phone. Hesitates. Nervous -- but excited now. He dials. We hear ringing, he feels his heart thumping, he nods to himself, starts walking forward, breathes in, and then, after a few seconds…

NICOLE (O.S.)

Hello?

Scale and Runtime

Sometimes a film will expand far past the size and scale of a script. The screenplays for Phantom Thread and Dunkirk are both 80 pages long, almost half the runtime of each finished film. This is due to their “blueprint” nature: lists of actions and vignettes that may linger far longer on screen than the sentences on the page. Screenplays like The Social Network (164 pages) and Lady Bird (116 pages) eclipse their eventual runtime, due to rapid-fire dialogue and descriptive paragraphs.

This in itself should remind us that the minute/page ratio is not always correct. A screenplay can ebb and flow between being a barebones roadmap for production and a fully realized work of detailed writing.

Ultimately, how you approach your script is totally reliant on your end goal! Is this a script you are writing for yourself and actors you know will bring the magic in person? Or are you writing with the intent of strangers with money and talent taking a chance on making it?

If it’s the former, maybe the barebones blueprint approach will work better. If it’s the latter: don’t think of the screenplay as simply a means to an end. Truthfully, it may take years before that end, and in the meantime, your screenplay is the movie. 

But! Before you set up meetings with various film industry insiders, let's breakdown the differences between them: how can they help you, and how do they differ?

Literary Managers

A literary manager works alongside their clients to develop scripts. By keeping a network of production & network execs, agents, directors, and talent, managers have their fingers on the pulse of Hollywood and can help develop your concept into a marketable, saleable idea. Managers set up meetings, give feedback on scripts and pitch treatments, and tend to focus on your long-term career development.

A writer’s relationship with a good literary manager should feel like a partnership. Because development can be a long process, look for a manager who you can trust will go to bat for you and sees the potential and your vision in your work. Are their notes valuable? Do they get it? 

Literary management companies can vary in their priorities. For example, management-production companies focus on producing scripts in-house from their roster of writers. Non-production management companies can vary too: some managers are more development-focused, while others like to seek staffing opportunities concurrently. There are pros and cons to the different styles of management, so have a clear vision of your career goals.

Agents

An agent brokers deals and negotiates the details of contracts. Similar to managers, their commission is a set percentage of your contracted pay. Agents tend to have more clients than managers and focus on executing deals rather shaping your writing career over the long-term. Agents can submit your work to producers and executives. A good agent is an advocate who negotiates fair rates and contract terms for their client. 

Both managers and agents are able to submit your work to producers and execs. So a deal may already be in the works before you get your first agent. Finding a good fit still matters: even if an agent doesn’t guide your long-term career, it’s important to align with someone who will put in the work to sell your scripts and has the business expertise to guide you through development.

Production Execs

Cold queries don’t have to be limited to agents and managers. Production executives also look to staff writers' rooms and fill open writing assignments (OWA’s). They’re interested in seeking out promising screenwriters.

At your first general meeting, a production exec will talk about your work to:

1. Seek projects on their production slate that align with your voice and your interests
2. See if your work is a good fit for them to develop

Production execs work closely with managers and agents. They can help set you up with representation if they’re interested in taking you on for a project.

When it comes to networking in the film industry, there are many people who can help build your career. Connecting with representatives and executives is a great way to find people interested in supporting your work and your screenwriting career.

Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are two of the biggest names in independent film today. Each of them has written and directed their own award-winning films, including 2019 Best Picture nominees Marriage Story and Little Women, respectively. Their collaboration began with Greenberg, which Gerwig starred in and Baumbach wrote and directed. Baumbach’s career and aesthetic went in a new direction once he met her, and the two co-wrote his next two films, Frances Ha and Mistress America. The resulting scripts are full of life and energy that hit an entirely different tone than the rest of their respective solo work.

Here are some tips we’ve gathered from how they write screenplays together, from their own words.

TIPS TO CO-WRITING

Gerwig reiterated the importance of finding likeminded collaborators in an interview with Final Draft:

“Find your people! Find the people who hate the same movies as you, who like the same movies as you.”

- Greta Gerwig

Talking about approaching Baumbach after filming Greenberg :

“We just had a real shorthand real quickly, and for whatever reason, he thought we’d write well together. He asked me if I had any ideas, and I sent this list with three pages of stuff and he said, this looks pretty great.”

- Greta Gerwig

In his BAFTA Screenwriting lecture, Baumbach says of those early e-mail stages:

“She would send me scenes and it was so exciting to the point that, if I knew maybe a scene was coming, I'd just be refreshing email hoping it would come through. It would always make me feel good if she liked what I sent her or laughed at a thing or something like that.”

- Noah Baumbach

The two of them usually begin with a conversation at the computer. Baumbach will have compiled all of his long form notes into a single document for Gerwig to go over. Of this process she says,

“I’m much messier and disorganized. My issue would be that I’d always start new documents and new drafts and then I couldn’t find them. I’d write things longhand too, then I couldn’t find those. Then I would have this anxiety because I tend to overwrite, and what if I cut something and I want the thing I cut, and Noah said, ‘Just start a new document that’s called ‘cut stuff.’ And you put everything into that document and you can just look through the ‘cut stuff’ to see if you want something. Those kind of organizational things are really helpful because we move things around a bunch.”

- Greta Gerwig

Gerwig and Baumbach are known for their rapid-fire dialogue, which they concoct by reading out loud to each other. She told CreativeScreenwriting in an interview:

“We would always read scenes out loud, and if something caught on our ear wrong, then we knew it should be rewritten. Then when you give it to an actor, it’s not like they’re saying it exactly the way you said it, but they’re playing the same piece.”

- Greta Gerwig

The two agree that they have made the other a better writer through inspiring each other to be better. Baumbach confirms this in his BAFTA lecture:

“I know I've improved as a human being because of her and as a director at least in my eyes from watching her, from working with her, and watching her movies now too.”

- Noah Baumbach

Gerwig agrees, but adds on her own take:

“He’s this incredibly important collaborator and influence on me. The most important. But I think I was hell-bent on making my own films, so I would've done it anyway.”

- Greta Gerwig

Baumbach and Gerwig are currently co-writing the Barbie movie for Warner Brothers, with Gerwig possibly attached to direct.

Here are a few ways you can jumpstart your writing career and start networking with execs, managers, and showrunners, even if you don’t live in LA!

1. Attend Film Festival Mixers

Find film and TV festivals that interest you. While submitting your scripts to film festivals and screenplay competitions is a great way to get feedback and exposure, actually going to those festivals and competitions can be a great educational resource. One of the best ways to get face to face with the industry at festivals is to attend roundtable and happy hour mixers.

2. Master the Cold Query

Maybe your script has placed in a few competitions, gotten good industry feedback, or you’ve workshopped it in a screenwriting class - once your script is in a good place, it’s time to start thinking about the cold query.

Seek out literary managers and production execs who align with your writing voice. IMDbPro and Variety Insight are great resources to figure out who writers’ reps are and to find out about development deals. Then craft a short, punchy cold query email. While some may not reply, it only takes one person taking a chance on you to jumpstart your career.

3. Use Social Media

Twitter is a great way to connect with screenwriting peers and mentors. Following topics like #screenwriting and #prewga on Twitter can be a great way to see what’s possible for your career. They're also great to help connect with other aspiring screenwriters and get advice from industry veterans!

4. Take Screenwriting Classes

While you don’t need to go to film school to succeed as a screenwriter, learning the fundamentals from seasoned professionals is invaluable. The right screenwriting class can take you to the next level and introduce you to potential writing partners and a cohort to grow your career with. Don’t forget to take advantage of programs that offer diversity or need-based scholarships, if you qualify.

5. Check Out Filmmaker Q&A’s

Get exposure to different career fields and the paths that people took to get there by attending filmmaker Q&A’s. Sign up for your favorite festival and filmmaker organization mailing lists to stay on top of their latest panels, Q&A’s, and lectures.

