Some people think that a screenwriting career is a very cool way to make millions of dollars overnight.
However, this can be a very difficult job, and you need to have talent for it, skill, and lots of hard work put into the enterprise. However, if you think you have the skill and ability for it, then read on. This is a guide to help you launch your career very gracefully:
First of all, you need to know what is obtainable in the script industry and what is not. You need to know what it takes to make a good script for movies. One thing you need to know is what makes a good script – the essential elements and qualities involved – and the requirements for a good story. There are good books that should be able to help you in this step of your screenwriting career. You can find books by Syd Field. When you are through with learning how to write a good screenplay, then next thing to do in your screenwriting career is to actually write a screenplay. This is the experience gathering phase. If you want to know what the life of a screenwriter looks like, you need to actually give yourself a try.
Check out other screenplays by other people, preferably for the genre you are interested in. Go through a lot of scripts, and this will give you a general impression of how a good screen play should be formatted. You can find very good scripts through EBay, or through searching on Google.com. Remember, you should aim for the scripts that are similar to the style you intend to write. Also, avoid using transcripts for your learning. It is better to make use of full feature scripts for the movie. In a full feature script, you will get even the descriptions and the actions.
To go farther in the screenwriting career ladder, you might need to boost up your education. You can never know everything about the life of a screenwriter. So, never get tired of learning as much as you can about movies. You can sign up for classes on writing. This way, you can get even more exposure to writing in general, and pick up on some choice writing styles.
The best way to know if you will make a god script writer is to actually write a script. So to know if the screenwriting career is right for you, you need to write – or at least try to write. Ensure that you are constantly working on your screenplays. This will help capture your thoughts on the paper the as soon as they are formed. You should constantly be looking for ways you can improve the quality of your screen play. There will always be an area of your script that needs adjustment or improvement, for as they say, ‘there is always room for improvement”. Have someone interested in your screenwriting career constantly read through your script and proffer advice on improving upon it.