5 ways to get a Killer Movie Script

Cinematography, VFX, Fancy Set Design, etc are not the critical fundamentals to creating an eye-grabbing, gut-wrenching film; Story is. When a story is good enough, people look past the flaws of low budget production and become invested in characters more than picture.

Today, we will dive deep into the heart of the production and share tips to help you create a solid movie screenplay.

1) From IDEA To Concept

Like every business in the world, it all boils down to the idea of a product. A business and a screenplay are one and the same; it all starts with the idea. What idea will tug on the hearts strings and make your audience fall in love with the characters?

- What is an idea? -

An idea can be anything from "A man that starts a business and becomes a millionaire overnight."

- Who Am I Wanting to reach? -

No story can be formed without the initial idea. When writing out the idea, think about the demographics. Think of the people you want to reach. Think about the area or location that this movie will impact the most.

Yes, there is a lot to think about, but if you have a solid idea and you break that idea down to the very person that you want to reach, you are on your way to a solid story.

2) The Plot and Character Arcs

You got that killer one line Idea written, now it is time to come up with a plot. You might be inspired by a short movie or a big time movie you seen that has a pattern. Lets be honest though, every movie has essentially a similar plot.

In fact, Christopher Booker who is a notable author stated that he believes there are only seven different plots in the world. These plots are rewritten over and over in many different forms to create a story.

The seven plots listed below come from Bookers book: The Seven Basic Plots. Booker's book is a great read and it will leave you with the fundamental building blocks to writing solid story's.

- Overcoming The Monster

- Rags To Riches

- The Quest -

- Voyage and Return -

- Rebirth -

- Comedy -

- Tragedy -

Besides Bookers book, there are other studies proving this theory and it can be broken down to this formula:

- Rise // Fall // Rise or what many call Cinderella -

The Formula mention is where you see the rise of a character better known as the Happier Emotions then it builds to the Characters Road Block or sad moments hence the fall. It will then end with a resolution or a happy moment in the character again. This is the most common that we see in movies.

Of course your ideal plot doesn't necessarily need all three, you will see that many movies fall more than they rise or vice versa. To create a solid plot, starts with the creation of your character and their arc.

3) 2D, 3D, 4d Characters

After you have determined your idea and plot, it is time to shape your characters to help make your story more dynamic.

When you think of some of the greatest most loved movies, you think of the characters.

There is a phrase or something about a certain character that we all remember. Like Kevin from Home Alone, Marty Mcfly from Back to the Future, or Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. All of These characters have one thing in common when it comes to writing the characters, they were all 3d characters.

- 2d Characters -

2d Characters are considered "Too Simple." Meaning these characters have no personality, no shape, no dynamic interest. These type of characters do play a certain role in movies but they are not the characters we all come to know and love the most.

- 3d Characters -

3d Characters are the ones that play out a full fictional life. They have there own complex behaviors, and personalities. They are flushed out to the point where when you see the name, you know there lifestyle.

- 4d Characters -

4d Characters are similar to 3d except there character arc changes over the time span of the story.

It can be a challenge to flush out your story and create a memorable piece but that is where the art of storytelling comes to play and it all starts with a solid 3d or 4d characters.

We want to write a story that comes to life and lets face the facts that a 1d or 2d protagonist will ruin your story.

To be honest, we could spend hours talking about creating a great character but the film below does a great job on explaining how to build a solid character within 8 minutes.

4) A great story can be told by action not by words.

After you create your idea, plot and created a well flushed character it is now time to write your beat board.

- Beat Board -

Beat boards are also known as script outlines. These things will help break down the main points of your story. Every action, redirection, or turning point of the story is considered a beat.

A great script should flow like a song; it has a specific pacing and something that plays with either the mind or the emotions. With this, dialogue should be an afterthought in your mind.

Think of dialogue as the icing on a cake or the sweet extras that help push the story forward. Dialogue should be optional but not necessary to create a solid story.

I want to challenge you to write out the entire script without adding any dialogue to the story. If you have a script written, go back to it and delete all the dialogue.

Re-read the entire script; if it doesn't flow without the dialogue, then you don't have a solid story.

On the contrary, if the script flows like a beautiful song, it is a solid masterpiece, and the dialogue is ready to be added back into the script.

Remember that you want to create a sense of curiosity for your audience. So if scenes in your script give out too much detail, get rid of them. Instead, give your audience something that will keep their minds ticking throughout the film.

-Dialogue-

Dialogue is something that can add or take away from the story. The easy thing to do is write in dialogue. The challenge is to write dialogue that matches the personality and motives of the character.

Don't describe the action within the dialogue; instead, show it. Movies are meant to be seen and taken into a fantasy world; they shouldn't be a lecture.

For instance, Chad says to Emily - My new phone app is incredible. What if instead of saying this line, you show the app and reveal his expressions. This will help evoke an exciting emotion and allow the audience to feel empathy.

Dialogue should never feel forced or forceful from an audience's perspective. Instead, it should be done with a sense of melody. What you are writing is a song that will resonate with a specific audience.

5) Your Script is never Finished

I have seen this happen in films over and over, where the writer writes the first draft and says it's time to film it. Don't be that guy.

Scripts are only fully finished once they come out of the editing room. So keep an open mind and allow others to help edit or advise on building a more solid script.

- Scripts need more than one mind to write -

Don't shut down just because someone doesn't like your script; instead, come at it from another viewpoint and ask them; what would you do differently? This, in turn, will help create a more solid product.

The characters you create come from only your personality, so it helps to find someone with the same personality as the character to help flush the characters.

I will end with this, don't think of scriptwriting as a daunting filmmaking task. On the contrary, it should be like you telling a story to your closest friend. So have fun with it and level up your creativity.