6. Seek Mentorship 

A good mentor’s experience can help you navigate the ins and outs of Hollywood and prioritize the next steps you'll need to take in reaching your goals. There are several free mentorship applications open to writers of underrepresented backgrounds (check out Connect the Writers and Mentorship Matters!) If you find an industry professional whose path you admire, you can cold query them for mentorship as well! Set specific goals and be able to articulate what next steps would best.

7. Share Screenwriting Opportunities

Stay on top of the network workshop applications for TV and for free applications for film. Sharing opportunities with your network is a great way to foster connections and grow together. Even if you don’t earn a spot in your dream writing workshop, applying will help you polish your work and better articulate your branding as a writer.

8. Form a Writer’s Group

Celebrating the highs and the lows and growing with like-minded peers is one of the best ways to turn the solitary act of writing into a rewarding community. Seek writers out from networking events, classes, and your community. Once you've formed a group, you can check out our blog on how to lead a sustainable writer's group.

9. Get Genuinely Interested

One of the best parts of a writing community is getting to read the cool stuff your peers are making. Each writer shares something unique with the world, and it’s fun to celebrate that. Request to read your friends’ and acquaintances’ work, give thoughtful notes, and invite them to your table reads. Share your growth and surround yourself with artists whose careers you’re excited for!

When it comes to networking in the film industry, it’s easier now more than ever to meet peers and experts. Come prepared with work you’re proud of, root for yourself and your friends to succeed, and be bold. Networking is more than making business connections: approach it with a spirit of openness. You never know where you might find the right person to level up your career!

Reading screenplays might be the most effective education in writing them. Here are the publically-accesible Original & Adapted Screenplay nominees for you to read and learn from!

Original Screenplay Nominees

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Will Berson & Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas

A dark and brooding historical film that takes notes from gangster cinema and Biblical parables as much as it does from its source history. Berson and King expertly weave in and out of the inner political struggles of the Black Panther Party, the shady dealings of the FBI, and the personal lives of Fred Hampton and his girlfriend Deborah Johnson. 

MINARI

Lee Isaac Chung

Tender, simple and full of longing, Lee’s approach to the immigrant drama is the kind sorely missing today: one that interrogates the internalized xenophobia within first and second generation immigrants, brought on by the strange land around them and the concept of “the American dream”. This screenplay alternates between moments of both love and strife within a family, as well as both Korean and English.

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Emerald Fennell

Possibly the most talked about screenplay of the bunch, Emerald Fennell’s dark comedy is a throwback to the nineties where a masterfully laid-out twist or two were all you needed to enrapture an audience. Make no mistake though; this is a highly modern and topical film that uses those twists to deepen the impact of its commentary.

SOUND OF METAL

Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Derek Cianfrance & Darius Marder

Although a film undoubtedly bolstered by sound design and performance, the screenplay for Sound of Metal is genius in its simplicity. From scene to scene, we are given a direct window to the mind of its protagonist, as well as a handful of long, tearjerking monologues around which the entire film hinges.

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Aaron Sorkin

Oscar favorite Aaron Sorkin is in top shape in this courtroom epic, a film that both captures the zeitgeist of 1968 and catapults it into the current moment of American political anxiety. Full of the usual Sorkin dialogue fireworks and set-up-and-punchline construction, this screenplay is a master class in the man’s trademark vernacular.

Adapted Screenplay Nominees

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman & Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad; Based on the 2006 film Borat

A hodgepodge of comedy writing and documentary discovery, Sacha Baron Cohen and his team of writers have achieved the impossible: a sequel to Borat that isn't a total disaster. It is a film that directly contradicts its predecessor, with a focus on discovering the good in people instead of just exposing their worst tendencies. The result is an oddly touching experience.

THE FATHER

Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller; Based on the play by Florian Zeller

A labyrinthine and experimental approach to the topic of dementia, this stage adaptation is anything but flat. With a sensitive approach to character and a constantly shifting handle on reality, this is an exploration of mental deterioration like no other. Although the film is dominated by an astounding Anthony Hopkins performance, the screenplay is a riveting read in of itself.

NOMADLAND

Chloé Zhao; Based on the book by Jessica Bruder

Another combination of documentary and original writing, Zhao's screenplay for Nomadland is an aching and deceptively freewheeling blueprint for one of the best films of the year. It follows one character's journey through America under economic collapse, and yet is mainly made up of the many different voices she encounters.

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

Kemp Powers; Based on his play

A riveting film that combines historical drama with real-time conversation and a sense of urgency. Powers has brought his play to life by making the most of his four characters who just happen to all be real-life historical giants. This screenplay is an excellent lesson in making one location and one long conversation enough to sustain a feature film.

THE WHITE TIGER

Ramin Bahrani; Based on the novel by Arvind Adiga

The dark horse of the nominees, this darkly comic tale of class warfare and deceit calls to mind last year's Parasite while sustaining its own original insight into the social strata of India. This screenplay jumps around in time and milieu with ease and is an excellent example of building a satisfying arc for a morally dubious protagonist.

If it feels like you’re dragging your feet to a job you don’t love, you’re not alone. But thankfully, with a bit of hope and some coping mechanisms, you can pursue your dreams and pay your bills.

Think of Your Job as a “Support Job”

Even if you don’t love your work, a steady day job can support your artistic endeavors. It’s easy to think of screenwriting as a hobby, but if you’re serious about turning it into a career, it helps to frame it that way. Thinking of your day job as a way to support your screenwriting goals allows you to be grateful for the money and stability it provides, while also knowing that your passion lies in your creative career. Not every job is going to be the right fit forever, but your support job might be the right fit for now. As you grow towards your goals, you can always reevaluate. If your support job doesn’t block your creativity, then it may be serving its purpose. 

But! If your job makes you truly unhappy, it’s helpful to remind yourself of the ways you can change your circumstances. For example, you can transfer departments, re-establish clear boundaries between work and home, or start searching for a new job. Even if it means taking a different support job, you can still work towards your creative goals without being completely miserable. 

Remind Yourself Why You Write

Set goals and intentions regularly. Writing is hard work, and it’s easy to get impatient and discouraged at what can feel like a lack of progress. Some days, getting on the page might feel more like a chore you have to do. Looking back on your goals and reminding yourself of how far you’ve come can make the day-by-day work of writing feel more rewarding. You could write a list of ten things you’re proud of yourself for or write down five people whose creative journey you’d love to learn more about. Celebrate your achievements and commit yourself to your goals with newfound clarity. Being clear about what you want ensures that you’re taking steps in the right direction.

Make an Exit Plan

Make a budget with a clear intention of what you’d like your life to look like at a specific point in the future. Whether it’s saving to take the leap into freelancing, treating yourself to a biannual writing retreat, or buying some time off to allow yourself to focus solely on your writing, put some money away with every paycheck. It’s a nice reminder, when you feel stuck at work, that you have the freedom to take a break and invest in your writing. 

Don’t Burn Yourself Out

Creative work is just that—work. Sure, it’s work we love, but it’s okay to not always want to write. Take breaks when you feel burnt out. Be gentle on yourself, knowing that you’re juggling a creative journey and a day job. Play around, whether that’s doing or making something that excites you. Remind yourself of why you love doing this in the first place.

Keep Doing the Work

It’s easy to feel like you’re not in the mood to write, especially after a long day at work. But getting on the page exercises your creative muscle. The more consistently you write, the easier it gets. Set aside time and schedule the work: if writing is your career, think of it as a meeting with yourself. Find accountability through writers groups, taking classes, or telling a supportive friend about your goals. 

The keys to balancing a day job and your screenwriting dreams are clearly articulated creative goals, a consistent writing practice, and gratitude for the role your support job plays in your creative journey. I’m excited for your screenwriting career, and I hope for now, this helps you beat the 9 to 5 Blues.

