Write It, Pitch It, Sell Your Screenplay

THE “1-3-5” WRITING PROCESS

Step #1: The Original Element

Please don’t confuse creating an original element in your script with creating a new format for movies. Listen to me. Your script will sell because of its original content not form!

Consider this. The car is the simplest way for you and me to make the 90-minute rush-hour drive from Los Angeles to Ventura. I don’t need you to invent a whole new mode of transportation. I want you to get in my car, which I love, and entertain me on that familiar drive in a completely new and funny and relatable way. I want to see things on that drive I’ve never noticed before. And when I get to Ventura at last, I will want to go to Ventura with you again. Still in a car. But with you.

But if story structure is so inviolate (for your first submission), where do you get to be original? Remember first that “original” is a relative term. It doesn’t mean “it’s never been done.” “Original” means “it hasn’t been done in a movie that the general public knows about.”

To close in on “Recommend,” you must have either:

· An original type of character to change (beyond biographies, this is the biggest challenge! Still, Boyz in the ‘Hood introduced a young Black man as a naïve new kid on the block rather than a streetwise criminal – and earned John Singleton two Oscar® “nods” (nominations); Children of a Lesser God introduced a beautiful deaf woman as a romantic lead rather than a victim and won Marlee Matlin an Academy Award, etc.)

· An original type of relationship to change (Something New tempted a white collar African-American woman with a blue collar WASP man; I once read a romantic comedy script where two strangers’ shadows fell in love, etc.)

· An original setting or situation in which the change occurs (Schindler’s List sets its reluctant businessman hero in a factory in genocidal Germany, 1943; Hotel Rwanda sets its reluctant businessman hero in a hotel in genocidal Rwandan, 1994)

· An original issue driving the change (Movies like Kramer vs. Kramer, Philadelphia and Crash were all the first big studio releases to highlight their respective issues – parental custody for fathers, AIDS discrimination, contemporary racial tensions, etc.) Remember, it is not okay or effective to just present the issue! Your Main Character still needs a real story that the issue impacts.

Take a close look at the spine of your new story or at your finished, unsold screenplay. Can you name recognized films that already feature the same type of character, relationship, setting and issue – even if they’re dated? This is hard to hear. But your screenplay is not a “Recommend.”

Rework your spine to reflect the necessary changes to make at least one of these elements original. Then move on to step number two.

Step #2: The Character Breakdown

Your Character Breakdown summarizes each of your characters’ key traits and the individual journeys they go on. You’ve already built the spine of your Main Characters’ story, including his or her arc (“Rejection/ Embrace/ Sacrifice” of the Unexpected Change). Now you must identify and arc your secondary cast. Your secondary characters must have real journeys of their own; they can’t just be there to conveniently interact with your Main Character!

One important note on characters as you develop your cast. If you must, write down every stereotype you can think of about every group you can think of and keep it in front of you as a reminder of what not to write. If you still find yourself scripting a dumb blonde, a feisty redhead, a nerdy computer geek, a heavily accented Korean deli owner, a Black drug dealer, a Latino lowrider, an Asian kung fu expert, a sassy Black chick, a long-haired pothead – oh, do I need to go on? – just remember this. You never know who the story analyst is who is evaluating your script. Why insult them? Worse, why bore them with the same old hack stereotypes? You must really want that “Pass”!

Now title a separate page for each incredibly original, complex character in your story…and go!

· The Main Opponent. Your Main Opponent is always the cause of the Unexpected Change. Even if it’s a shark, a tornado or both, they still have to arc. Don’t think of them in terms of how they will get in your Main Character’s way. Instead, define what need they are trying to fill that your Main Character stands in the way of. The Main Opponent must intensify the fight for this need then ultimately lose.

Just like your Main Character, your Main Opponent must arc fully in the script, not just reverse. Their need causes them to:

* Incite the Main Character’s Rejection

* Thwart the Main Character’s Embrace

* Abandon their own cause due to the Main Character’s Sacrifice

The final stage of their arc, the “Abandonment” is at the end of the Climax (they will die at the hands of the Main Character or at least lose their power and have to give up the battle).

· The Supporting Lead. Next, arc the character who is the primary supporter of your Main Character’s journey (often the wise-cracking best friend). Supporting Leads must at least make a full reversal in the course of the movie. Their final switcheroo must be a direct result of your Main Character’s choices. That switch also must impact your Main Character’s Climax, usually by making them less powerful during the Final Battle.

For example, in Kramer vs. Kramer, Kramer’s best friend has learned enough from hanging out with Kramer to work things out with her estranged husband. So Kramer has to face the courtroom battle without his biggest fan and confidante at his side.

Important! Your Supporting Lead can’t merely cross paths with your Main Character. S/he must be an integral part of the Main Character’s journey.

