Those first two parts should be fairly simple. (Are there exceptions - yes, but we’re going for clarity and speed here) Authentic drama lies in clear winners or losers, heroes or the defeated, survivors or the dead. Your hero/main character will either succeed or fail. But… Dramatic questions require a YES or NO answer. Just ensure you know your central dramatic question, and why the audience may get behind it. It doesn’t have to be flashy or over-the-top. Will Clarice Starling catch Buffalo Bill? Will Frodo destroy the One Ring in Mt.Doom? Will Luke Skywalker defeat Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire? What is a dramatic central question?Ī central question is a dramatic through-line that plays out during your story and ties it together. If you already have an idea, you can move on and explore a central dramatic question for your story. Remember: You need to find a concept that is interesting to you first, or your audience never will. Search yourself and try to find a story that resonates with you. What if an alien visited earth, befriended an 8-year-old boy, and forever changed a small-town?) Smashing two random ideas together (my favourite method*) Sparks of scenes, characters, dialogue in your head (random) True stories of other people, or yourselfīad experiences, Awesome experiences, Learning experiences If you have zero ideas for your project or screenplay, don’t fret - this is a good chance to explore some of your old notes, dreams, ideas, and curiosities.

So let’s start from the top with conceptualisation. The driving force that gets readers to turn the pages and butts in seats is more dependent on plot.Īnd as screenwriting guru John Truby says: You would be mistaken to think that character is the only thing that sells screenplay.

Which is more important? For me, character and plot are inextricably linked.

In this first week, you are going to want to formulate a concept, characters and the roadmap for your plot. Week 1: Conceptualisation, Character and Plot So here’s how you write a screenplay - of around 90-120 pgs in length - in six weeks.

You’re on your way.ĩ/10 writers fail because they never finish what they start. Your screenplay may still need work, but at least you finally have something to improve. If you finally want to stop procrastinating and finish that screenplay, this method will catapult you forward. The timeline wasn’t ideal, but I got it done. I’ve used this method to write 222 pgs in 42 days (8 episodes x 22 min) for a recent series.

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