We were floored by the outpouring of creativity from the scripts submitted to the 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown! With over 1500 writers from all over the world entering the contest, the WriterDuet writing community exceeded our wildest expectations.

All writers had just 48 hours to craft a screenplay that embodied the Throwdown Theme Tough Love and incorporate a few other confinements from the contest rules.

The quality of work we received from the scripts submitted was beyond fantastic, making the selection process incredibly difficult. But! Five special scripts rose to the occasion, and we are proud to share those writers with you now!

THE FIVE FINALISTS

• As You Wish - Noah Perez Hamilton
• Coffee - James Cameron
• Disarming - Sam Lifshutz & Dan Gifford
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever - Melissa Center
• Poseidon's Rest - Max Hallam

THE 1st PLACE WINNER

Coffee - James Cameron 🏆

In four pages, one scene, on one ordinary set, Coffee by James Cameron tells a complete story involving three characters as they quickly, unexpectedly, break each other's hearts.  The storytelling is subtle, the dialogue realistic, the characters relatable.  On the surface, it's an ordinary slice of modern life, but by the end the reader can fully imagine the off-screen story that leads us up to this point, and thus fully appreciate the twist that informs the unforeseen payoff to the ending.  One can easily imagine these four pages being a key turning point in a larger, longer story, but it certainly wouldn't have to be.  In this very short length, Coffee manages to contain a beginning, middle and end, and would succeed on its own as a most satisfying short film.

Daniel Petrie Jr.
Guest Judge

ABOUT THE FEATURED JUDGE

Daniel Petrie Jr. is an Academy Award-nominated writer, producer, and director of film and television. He is best known for pioneering the sub-genres of action comedy and buddy cop films through films like Beverly Hills Cop and Turner & Hooch. He served as President of the Writers Guild of America, West between 1997 and 1999, and then again between 2004 and 2005.

WriterDuet will be donating to The Writers Guild Foundation. Join us in supporting them here!

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTEST? REACH OUT TO US!
help@writerduet.com

Writing this kind of story brings many unique challenges and limitations to your screenplay, from overall plot and character motivations to screen direction and the use of space. Now might be a good time to refer to the old Orson Welles quote: “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”

Here are some important tips to help you use those limitations to your advantage and write a compelling screenplay.

1. Why Are We Here?

Find your script’s reasoning for staying locked down. In 12 Angry Men, it’s jury deliberation. In The Hateful Eight, there’s a blizzard raging outside. In William Friedkin’s Bug, a woman hides in a motel room from her abusive husband. A dinner party does the trick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the more-recent The Invitation.

Figuring this out will unlock many questions for you to ask about your characters and help you understand why the characters find themselves in these situations. Ask yourself: what are they hiding from? 

2. Know Your Space

Perhaps the most crucial element of a chamber piece is knowing what that “chamber” will be. While you may not know the specifics, it’s important to know the basics and general scope of the space your characters will inhabit. This can be as simple as knowing the film will never leave the inside of a car as in Locke, or knowing the various rooms in one house, as in Malcolm & Marie. As for bigger spaces, the venue in Green Room is laid out with clockwork precision in the script, from the bar to the outdoor sheds to the titular room in which the protagonists barricade themselves.

Mapping out your script’s territory will make scene changes and even character dynamics easier to feel out.

3. Flesh Out Your Characters

Since the setting will not change, the humans in your story must: the relationship between each character needs to constantly shift in each scene to keep the audience on their toes. This can be achieved through plot, of course, with many thrillers from The Thing to The Hateful Eight depending on a conspiracy or impending threat to amplify the character’s emotions. But it can also be done through raised emotional stakes: in Locke, a man’s relationship to his wife, children, mistress and employers are all it takes to fashion a gripping story. In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Malcolm & Marie, the central relationship is the ticking time bomb.

4. "Cheating"

Of course, many of the examples listed here don’t exactly stick to a single location. They may have rising action that takes place in vehicles, adjacent areas or entirely different cities, and they may have brief excursions during or after the main events of the film. For the purposes of your screenplay, challenge yourself to adhere to the logic of your story. Just because a certain character goes somewhere doesn’t mean you have to follow them there; maybe sit with the remaining character(s) and feel their absence. 

Writing a one-location screenplay could be the exercise in constraint that your storytelling skills need. It may even help you sell, since production companies are always looking for feasible and low-budget stories. But what your screenplay lacks in scenery it must have in character. Using dialogue and changes in interpersonal dynamics will help you find that the most basic elements in drama that make readers turn the page are those that can be felt.

It's time to expand on your premise, shape it into a narrative, and get your story on the page! Let's break it down, step-by-step, in the screenwriter's version of a Couch to 5K.

Week 1: Logline & Beat Sheet

Before writing a single page of your script, make sure you know who you’re writing about and what story you want to tell.

A logline is your narrative distilled into one or two sentences. A great logline answers the questions:

• Who is my protagonist and what do they want?
• What’s the inciting incident: Why this story? Why now?
• What world does my story take place in?
• What’s my protagonist’s core conflict? 

Quick Tip: For TV writers, writing seperate loglines for both the whole series and the pilot can be helpful.

A beat sheet breaks your three acts and B story into quick sentences. 

• Act One: Introduce your protagonists, what’s normally happening in their world, and the inciting incident. 
• Act Two: Show the result of the inciting incident, your antagonists opposing your protagonists, and the events that bring your protagonist to their rock bottom
• Act Three: Heighten to the climax, a win or loss that forever changes the life of your protagonist. End on their new normal.
• B story: An adjacent story with it's own beginning, middle, and end, as well as how it ultimately affects the A story

Week 2: Outline

Let's expand our quick sentences into something bigger: an outline!

An outline is a scene by scene breakdown of your script. They explore the action, characters and their relationships, and the causes and effects of the plot. My favorite way to outline is to sum up each scene with a slugline and a quick description. This setup makes it easy to dive right in and start writing.

Week 3: Getting Started

Now that you have your logline and outline, it’s time to get the story on the page! By now, you should have a pretty good idea of where to start.

Write without judgement. This draft won’t be polished yet, and that’s okay! Don’t let the fear of “bad” writing hold you back–a first draft that could use rewrites is better than no draft at all. 

We don't have to write the whole right this very second! Keep a steady pace with one act at a time.

Act One sets up the “who” and “what” of the usual world. Introduce us to your protagonist, what they want, and what they stand to lose if they don’t get it. In the middle of Act One, write the inciting incident. Remember: show the scene playing out in action, not by telling a recap of the events with dialogue.

End the act with a bang: after the inciting incident, show us how things will never be the same.

Week 4: Writing Conflict

You're really getting in a rhythm now!

Act Two sets up the story’s conflict. What does your hero want, and why is it urgent that they get it? Think about your antagonist and their motivations. Act Two shows us the outcome of the inciting incident: how your protagonist’s life has changed and how it affects the world around them.

Revisit the story’s core conflict from your logline: decide how your protagonist can make active choices to get what they want, and how your antagonist can make active choices to oppose them. Then, ramp up the conflict between those forces.

The end of Act Two is where your protagonist is at their lowest low. 

Week 5: Getting Unstuck

You’re doing great! Almost there! If you’re stuck, it helps to:

• Figure out what your characters really want. Characters like Kendall Roy (Succession), Don Draper (Mad Men), and Patrick Bateman (American Psycho): their want is to be successful. It's what drives them and makes them strong chracters. Exploit your lead and side characters’ core motivations and fears to drive your story forward.
• Read scripts: Good ones to inspire you. Bad ones to remind you that you can do this.
• Explore theme: Why do you want to tell this story? This will help you fine tune your plot: what situations can you put your protagonist in that get to the heart of what you’re trying to say?

Week 6: The Finish Line

Time to finish strong!

Act Three centers around your story’s climax. Don’t be afraid to go big–this is a life changing moment for your protagonist. You’re writing the showdown. Reminding us of the stakes. Showing us if they win or lose, and why they’ll never be the same.