· The Additional Supporting Characters. Keep Additional Characters to an absolute minimum, depending on the setting of your movie. Then outline the arcs of your key Additional Characters as they relate to your Main Character’s journey. Rules to write by:

* Each additional character must have a distinct desire that affects the Main Character’s journey. If multiple Additional Characters have the same goal, consolidate them into one.

* Each additional character must bring out a distinct trait in your Main Character that helps advance the story. If your Main Character has the same emotional interaction with different Additional Characters, consolidate those characters into one.

* And, as always, each additional character has to at least reverse desires by the end of the movie. If an Additional Character does not reverse desires, change either the beginning or the end of their arc so that they do.

STEP #3: The Beat Sheet

Great news – you are about to start writing! No, not “FADE IN.” It’s time for the Beat Sheet, a simple outline that bullet points every moment in your script. This is brainstorm heaven (or hell), but remember, you have a roadmap: your story’s spine is right in front of you. Plus, you know how all of your characters must change. And you know your theme, so you know what issue will be at hand in each of the choices.

As you think up your story, type the beats on a list, write them on index cards, just get the possibilities in front of you. Switch the beats around if you must to make sure your Main Character keeps making tougher choices and facing tougher obstacles with each new beat. And don’t delete or throw away ANY IDEAS you get.

Let’s go. Start with your Set-Up…and think of every way possible, that fits into your Main Character’s universe, to provide that opening information…without dialogue.

By not letting your characters talk, you’re forcing yourself to think in terms of ACTION. You will have to SHOW your audience and your story analyst what happens, not TELL them. Hey, it’s not called “Tell Business”!

The Beat Sheet is the last freestyle phase of writing your screenplay. Experiment!

For example, in The Truman Show, the writer knew the Unexpected Change had to alert Truman that his life was a sham. The writer might have had Truman hear a director yell “Cut!” offstage. That wouldn’t have been the best option – it’s dialogue-driven, and in movies, you’re aiming for action.

Maybe Truman could have seen an extra in a make-up chair. That would have raised his eyebrows, but it’s not very funny and it could easily be explained away in Truman’s perfect world.

By the time the writer decided to drop a big light out of the sky and clock Truman in the head, the Unexpected Change was announced in an outrageous way, was visual rather than verbal, and was about as big a sign as Truman was going to get. Of course, Truman rejected the information. It’s a movie!

In building your beat sheet, remember how beats work: There’s an event. Your Main Character reacts to it. That reaction triggers a slightly bigger event. That triggers your Main Character’s slightly bigger reaction. See how the trench digs deeper? If your Main Character’s first response to trouble is killing the Main Opponent…where on earth will you go from there?

Remember that you are writing a movie about your Main Character’s choices. If your Main Character instead always reacts to other people’s choices, s/he is called a “passive protagonist.” And you just put the “Pass” into “passive.”

After you “beat out” your Set-Up, no dialogue, do the same for the rest of your story, closely following your spine. Remember, a beat sheet’s whole driving energy is “And then what happens?”

It is not “What does s/he say?” – it is “What does s/he do?”

A sample partial beat sheet would look like:

THE SET-UP (spine headings are for clarity, not format)

· Joanna tearfully kisses Billy goodnight.

· Joanna hauls down her suitcase

· Kramer schmoozes with his boss about the latest account

· Kramer’s co-worker says goodnight

· Kramer notices the time but settles in for one more story

· Joanna packs frantically

· Kramer’s boss announces Kramer’s the lead on their big new account

· Joanna anxiously waits for Kramer to come home

· Kramer arrives home

THE UNEXPECTED CHANGE

· Joanna says she’s leaving

· Kramer talks over her, announcing his new account

· Joanna presses on with the list of what Kramer must do

· Kramer insults Joanna’s disregard for his news

· Joanna lugs her suitcase to the door

· Kramer grabs the suitcase away from Joanna

· Joanna runs out without the suitcase

· Kramer runs after apologizing

· Joanna says she’s leaving because she’s worthless

· Kramer blocks the elevator door and counters with praise

· Joanna says she’s leaving him with Billy and she doesn’t love Kramer anymore

· The elevator door closes

THE REJECTION

· Kramer unpacks Joanna’s suitcase

· Kramer calls Joanna’s best friend and tells her to send Joanna home

etc.

You have three pages for your beat sheet. Shoot for three (no reduction here – you’ll need all three!).

STEP #4: The Treatment

The treatment is the full prose narrative of your screenplay. Now you’re going to expand the moments from your beat sheet into a narrative account of your script.

