10 Steps for becoming a professional screenwriter

June 13, 2024

10 Steps for becoming a professional screenwriter

It is not easy to write a script because this field necessitates great creativity and an elaborate plot in order to be ingrained in the mind of the viewer, teach him a lesson, or leave an impression on himself. Nothing is impossible with perseverance and determination. These days anything is possible. So, if you’re wondering how to become a professional screenwriter and want to learn how to write a script? This is the article for you. Follow these 10 steps that will help you get started as a screenwriter.

What is scriptwriting?

Writing a script is one of the most important, if not the most important, steps in video production. You can read the article 5 Most Important stages of film production you have to know. The scenario is defined as a series of dialogues and scenes that comprise the video and give it its general form, as well as transform the ideas and messages that you want to convey to the audience into an interesting, woven story that piques their interest. A good script is the foundation of any successful video, regardless of its nature. Screenwriting ability necessitates a literary sense as well as experience in transforming ideas into scenarios with a suitable plot.

First: Determine the purpose of writing the script

The first step in writing a script is determining its purpose and genre. Do you need a script for a social media video, a script or script for a TV show, a radio script, or a script for an electronic game? It is also necessary to specify the type of scenario, as there are several, including:

Educational scenario: This scenario aims to provide educational and informative content. Bloggers who convert a number of their articles and blog posts into videos frequently use this type.
Marketing scenario: It is used in the first place by companies and business owners to market a product or brand.
Entertainment script: It aims to entertain viewers and is widely used on social media platforms and YouTube.

Second: Define the target audience

As with all types of content, you must define the target audience from the script you write to ensure that the message is delivered and formulated in a way that suits the target audience’s characteristics and tendencies.

These are some of the factors to consider when writing the script, which are the audience’s interests and demographic characteristics. Because scenarios and dialogue directed at youth may not be appropriate for adults, and scenarios directed at women may not be appropriate for men, and vice versa, you must carefully select your target population.

For example, if you want to write a video script to promote beauty and makeup products, the majority of your target audience will be women. However, if you want to write a video game review script for your YouTube channel, your target audience will be children and teenagers.

Third: Select the platform for which you are writing the script

If you want to publish the video on a specific platform, you should research the active segments on that platform. For example, if you want to share a video on social media, keep in mind that social media users prefer short videos and frequently watch videos in silent mode. However, if you want to publish the video on YouTube, you must consider the nature of your channel’s subscribers.

However, if you want to write a podcast script, you must consider the nature of writing a radio script and rely solely on the voice, dialogues, and sound effects. If you want to write a script for an electronic game, your priority should be to tell an exciting, fun, and appealing story to players.

Fourth: Choose your audience’s language with care

The script should be written in the viewers’ native language. If you want to write a script for a video aimed at residents of a specific Arab country that will be broadcast on local channels and radio stations, write it in the local dialect in general. However, if you want to reach the entire Arab world, you should write in Standard Arabic. You should also consider the type of scenario and carefully select the appropriate language.

For example, the entertainment scenario is preferable to be in a simple, non-profound language, such as simple Arabic or English. In general, it is preferable to use sober and accurate language when discussing scientific and cultural topics.

Fifth step: Write the main draft of the script

In this step, you have to write the main draft of the script, including ideas and dialogues. This is a preliminary stage, and you will not begin writing the final version of the script at this time. Instead, you will generate as many ideas as possible that fit the theme and message of the scenario. After you’ve generated a sufficient number of sub-ideas, you can begin connecting the dots, ordering, and filtering those ideas.

At this stage, ideas are usually random, and they may not appear to fit together at first, making it difficult to visualize a scenario that incorporates all of those points. In a well-woven and harmonious narrative. Try to sort through the good ideas, connect them, and visualize a logical order for those ideas. Then begin writing dialogues and text paragraphs for the script so that it gradually becomes a woven story.

If you are unable to continue, you may need to add more sub-ideas, or the ideas may be incoherent, in which case it may be best, for example, to divide the scene into two separate scenarios.

Sixth step: Create a summary of your story

The story that your audience will watch must be summarized in order, with an introduction to the main character and his world, as well as an incident that incites and moves the story. The character is then introduced to a new situation or challenge. The first turning point in the story is when the hero in the story takes a risk or loses him, and when the hero reaches the point of no return, makes the second turning point by recovering the character for consideration, and finally moving to the climax, which is the story’s arrival at the solution.

Seventh step: The Practice

The most difficult aspect of writing a script is the dialogue because it must convey almost everything. While writing novels enjoy the aesthetics of internal dialogue to convey the story as well as ideas and feelings, the screenwriter does not have this option.

You can write what happens to people exactly as it happens in reality; however, it is necessary that your character is from reality, by cutting off all unnecessary things and entering immediately into the heart of the event so that you remember that you only have a few hours to tell everything you have.

Eighth step: Information organization

Now that you’ve gathered all of the necessary information for your writing project, it’s time to start narrowing it down by organizing it. So stay focused as you determine what information you require and do not require. Arranging the data can assist you in determining the overall picture of the scenario. Any information that is not directly related to the scenario should be excluded.

The ninth step: Write the script

After you’ve gathered and refined your ideas, it’s time to start writing a script and transforming it into a unique story template that communicates the goals you’ve previously set to the target audience.

At this point, your primary focus should be on developing a simple script that can be easily converted into a video that achieves your objectives and achieves the desired results.

A script is written to be turned into a video, game, or radio show, and the video designer should be able to direct it. As a result, don’t make the script too complicated to use, and don’t explain everything in detail, as a small picture or scene can do without dozens of words.

The tenth step: A final script review

After you finish writing the script, you must review it to ensure that it meets the objectives you established earlier and communicates the message you want to convey. Ask yourself and carefully answer the following questions:

Is the final script appropriate for your intended audience?
Does it clearly communicate the message you want to spread from the start?
Is it in tune with and consistent with a good plot?
Is the script appropriate for the platform where you intend to publish the video?
Is the script the appropriate length?

Conclusion

In the article’s summary, we discussed how to write a screenplay in 10 steps. Professional screenwriting is very broad and deep but you can learn from the most famous screenwriters. These steps will help you to be a professional and creative screenwriter.