As you wrap up your script, it’ll be easier to see the through-lines in your narrative. Clean things up and go back to revise Acts One and Two with the context you’ve gained from finishing.

Et voila, your first draft is done! You’ve put in the work. You've accomplished what you set out to do. Celebrate! Tell a friend or loved one! Treat yourself! Cheers to you, writer! You deserve it.

Get ready to rumble! It's time to throw down your screenwriting skills and see if you've got what it takes to be the last writer standing!

Enter the 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown to flex your writing skills and pit your quick script up against other writers in the WD community!

Five finalists will have their script submissions read & judged by professional screenwriter Daniel Petrie Jr. (Beverly Hills Cop, Turner & Hooch).

FREE to submit! Effortless to enter! And a fantastic opportunity to win prizes that'll help support your writing journey!

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED
Finalists and 1st Place Winner Announced!

Thank you to all the writers who submitted!
See the Finalists & 1st Place Winner

THROWDOWN THEME

TOUGH LOVE

No matter what genre you choose to write in or what tone your story takes, your script submission MUST embody this Throwdown Theme.

The 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown will begin Monday, February 15th @ 12:00 AM PST
Your submission must be entered by Tuesday, February 16th @ 11:59 PM PST

FIVE FINALISTS WILL WIN

• Access to select Indie Film Hustle Academy courses
• $50 WriterDuet credits to be used towards any WD subscription
• Script Submission featured as a Readable Publish Link and read/judged by Former President of the Writers Guild of America West Daniel Petrie Jr.

THE 1st PLACE WINNER WILL WIN

• $500
• Free Professional Script Coverage from Bulletproof Screenwriting (for any project, feature film or TV series)
• Feedback on Throwdown script submission from the featured judge Daniel Petrie Jr.
• A WriterDuet Pro Lifetime subscription

ABOUT THE FEATURED JUDGE

Daniel Petrie Jr. is an Academy Award-nominated writer, producer, and director of film and television. He is best known for pioneering the sub-genres of action comedy and buddy cop films through films like Beverly Hills Cop and Turner & Hooch. He served as President of the Writers Guild of America, West between 1997 and 1999, and then again between 2004 and 2005.

WriterDuet will be donating to The Writers Guild Foundation. Join us in supporting them here!

ABOUT INDIE FILM HUSTLE

After over 25 years in the film business and watching countless of his fellow filmmakers get chewed up by the Hollywood machine, Alex Ferrari decided to create Indie Film Hustle. IFH is a resource dedicated to dropping truth bombs on filmmakers with a no-nonsense approach. Learn how hustle, truth, and knowledge can take you anywhere.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTEST? REACH OUT TO US!
help@writerduet.com

Terms Of Service

Your participation in this contest signifies your acceptance of the WriterDuet 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown Contest terms and conditions below.

You must be at least 13 years of age to enter. If you are under the age of 13 you are not permitted to enter. If you are over the age of 13 but under the age of 18, entry into this contest and acceptance of any prize awarded in the event of a winning script requires you to have the consent of your parent or guardian. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited.

WRITERDUET INC. reserves the right to investigate or reject your entry if you have misused the Service or have behaved in any way that we consider inappropriate, unlawful or illegal. In order to participate in this competition, you must also abide by the WRITERDUET Terms of Service and Privacy Policies.

Submitting a script

When you submit a script to the WriterDuet 48-Hour Screenplay Throwdown Contest, you promise that:

You own all rights, including copyright, to the entire script or have been authorized by its copyright owner to submit it to WRITERDUET INC.; The content of the script is not unlawful, defamatory, libelous, threatening, obscene, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or fraudulent, and doesn’t encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or violate any law, or would be otherwise inappropriate; The content of the script does not violate any other rights of any party, such as infringing a copyright or trademark, publishing falsehoods or misrepresentations about WRITERDUET INC. or any other person or entity, or violating another person’s right to privacy or publicity; No other party has a pending claim to the script that, if upheld, would render our Service or products, or those of our Partners, illegal or in violation of any party's rights. You retain all your prior ownership rights in your submitted scripts. You agree that you will not suggest, directly or indirectly, that WRITERDUET INC. endorses the content of any script that you submit, including opinions, recommendations, or advice expressed by that script.

If you have questions about any of these agreements, you can contact us at help@writerduet.com.

First thing’s first: take a breath and take a step back. Rejuvenating your creative process is not all about productivity: it can also be about recognizing how creative work is a reliable and effective coping mechanism. Temporarily shift the purpose of your writing, and use it as a tool to allow yourself the freedom to process the multitude of emotions you may be experiencing. This can both help you produce more material by freeing up head space, and also transform your work into a manifestation of your own resilience.

That’s when some seriously powerful stuff happens.

But restoring your writing practice is no small feat! Recognizing the dedication and discipline involved is an important step. When you’re feeling cemented in place, try shifting the focus to the smaller tasks at hand and allow yourself to get into a rhythm before you attempt to conquer any larger goals. 

To help get you started, we curated some actionable steps for you to try as a springboard for reigniting your workflow.

Update Your Workspace

Shaking things up with your workspace might seem like a small chore, but it can have a profound effect on your creativity levels. When you designate and design a space for your craft, challenge yourself to create an environment that reflects a sense of pride in your work.  And enjoy the process of dedicating time to a constructive workspace as a way to honor the importance of your writing.

Cooped up at home? Don’t let limited space freeze you up- kick start your innovative energy by working with what you have!

Here are a few ideas you can use to freshen things up:

1. Embrace Natural Light: Natural light enhances productivity in a number of ways from improving your mood to reviving creative energy.  If setting up near a window isn’t possible, situate yourself as close to a natural light source as possible to reap these immeasurable benefits.  
2. Surround Yourself With Life: Whether this be with plants (Pothos are a great option as they are nearly impossible to kill) or with pictures of people and places, having images of life surrounding your writing station will add energy and intention to your workspace. 
3. Keep It Comfortable & Distraction Free: Eliminate background noise and create a playlist ahead of time, even if it’s white noise. Make sure you have everything you need before you start writing whether it be the perfect pillow, snack, beverage, or your therapy animal. Also, try working offline to avoid the never-ending distractions associated with phones, notifications, and the internet.

Reinvent Inspiration

With our daily routines turned upside down and thrown into limbo, your usual sources of inspiration might feel inaccessible. But that does not mean inspiration itself remains unattainable!

1. Connect With People in Creative Ways: Write letters to someone you hardly know. Spend a little extra time on the phone with a solicitor or customer support personnel. Better yet, volunteer as a virtual companion to someone in a long term care facility and just listen.    
2. Oh Yeah! Take The Time to Listen: Someone else’s story may lead to the creation of your own, even if it’s someone you don’t agree with. It’s also an important practice to listen to others in times of crisis, allowing deeper connections to grow and open more room for human interaction to draw inspiration from.
3. Write Down Your Dreams: Our subconscious is an amazing creative place! If your interactions are limited in waking life, we can still turn inward for new ideas. Dreams are an amazing source of unconscious, unedited thinking that can blossom into a potential storyline as you document them.

Sustain a Regular Practice

You’ve taken the time to tend to your physical space and head space, and the gears are now in motion. Keep things moving! Find your rhythm and practice. Some days will be easier than others. Don’t torture yourself with the expectation that it’s always going to feel good and that everything you produce needs to be the next big thing. 

1. Collaborate With Others: Nothing will help light that fire underneath you like committing to a regular co-working session with another writer. You will be less likely to find “viable” excuses to flake and instead get to bounce ideas off of another person. This is a great way for both of your ideas to grow. 
2. Set Daily Goals: Recognize that this is a tough one, and it’s important to be forgiving of yourself. Start small: list ideas, set word counts. Whatever it is you need to do until you find a sustainable momentum. Every writer will have something different that works for them, so give yourself some time to experiment with what feels challenging, but not prohibitive. For example, set aside 1-2 hours a day to write. If that sounds unmanageable, start with 30 minutes and watch how quickly that turns into a couple of hours. The important step is blocking out the time and honoring it.  
3. Give Yourself Writing Exercises: It’s always good to take a break from the big projects once in a while. Just like how a musician stays proficient by practicing scales, writers can do the same. When you feel yourself running out of steam, keep the embers glowing with simple exercises until you feel ready again.