Why is the treatment so important in The “1-3-5” writing process? First, it establishes the fully fleshed out story you are trying to tell, a fully formed foundation for your script. Second, when you are hired to write, you almost always will be expected to turn over a treatment and execute notes on the story before you are cleared to write the script. It’s a necessary skill to hone. Third, the story is its own independent element in the movie industry. In fact, there are usually two separate payments for a script: the story money and the screenplay money. Even if you sell a completed script, it could be handed over to someone else to completely re-do. In that case, you might only get part of the money and credit for the story.

You’ve seen many screen credits that read: Story by X; Screenplay by Y, right? That’s because writing a story and writing a script are separate tasks. Even if the same person does both, writing a script is a much simpler thing to do with the foundation of a terrific story.

You have about thirty pages to write your treatment. Shoot for twenty.

A sample treatment would look like:

INT. UPSCALE APARTMENT – NIGHT

JOANNA KRAMER (30s, female) sits tearfully at the bedside of her sleeping son, BILLY (8, male). She strokes his hair; he shifts and murmurs, deep in sleep. Joanna tenderly kisses his cheeks and says she loves him. The sleeping Billy does not respond.

INT. AD AGENCY – NIGHT

TED KRAMER (30s, male) laughs at another sly wisecrack from his boss and mentor, JOHN (50s, male). John butters Kramer up as a MALE CO-WORKER enters to say he’s heading home to his family. Kramer quickly checks his own watch for the time…then settles in for one more round of repartee with John.

etc.

It is critical you get notes on your treatment when you are done! Don’t wait until you have hammered out one hundred-plus pages of script and slugged your way through format and dialogue. You will resist notes to a finished screenplay because of all the work you will have to “undo”! Notes to a treatment are far easier to address.

More importantly, if your story does not work…your screenplay will not work and will be torture to try to write. Make sure your story is structurally sound before you begin to write your screenplay. You will save yourself weeks, even months, of hard work.

Don’t rely on friends and family for notes on your treatment. You get one layperson just to prove you finished; the other feedback absolutely must come from someone working in the filmmaking industry who does not know you or have anything invested in making you feel good about yourself. This often will be your rep, and if not, hire a reputable story analyst to give you buyer’s notes (including Planet DMA’s “1-3-5” analysis and development).

Keep revising your treatment until you don’t get any more notes that begin with “I didn’t understand it when…” Even better, wait until the only professional note you get back is “I cried at the end” – even if it’s a scream-out-loud comedy (think of that final snapshot in “Four Weddings and a Funeral” of Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell with their baby).

You might want to copyright your final treatment if you do not feel safe distributing it. See Step #5, “Drafts” if you choose to do this now rather than with the final script.

STEP #5: The Drafts

At last, it’s time to type your screenplay! You know what’s so great about this moment? You’ve put so much work into developing your characters and crafting a solid, escalating story…that all you really have to concentrate on now is great dialogue. You don’t have to figure out how to develop character, advance story, brainstorm locations and craft witty words all at once.

With your treatment in front of you, type “FADE IN” – at last! – and begin translating your story into a script by adding distinct voices and original dialogue for each of your characters. Remember, never let a character say with words what they can show with actions. This isn’t TV; it’s the movies!

Screenplay Format

Screenwriting software costs less than $150. Get a second job if you must, but buy the latest version. You don’t want to worry about format right now; you’re supposed to be breathing life into your rich and complex characters!

Also, please end every scene with “CUT TO.” Not “SMASH CUT.” Not “SOFT DISSOLVE.” You aren’t editing a movie; you’re writing one! Keep it simple.

Dialogue

As you finally start writing, here’s what you should discover. Because you’ve been living inside this story so intensely and understand your characters so clearly, your characters will start talking to you! But put those voices through a quick litmus test before you give them free reign over your fingers:

· Regional accents – don’t spell these out; they’re too hard to read. It’s enough to indicate “strong Bronx accent” when you introduce the character – but only if a strong Bronx accents serves the story! If that accent doesn’t fuel an actual incident in the story, lose it. A southerner may surprise you at the casting!

· Stereotypical language – please don’t make your southern characters say y’all…or your Asian characters mix up their l’s and r’s…or your African-American characters drown in double negatives…or your kids say “Gee” or “Gosh”, or oh, you get it. It’s just not original, and your first submission has to be original.

· Exposition – don’t ever let your characters say what happened when you can show it. Same goes for voiceover – your audience and your story analyst will think it’s lazy writing, unless it’s absolutely necessary. And, please, don’t ever let your characters say exactly what they mean. Do you know why? Because real people don’t ever say exactly what they mean.

When a stunning woman walks by, real people don’t say “Look at her – she’s so much better looking than I am!” They clench their coffee cup, they avoid her friendly gaze, they seethe until she passes. Then they glare at her vanishing figure and say, “Nice shirt. Not.” They don’t say what they mean (“I am so jealous! I look like nothing next to her!”). But, boy, do you get what they mean.