Be Forgiving Of Yourself and Recognize Your Accomplishments

These lists are certainly not a catch-all, patch-up fix. While you experiment with some of these changes to your routine, don’t forget to recognize that you may get knocked out of rhythm again. If you can’t get in a consistent rhythm on the first try, that is certainly no reflection of who you are as a writer! 

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you ignored the intricate connection your writing practice has to your emotional well being and vise versa. Having a creative mind and need for artistic output brings the inevitability that your wheels will start spinning in the mud again. Even in the moments that feel the most impossible, when you’re stuck, having the awareness around when it’s time to step back, take a breath, and rejuvenate your process is essential. Again, it doesn’t mean you’re not productive or not a successful writer. It just means you’re human.

In improv, you are one in a group of people striving to meld together seamlessly. You are expected to present characters, relationships, and plot points on the spot - all in the hopes that they stick, that other people vibe with your spontaneous ideas. When done well, it feels like a beautifully choreographed dance. When done poorly, it feels like a prolonged scraping of a fork across a plate. 

That same terrifying feeling can be found when writing collaboratively. 

You both want things to gel, and you both want your ideas to be validated. You hope to walk away from the experience feeling satisfied and inspired. You probably both also want to create something that is compelling. That is the whole purpose of storytelling, is it not? 

However, to get anywhere near achieving this kind of healthy co-writing experience, you’ll need to establish a structure: an agreement between both partners in order to accomplish the same goal. A healthy structure involves elements you both bring to the table equally and individually. 

Notice, I don’t say “good” because good is subjective and I don’t say “successful” because that too is subjective. Success can mean different things at different times. I say healthy to imply the organic nature of collaboration; a process that grows, bends, and breaks all to heal itself again. 

So let’s build that healthy structure right now!

Habit #1: Leave the Ego by the Door

Putting your words and your thoughts onto a page is exhilarating. It can also make you feel very vulnerable.

Because those words and thoughts are an extension of ourselves, we inherently create a bond with our creative work and link our idea of self to the words that we craft on the page. Any attack on our words can feel like an attack on us.  

Always remember: in the sacred space of co-writing, you are not your words, and your words are not you. They are ideas that can be morphed and molded into new ones. Changes to your words on the page do not change who you are. Allow yourself to let them go. Find that amount of separation between you and your writing to leave room for collaboration. Trust me. You’ll feel a lot better when you do.

Habit #2: Define (and Re-Define) Your End Goal

Perhaps you’re in the co-writing experience because after years of talking about it, you and your dear friend finally have the opportunity to work together! Or maybe, you’re meeting a whole new human being for the first time and are tasked with punching up an already greenlit script together. 

Whatever the reason for this collaboration, you have to remember the end goal: write the best thing possible, together.

You will need to define what this “best thing” is for each of you. Have a discussion with your co-writer about what you hope to accomplish in the end. Even discuss what it will not be. Lay it all out on the table from the beginning, so that it’s clear where you are headed together. 

As you craft your work, keep returning to that end goal you set in the beginning. Ask yourself, “Are we still headed in that direction? Is that the direction we still want to go in?” 

Depending on your writing situation, this definition of the end goal can be tinkered with and morphed many times over. Make sure it only morphs to best service the shared idea of what you want the work to be in the end. 

Habit #3: Bring All of You

Yes, I did say to leave your ego by the door. I still stand by that. 

This is different. 

This isn’t about competitiveness or defending your work. This is about being honest about what you bring to the table. 

Before entering the sacred space of co-writing, take a moment to assess what kind of writer you are. Where do your strengths lie? What about your weaknesses? 

Acknowledge the kind of writing that lights you up and the writing that feels like you’re dragging your feet through mud. What are the moments you feel your voice is at its strongest?

Bring these discoveries to your co-writer. Be honest with yourself and them. A healthy co-writing experience will allow space for both writers’ weaknesses and strengths. It’s a metaphorical marriage of skills. 

Habit #4: Divide & Conquer!

You literally cannot write the same thing at the same time - and that’s a good thing! Two humans means twice the writing and half the time (sometimes). Split the workload in a way that suits both of your strengths and interest in the story. 

Some co-writers find that splitting up the writing workload between types of content is useful. Have one of you focus on the characters and their dialogue while the other takes on the action and plot progression. 

Perhaps, you divide by scenes or sequences. After you’ve drafted an outline, divvy out scenes for each of you to write. If you quarrel over who gets what scenes, approach it like picking players for a game at recess. You each take a turn selecting what you want. 

Perhaps, you’re more suited to editing, while your co-writer is great at the first draft. Maybe you’re both great at editing each other. The Coen Brothers are a great example for this, as they take a more competitive approach to dividing their work by trying to one-up each other with each pass they take on a scene. For them, this heightens the conflict and characters until they have extraordinary work that’s proven to wow audiences. 

Whatever your workflow is, make sure that it compliments both of you. Find something that brings you closer and closer to that end goal.

Habit #5: Trust Fall into Each Other

That competitive approach of the Coen brothers, of course, specifically works for them because of their relationship and what I’m sure is a long history of conflict resolution that all boils down to trust. 

Improvisers come to learn that the only way for things to work is through this trust, as well as respect. Before each show, everyone takes a second to look each other in the eye, place a hand on each other’s back and say with sincerity, “I’ve got your back.” In that moment, we all promise to each other to give our best and support each other in our worst. 

When an improv scene is going sideways, a good improviser knows when to wipe the scene. The story being presented worked for a time, but it’s run its course and things must move on for the sake of the show and the improvisers. After watching from the sidelines, someone will “wipe” the stage clean with a swift gesture; clean the slate, as it were. 

This relationship contains an inherent element of trust-falling. You can’t always see the way out when you’re at the center of it. Trust that your co-writer does. Put everything you have out there and know that they will help you make it work. 

“I’ve got your back,” doesn’t mean, “I won’t disagree with you.” It means that when you disagree, you will share it in a respectful manner. These healthy discussions of disagreements can lead to incredible discoveries and prevent possible resentment. You will share your concerns while also validating your co-writer’s work. Think, “I want to help us move the work forward.” 

Trusting your co-writer means that you acknowledge the imperfect nature of collaboration and embrace its ups and downs. Allow each other the opportunity to trust-fall with your writing.

The more we write, the better our writing will be. Every co-writing experience may not result in that perfect masterpiece, but you can both come out on the other side of it having learned something about yourself as a writer and grown in your skills. The more we write together, the better our writing will be.

Don’t let your ego get in the way of what could be an incredible writing experience and partnership. Be honest with what can be achieved and how you can contribute. Most importantly? Have faith that your co-writer is in the same place you are. Lean on each other all the way through to the end.

It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be all rainbows and butterflies. But it can be exhilarating, heart-pounding, gut-wrenching, and even cathartic. Isn’t that what we do it for? We’re creating worlds and dreams. We’re satisfying deep internal desires. We’re meeting people where they are and taking them beyond what they ever thought could be. 

WriterDuet ensures this smooth sailing. Formatting guidelines are built into all our templates and the software allows you to move from Scene to Action to Dialogue with a single button on your keyboard. This means you can focus more on your ideas with less headache about their execution. 

But enough about us. Let’s get into the nitty-gritty, shall we?

A screenplay is a technical document that exists at the intersection of art and functionality. It unifies a production team: with it, actors can learn their lines, sound engineers can source background noises, animal wranglers can determine how many dogs are needed for that one scene that takes place at a puppy playground – and so much more. It’s amazing, really, how efficient a well-written script makes the production process.

A lot of this efficiency comes from good writing practices. It’s important to get into the habit of including only what’s necessary to tell your story and only sparingly using elements that stray from what’s considered “the writer’s role” in the production process.

Font & Margins

Screenplays have very specific formatting. They’re written in 12-point Courier font and consist of a variety of line types within designated margins. Action lines and scene headings, for example, start 1.5 inches for the left with a top, bottom and side margin of one inch. Consistency is essential for readability.

Scene Heading - A.K.A. Slugline

This is a single-line description of the location and time a scene takes place.

Sluglines almost always start with EXT. (exterior) or INT. (interior) to identify whether the scene is outdoors or indoors. DAY and NIGHT tell the production team whether the scene takes place at day time or night time. 

While you may see some screenplays that mark the time of day as DUSK, DAWN, TWILIGHT or even 7:16 AM, this isn’t necessary – or even recommended. DAY or NIGHT is sufficient to ensure lighting technicians can do their thing. Good scripting software even lets you organise scenes by location and time to make everyone’s life easier.

If a scene takes place in a car, the scene heading usually starts with EXT./INT. This is because car scenes generally intercut between the inside and outside of the car. If the car’s driving indoors, though… 

Action

These lines are the present-tense descriptions of the action taking place in your story. They include everything that a viewer would be able to see on-screen. 

When writing these lines, it’s important to understand that a screenplay isn’t a novel; it’s a good idea to avoid superfluous descriptions and internal character thoughts. Keep the story moving! Say as much as you can in as few words as possible and stick with tangible emotions that can be easily interpreted and expressed.

Let set designers and actors take the weight of additional details off your shoulders.

Character Line

Character lines identify who is about to speak – e.g. HEATHER or DR. WHO. If a character is off-screen or the dialogue is a voiceover, include (O.S.) or (V.O.) next to the name.

Dialogue

Dialogue is the lines of speech delivered by characters.

The aim here is to have your characters express themselves in realistic and efficient ways. There’s a fine line between realism and exposition: how do you get your characters to say things that move your story forward within the confines of what real people would say? There’s unfortunately no cut and dry answer here. It takes practice and, sometimes, a second pair of eyes.

Parenthetical Line

Thse appear in parentheses just below the Character Cue and define how a line of dialogue should be delivered. They’re really only necessary if a character says something tonally ambiguous. They differ from action lines in that they don’t denote movement.

These should be used sparingly. No one – including actors – wants to be told how to do their job.

Transition Line

These are instructions that indicate the way the scene cuts away. There’s CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO, FADE TO BLACK, SLAM CUT, JUMP CUT, and so, so many more. They’re generally not necessary, as people who work in film and TV should know that when they see a new scene heading, the scene is being cut to. If they don’t, that’s a them problem!

Transitions creep away from writer territory and into director territory. You should only really use them for emphasis – like if you cut to the next scene in the middle of someone talking for dramatic or comedic effect.

Camera Directions

Camera directions are used to guide the camera. But unless you’re planning on writing, directing, filming and editing your own project, you don’t need to worry about them. While it can be tempting to write down exactly what you envision, having a lot of them in your script will make it look messy and controlling.

There are ways to direct a camera without overstepping your role as a writer. For example, if you want to denote a close-up, you might instead consider isolating an object within its own action line. For example, “A bead of sweat rolls down a forehead”, “A finger taps impatiently on a table.”

Length

The length of your script more or less determines the length of the film. The general interpretation is that one page of writing is approximately one minute of screen time. This ratio will never be an exact measure, but it is helpful. If you’re writing a breezy romantic comedy and your first draft comes out to 155 pages, for example, you might need to kill some darlings.

Final Thoughts

With WriterDuet, correctly formatting a script actually takes away a lot of the pressures that come with writing.

No matter how much or how little you choose to abide by these guidelines, remember that filmmaking is a collaborative art form. In this sense, screenwriting is about relinquishing some control. While you’re writing, consider all the hands you want your document to pass through – and take a load off!

Dark Editor

When enabled, Dark Editor turns the pages of the document from white with black text to dark grey with white text. This is an awesome option for late night writing sessions or just for a more focused view.

To active Dark Editor, select "Options" at the top right of your page and check "Dark Editor"

Typewriter Mode

Typewriter Mode is a method of viewing a document while it is being edited. Just as a typewriter, the cursor will stay in the middle of the screen rather than moving down the page as text is added.

To turn on/off, navigate to the app Menu > View > Typewriter Mode (check mark will appear next to menu item when enabled).

Note: there is no noticeable difference when Typewriter Mode is turned on while typing at the very top of a script.

UI Theme

The WriterDuet app can be customized in many ways, including the app colors. Make the app your own! To customize your UI Theme, navigate to Menu > Customize > Display > UI Theme.

The Primary Color is the base color for almost all of your display (by default it is gray). I'd recommend a fairly dark color, but you do you. And the Secondary Color is the color for some of the buttons and other accent areas (by default it is blue).

Keyboard Shortcuts

WriterDuet has a keyboard shortcut for most functions. Speed up your writing process by utilizing some of these hotkeys!

On Mac, you can use both Control (Ctrl) and Command (Cmd) interchangeably for shortcuts. Option and Alt are also interchangeable.

• Ctrl+Z – Undo
• Ctrl+Y – Redo
• Ctrl+F – Search for text
• Ctrl+Shift+D – Start (or Stop) dictation
• Ctrl+Shift+F – Enter (or leave) full-screen mode
• Ctrl+O – View list of all your scripts (the same as going to File>Open)
• Ctrl+D – Make lines into dual dialogue
• Ctrl+G – Go to a page or scene number
• Ctrl+B – Bold
• Ctrl+I – Italic
• Ctrl+U – Underline
• Ctrl+E – Highlight
• Ctrl+L – Color
• Ctrl+Shift+X – Strikethrough
• Ctrl+Shift+K – Insert hyperlink
• Ctrl+A – Select all
• Cmd+Option+] – Increase right margin
• Cmd+Option+[ – Decrease right margin
• Alt+A – Change line type to Action
• Alt+S – Change line type to Scene

View all of the keyboard shortcuts in the WriterDuet app in the Menu under Help > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Ruler

The ruler in WriterDuet is hidden by default. When visible you can use the ruler to check/adjust margins on the fly. Select a line to adjust manually using the ruler slider. Do this while holding shift and you will adjust for all of the lines of that selected line type. 

To enable the ruler, open the Menu and head to Customize > Format and select the 'show editor ruler' checkbox.

Tag and Filter

Like many WriterDuet tools, the Tagger is built to be flexible so that it can suit many workflows. You could use it to filter between A, B, and C plots in order to focus on each at a time. Jokes that need work could have a filter so that they can be quickly viewed and edited by your funny friend. Scenes could even be tagged and filtered based on the day that they will be rehearsed or shot. The two basic functions you'll need to perform for all of these scenarios will be the same: Tagging & Filtering.

You can open up the Tagger by going to Tools > Tagger within the app, or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T. You should see it pop up in the corner of your screen. You can then create a tag that you'd like to apply to your script. Enter the name of the tag into the field, and select your preferred color for it from the box to the left, then hit Enter to create the tag.

You can apply a tag by clicking into a line on your script, and then clicking the circle to the left of your tag. The tag will appear on the left margin of your page to indicate a tagged line. If you highlight a word or phrase, it will turn the chosen color to indicate it has been tagged.

Once you've applied your tags to your script, you can put them to good use with filters. This will temporarily remove all lines in your script that don't have the associated tagged, so you can quickly view everything. You can turn on a filter within the tagger by clicking the Filter icon to the right of your preference. Quickly see every prop that you would need to shoot this scene. Using these same two steps for any number of tasks, Tagging & Filtering becomes a very powerful tool for outlining, drafting, and production! 

Cards View

In WriterDuet your script can viewed in different ways. Switching from Page View to Cards View can add a unique benefit to the writing process and can be useful depending on how you prefer to outline!