If your characters say exactly what they mean, your audience and your story analyst will say the hated words, “That dialogue was so ‘on the nose.’” Then your story analyst will type “Pass.”

· Sit-com Speak – could your ensemble of wise-cracking characters all sound any more like Chandler and the former cast of Friends? You cannot have every character in your screenplay zing witty comebacks and asides throughout the script. Take a moment to listen to real conversations you are engaged in or that are around you. How do different people convey humor, love or sorrow? Make sure your characters’ voices are distinguishable from one another!

When your characters have done and said all they are supposed to, according to your solid treatment, type “FADE OUT.” And walk away for at least a day. Show it to no one.

The Second Draft

After time off, re-read your first draft with a red pen and a caffeine IV drip. Test the first draft against the checklists at the end of every chapter of this simple little book. Make notes to adjust. Then get on your computer, “Save As” a second draft and start typing again to fix it.

The Copyright

Sorry, but mailing a script to yourself or even registering it at the Writers’ Guild doesn’t give the public the ability to see a work exists and who created it. And that is the purpose of a copyright, to give public notice that you are the creator and/or owner of a work. Just complete a Form PA (for “Performing Arts”) online at “copyright.gov,” upload a clean copy of your script and pay the posted fee ($35 or more at the time of this publication) for a registered copyright from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Of course, as soon as you put your script into tangible form, i.e., type it up, it’s technically copyrighted. But it’s the registration of your copyright that protects you, not the copyright itself! So add the copyright mark and a date, e.g., “© 2015 Your Name Here” to your cover page, then send your script in to register the official copyright so you can start soliciting feedback with less fear.

If you already copyrighted your treatment, now you will send in a new Form PA for the screenplay version, indicating that this script is based on an earlier copyrighted item. There is a space on the Form PA where you indicate the name and the copyright number of the original submission.

STEP #6: The Notes Process

Don’t resist the notes phase of your writing process! It’s not only necessary to get fresh eyes on your script, but the ability to effectively address notes is a crucial part of your professional writing skills.

The Table Read

To get a feel for your story, hear your dialogue – and find typos, grammatical errors and other unacceptable mistakes, bring in real actors and have them read your second draft aloud (we are still calling it a “draft” so you will be open to changing it).

No, you do not have to incorporate your readers’ exact fix recommendations into the draft – especially if they violate story structure! But listen closely to see if multiple notes address the same sections or issues in you draft. Because those are areas you will need to fix. Use The “1-3-5” to understand what’s really wrong…and how to make it right.

Important! From this moment on, you must remember your new goal. You are no longer trying to write a screenplay. You have already written a screenplay! You now are trying to sell a screenplay. This is not a Ph.D. dissertation you are defending to a group of ungrateful professors. You will not defend/explain/justify one word of your “brilliant” draft to anyone who is kind enough to bother to read it and provide feedback. They are not attacking you; they are granting you the gift of their time and fresh opinion. For free sometimes, may I add. So graciously accept every note you can from everyone you can, then pinpoint the consistent areas that people have trouble with. Those are the areas you will use The “1-3-5” to fix in your next draft.

The Test Distribution

Next, get a revised third draft out to at least one layperson and two industry insiders (one biz side; one creative, both of whom have agreed in advance to give notes before you send them anything), and listen to their notes. Listen to their notes. Rely on The “1-3-5” again to address these notes in your fourth draft.

STEP #7: The Final Draft

Your fourth draft might be the final pass of your script.

However, if your notes were extensive on each draft, you will need to do another reading and test distribution! You absolutely must pay everybody or give them real gifts for a second time investment in a one-hundred plus script read. Get a job if you have to, but this is non-negotiable.

You can stop table reading and test distributing your script when the notes you receive are based on personal taste (“Wouldn’t it be funnier if…”) instead of structural problems (“I don’t understand why…,” “It didn’t make sense when…,” etc.). The feedback will be overwhelmingly more positive than negative. And someone will have cried at the end of your script. And that might take twenty drafts.

The sooner you start listening to and addressing people’s notes, the faster you will close in on your final draft.

When you have “FADE OUT” your final draft, it’s time to do your “Housecleaning.” Spell check. Read the script aloud word by word for errors and for flow. Check format.

Then type a clean, simple cover page (no date!). Skip the funny fonts and pictures. Stick with “TITLE” “by YOU” with your “COPYRIGHT NOTICE” and “CONTACT INFO.” Make sure there’s an e-mail address on there to make it easy to reach you from different time zones!

Don’t forget to complete another Form PA to update the copyright.

Chapter

9

The “1-3-5” Writing Process