Change your page to the Cards View by either by using the dropdown in the left corner above your script, and it will open it up in a new project tab or going to Menu > Tools > Outliner > Cards, you will see your script broken down into cards, where every scene has its own dedicated card. Cards are in a left-to-right, vertically descending grid by default.

Cards are the exact same document as the script -- think of your cards as dozens (hundreds, even!) of small individual scripts that by default have every line filtered out except for Outline lines. Outline lines are a Line Type that show as light gray and allow for outlining and notes, but can be hidden in the final export of your script.

You can click and hold a card to drag it and drop it into a different position if you'd like to move a scene, and this change will automatically reflect in your script the next time you view it in page view. This way, you can always take a step back and re-outline if you need to!

Remember what we said about the cards essentially being tiny scripts? (We hope so... that was, like, one paragraph ago.) Well, by going to Options in the right corner above the cards and unchecking the Outline Mode box, this will un-filter all line types on the cards and show you the entire scene's contents within each one. This makes them, literally, a ton of tiny scripts! 

Knowledge Base

WriterDuet has a slew of features not mentioned here, so jump in and discover at WriterDuet.com or checkout the extensive knowledge base to learn even more!

When I first started writing, no matter how much time I put into my craft, I knew something big was missing: Penguins A writing group!

It wasn't until I found a writing group that finally my journey as a screenwriter started taking flight! We were able to grow together and help each other reach individual goals. 

Finding the right group might seem a little intimidating but there are a ton of options out there. Here are 5 ways you can find and join a group of your own!

1) Join a group on social media.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to join a writing group is to find a thriving community on social media. Reddit r/screenwriting and Facebook Screenwriting are great starting points! Social media enables you to be a part of a group without leaving the comfort of your home.

2) Find a group on Meetup.com.

Meetup.com has a group for just about everything under the sun. More than likely, there is a bustling writing group not too far from you.

3) Check your local library or community center.

There are usually a lot more resources at libraries and community centers than people realize. Check their websites for schedules or call to find out what groups are active in your area.

4) Become a member of a writers association.

Writers associations are typically geared towards educating and connecting emerging writers. Many groups, like the International Screenwriters Association offer both free and paid memberships.

5) Form your own group!

If you can't find a group that's right for you, there's no better time than the present to put together your own! Round up writing friends, or reach out and make new connections to fashion your very own writers group! To get you started, there are some useful recourses like this Writers Group Starter Kit from the University of North Carolina. 

Good luck! And remember that WriterDuet is a great resource for all of your writing needs. ✍️

We can really get onboard with a script competition that is not only easily accessible to all writers, but fully geared to hire for continuing projects. And with WriterDuet being a leading platform for interactive story writing, such as choose your own adventure, VR, and video games, that makes the nature of this competition absolutely exhilarating!

Submit your original scripts now!

Is there a love story? Does it center around a female character? Can it be a marketable genre such as horror, action, fantasy or even drama? And can it be an interactive storyline, such as choose your adventure? Then send them your 25-30 page pilot scripts and see if you can win the top prize of $5,000 cash and an all-expense-paid trip to LA.

Submission deadline: February 10, 2020 @ 11:59PM PST

ALL FINALISTS

Receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for industry introductions, meetings, and final competition for all the finalists.

ALL WINNERS

Receive judge feedback along with long term work for hire opportunities (up to $7,000 in compensation) with Branches Interactive team for script development!

1st place will also receive a free LIFETIME Writerduet Pro subscription & the remaining winners will receive one-year free Pro subscription

ABOUT BRANCHES INTERACTIVE

Branches Interactive, founded in Beijing, China, established the Branches platform for cross-border projects focusing on interactive story gaming. Branches Interactive invites outstanding writers from all over the world to complete various interactive screenplay productions, serving global users and providing high-quality immersive reading experiences.

At its core, a story is simply a series of events. An event is when a character faces off against an obstacle in pursuit of their ultimate goal. The character wins or loses. "There is no tie" - Yoda, in a lesser-known moment.

Often, stories are structured into three acts. Or five. Or two. I tried nineteen once. But I'm going to talk about the three-act ones because they're hot right now.

Act I introduces the main character (the protagonist) in their everyday life, known as the ordinary world.

After a norm is established, in comes the inciting incident!! This is an event that completely upsets the balance of the protagonist’s life. This incident is often caused by the antagonist: the primary opposing force. Dun dun dunnnnn.

Then someone (or something) tells the protagonist to do something about this upset in what is referred to as a call to adventure.

It’s not that simple though, because the protagonist is hesitant and resistant to change. This is the refusal. Ain't nobody got time for that.

When the protagonist finally agrees to the adventure, that kicks the story into Act II. This act often introduces new characters in a subplot, also known as B story. The B story always supports the main story in some way. This is the part that makes the rom-com worth watching, where the best friends have a bunch of hilarious and romantic moments.

The midpoint is exactly what you’d think, the middle(ish) point of the story. This moment is the inverse of the story's resolution. So if there's a happy ending coming, this is where things go horribly wrong. The protagonist might even complete their goal–BUT it’s not what they expected. Blast!

Things start to get really intense for the protagonist now, at an ever-rapid pace, pushing them toward their darkest moment where all seems lost.

Sometimes this is followed by a breakthrough, where the protagonist sees one last chance or a glimmer of hope.

In Act III, the protagonist faces their greatest challenge yet in the climax. He or she finally defeats the antagonist (or if you're going for an Oscar, the protagonist loses in the most tragic possible way).

The protagonist returns back to their world but is forever changed in the resolution.

Boom. That's all it is. Stories don't have any other elements.

I'm obviously kidding... they also have magic. In any case, I do encourage you to hold your story up to this basic outline. Where does it match? Where does it deviate?

In WDv5, we obliterate the concept of a totally linear writing process, because that's nonsense. We still enhance your focus on the specific script, page, and line that you're on; But now we offer you faster, more intuitive access to the specific tools and supporting documents that you need, when you need them.

WriterDuet doesn't do that. We let you import and export from tons of formats for free, with no unprofessional indicators of what software you used. Why? Because we trust that our free users will enjoy writing with us so much that they will ultimately upgrade. And sometimes they don't, which makes us super sad.

But we don't try to convince writers to pay by making our free experience unpleasant. We do it by constantly making our paid version better! Because that's a lot more fun for everyone.

So go ahead and enjoy our free script writing software.

With no watermarks. Unless you want them! But that's a Pro feature. ;-)

1. Have an idea. Before you begin writing a script, you need to have an idea. Take time to brainstorm several ideas that tell a story, preferably one that you are itching to tell. Look for inspiration in your everyday life, politics, and other creative works. 
2. Flesh out your idea.Is there a specific message that you want the audience to take away from your story? Think about who your characters are, where they live, and what their relationships are with each other. Conduct research about specific characters, settings, and any historical context. Further develop your ideas by outlining every scene, which will allow you to visualize your story. With our tool, Outliner & Scratchpad (located in the Tools menu), you can easily outline your story, rearrange scenes, and develop characters.
   
3. Understand the anatomy of a script. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, knowing the format of a script before you start writing is essential. Scripts are comprised of scene headings, action lines, character lines, parentheticals, dialogue, transitions, and shots. By using WriterDuet, you won’t have to worry about manually formatting your script. Sign up for free to access our formatting guide, which can be found under Help > Script Examples > Formatting Guide.
   
4. Write and don’t look back...at least for now.Now that you have a well-thought-out idea and a solid outline, all you need to do is write your story! This can sometimes be the hardest part. Writer’s block is no joke. To prevent procrastination and to overcome writer’s block, just write. Write and don’t look back, until you’re completely finished. The first draft is not going to be your last, so write what you can, and edit later. 
5. Take a vacation. Or maybe even several. Congrats, you’ve finished a script! Now take a vacation and celebrate. No seriously, taking a break will allow your mind to rest, igniting new ideas. After writing your first draft, don’t look at your script for at least two weeks. Don’t even think about looking at it! When the two weeks are up, take a look at your script. You’ll be surprised how some lines, the ones you thought were of absolute genius, don’t make sense. Taking breaks is really important, but don’t take too many, or you may find yourself on a permanent vacation. 
6. Know that writing is revising.If writers stopped after the first draft, your favorite movies never would have made it to theaters. After your first draft, go through your script, and make thorough and necessary revisions. If you filter to a single character’s dialogue, is their voice consistent and distinct? Do the actions they take make sense in the world they live in? Use script statistics to view the balance of screen time and action dialogue. Is it what you expect? Utilize the Graveyard (Drafts > Graveyard) to save ideas that you might use later on. Make a third, fourth, and fifth draft. Changes are always being made, so as a writer, be flexible. 
   
7. Share your script.Acknowledge feedback, even if you don’t end up implementing what others suggest. You’re writing a story that you presumably would like people to read, and eventually maybe watch on the silver screen. Ask for feedback, both positive and negative. And don’t just ask your friends; consult total strangers. It sounds scary, but some of the best feedback you will receive can come from complete strangers. And who knows, those same people might end up in the theater with a bucket of salty popcorn ready to watch the movie that YOU wrote. 
8. Apply the finishing touches. You’ve revised your script several times, and may have taken too many breaks, but you have a well-written script in your hands. Go through once more and edit it. Make sure that you use proper punctuation and grammar. Do an automatic check for any common script formatting issues. Present progressive is not a common verb tense in screenplays, so be sure to scan for that as well!
   

And there you go! You’re now ready to start writing your story. And when you go into production, whether it is slated for the big screen or filmed for fun, you can utilize the Production menu as you rewrite your script some more. Now get back to writing!

Okay, maybe two years is more accurate, but now WriterDuet is stepping onto the global stage with translations into over 20 languages and specialized defaults and settings (e.g. right-to-left screenplay format for Arabic and Hebrew). We're going to continue to refine our international products, so please let us know anything we can do to help support WriterDuet in your language!

If your browser's default language is something other than English, we'll automatically detect that and provide WriterDuet in your preferred language if available. You can also set the language in WriterDuet under the menu Customize > Language (or perhaps Individualisieren > Sprache).

And if you have any translation improvements to suggest, please e-mail help@writerduet.com with the incorrect phrase and the corrected version to replace it with. If you're really interested in helping, we can share translation documents to let you dive in and make some edits yourself.

Wir sind hier, um WriterDuet zur besten Drehbuchsoftware der Welt zu machen.

Parce que les scénarios sont la langue dans laquelle les films sont écrits.

I know the title sounds like hubris, so I want to start by giving my competitor some credit: Final Draft has historically been very valuable to the world of screenwriting. I used Celtx for a couple years (sigh), and upgrading to Final Draft was a relief. It was the best… back then.

• Formatting. Here we’re basically identical, but I should mention it first since so many others fail here. WriterDuet’s default page count will be exactly the same as Final Draft’s in the vast majority of cases. We have the same default line lengths and split action, dialogue, etc. across pages virtually identically to FD.

1. Real-time collaboration. Any number of writers can video/audio/text chat, outline, and write simultaneously. Conversation-style notes help you discuss lines with writers/readers.
2. Infinite revision tracking. View changes by date, writer, tagged revisions, tracked edits, and individual lines. Asterisks for printing/PDF, plus you can see the exact added/removed text, and can revert lines to previous versions. Mark/unmark changes, retroactively mark revisions by date/time/writer, track multiple revisions at once, put revision information in headers/footers, lock pages, and much more. You can even search the infinite revision history to find a line you deleted, and the full script as it was at the time that line existed!
3. Price. Even WriterDuet’s free version does everything most people need to write screenplays in industry-standard format. And our Pro version includes all future Pro updates automatically with your subscription. 
4. Ease of use. WriterDuet is consistently described as intuitive and seamless. A plethora of shortcuts and mouseover instructions guide the simple interface, and subtle features make the core task of writing more fluid. WriterDuet is meticulously fine-tuned.
5. Compatibility. WriterDuet imports & exports Final Draft, Celtx, Fountain, and PDF files. It even imports/exports notes from the first 3 file types, and is by far the best program at converting PDFs into editable screenplay format.
6. Cross-platform. WriterDuet works on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebooks, iOS, and Android. It gives identical page counts on all devices, and PDFs.
7. Pasting from other sources. WriterDuet lets you copy text written in Fountain, or other screenwriting programs (Final Draft, Celtx, etc.) and paste it directly into WriterDuet with the correct formatting most of the time (impossible to be perfect).
8. An amazing outliner. WriterDuet’s outliner lets you organize scene cards into acts and sequences, add (multiple) colors, tag characters (with optional colors/icons to identify them), set emoticons on each scene, and resize/reorder cards. All real-time collaborative.
9. View & edit specific portions. Select characters to view & edit only their dialogue within the script, or just the scenes they’re in. Select the non-dialogue report to view & edit Action, etc. or the Shots report for a production-shortened version.
10. Unicode support. Write in Chinese, Cyrillic, Hindi, etc.
11. Distraction-free full-screen mode. Full-screen works across platforms and is script-centric by default, helping you focus on writing. You can customize other items to be displayed, and make the normal view distraction-free as well.
12. 2 or 3-wide scripts. View prior pages to the left, and pages after to the right. Scroll these pages independently to look up/down without changing the position you’re editing, or scroll them together to read 3x as much.
13. Grammar checking. WriterDuet will tell you when you likely screwed up it’s vs. its, your vs. you’re, affect vs. effect, etc., along with its regular spell checker. Available in many different languages.
14. Automatic backups. WriterDuet instantly saves your changes online, so no lost work in the event of a power outage or crash. There are auto-save options for Dropbox and Google Drive, plus your computer, to complement WriterDuet’s cloud storage.
15. Format checking. Finds 9 (optional) common problems in scripts, including typo’d character names, missing character/dialogue lines, () in dialogue, similarly named characters, action lines greater than 4 lines, extra spacing, etc.
16. Script shortening. Finds orphaned words wrapping onto the next line, lines which can be shortened by removing a few letters, and places where it can cheat a margin to save lines. All with customizable thresholds.
17. Hide scenes you’re not working on. Select a scene or range of scenes, and all others disappear from your view.
18. Editable dual dialogue. To edit dual dialogue in Final Draft you must convert it back to sequential dialogue, make your change, then go back to the first character’s name (not their dialogue) and convert it to dual again. With WriterDuet, just edit and move on.
19. Notes in PDF report. Put notes inline with the rest of the script, including customizable colors (by type and writer) and content (name & time).
20. Typewriter mode. Keep your cursor vertically centered, so your eyes don’t have to follow the cursor up/down while you write and scroll. A speed-reading trick, for speed-writing.
21. Screen mirroring. Automatically follow a partner or reviewer’s position in the script.
22. Embedded multimedia. Directly link in images, audio/video files, YouTube videos, and SoundCloud audio on individual script lines. They’re hidden by default, with an icon to expand in the margin.
23. Music player. Many genres preloaded, no need to switch programs or tabs to get your tunes.
24. Dictation. Using Google technology to add words by sound and context, speak your lines with voice commands to move to the next line and set its type.
25. Time-lapse viewer. Watch a sped-up version of your script being written, with custom colors for each writer. You can also select any section of the script (or the entire thing) to look back in time and export a prior version.

1. Additional templates. WriterDuet only has screenplay, multi-cam sitcom, single cam sitcom, stageplay, UK stageplay, compact stageplay, book, Audio/Visual, Virtual Reality, and Right-to-Left Screenplay templates. Final Draft has dozens more, and we’ll likely add to the list in the future. But because WriterDuet has customizable margins and line formatting, you can make what you want. And we import the Final Draft template files, if you have them handy.

– Guest post by Geoffrey D. Calhoun