How to Write a Script for a Movie and Become a Successful Hollywood Screenwriter

WHAT YOU’RE UP AGAINST

I want you to be fully aware of what you’re up against before you get started. If you don’t have close friends or relatives working in the movie business who can open doors for you, your chances of selling a feature length script for a movie are extremely slim. You’ll need to be one of the best screenwriters in the world, which means you better have enormous talent or you’re likely just wasting your time. Here are some ballpark figures you should know: There are around ten thousand members of the Writers Guild. In any one year, only about half of those earn any income, and most of those are working in television. Those not working are likely at home writing a script for a movie just like you, and if they are in the Writers Guild that means they have at some time already sold a screenplay or television script, and likely have an agent and other industry contacts. It’s a safe bet to say just about all ten thousand have at least one feature length screenplay they want to sell, and most probably have several. The Writers Guild registers somewhere around forty thousand new screenplay related pieces of material every year - that includes treatments, television scripts and feature scripts. Much of this material comes from people like you who are on the outside trying to get their foot in the door. Let’s take a conservative guess that about ten thousand new feature length screenplays are written every year; those are then stacked on top of the ten thousand scripts from last year, and the ten thousand from the year before, because Hollywood only produces about four hundred films a year. I hope you can see that getting your masterpiece in the hands of the right person at the right time is going to be a significant challenge.

Nevertheless, there are ways to get noticed and at least a few screenplays are sold by first time screenwriters every year. If you can write something truly unique, inspiring, joyous, unquestionably entertaining, and if you take the steps to get that material into the right hands, and you’re willing to do whatever’s needed to make yourself available to be in the right place at the right time, there is a chance your talent will be recognized and you’ll sell your screenplay or get the chance to work on a project for hire. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is there is no single way to get on the inside. Every successful screenwriter has a different story. You’re going to have to find YOUR way inside, and I’m going to give you all the information you need to find that path, but it’s going to be up to you to complete the journey.

HOW TO WRITE A GREAT SCREENPLAY

Talent. That’s it. If you don’t have talent you can’t get it done. Telling you how to write a great screenplay is exactly like telling you how to become a Hall of Fame baseball player – you need exceptional talent. Yes, many bad screenplays get produced every year, but those are written by people who have industry connections. If you don’t have industry connections you’ll need to demonstrate exceptional talent. There are plenty of people with industry connections capable of writing mediocre screenplays. If you don’t have exceptional screenplay writing talent, you’ll need exceptional social skills and a job in the movie industry where you can start making the right friends. My suggestion is to come at this from both angles. Work hard at developing your screenwriting craft, while at the same time building a network of industry friends. Let’s start with developing your screenwriting craft.

Some of you may have already written a screenplay, some may have already taken screenwriting classes, or seminars, or read one or more of the many books on the subject. I’m going to offer a very simple method to develop your craft, and recommend a few books. In the end, I think you’ll see the absolute best thing you can do to develop your screenwriting skill is to write, write, and write some more. But it’s important that you don’t write in a vacuum, relying on your own personal critique of the work. It’s vitally important that you get at least three independent opinions of every screenplay you write so that you can learn first hand how various audience members may react to your work. I’m going to make some suggestions how best to go about getting good feedback, but first let’s cover the basics.

If you want to write great screenplays, you’ll need to have seen lots of great movies. I’ll assume you’ve all completed this step already, but now I’m going to ask you to watch those great movies a second time and write a few paragraphs detailing why they are, in your opinion, great movies. Of course, you’ll all be watching different movies, which is fine, because this is what will make your writing different and help you create your own personal style. Select ten movies that you feel are great. Try to select some older movies along with some very current movies. Watch these films with a critical eye and document what makes them great in your opinion as well as what’s not working for you and how you might change them if you had the chance.

Now you’ll need to get a copy of the screenplay for each of these ten films. In the link section you’ll find lots of places online where you can download free screenplays, and I’ve also included some places where you can buy screenplays that you can’t find for free. Get as many as you can - it doesn’t matter if you can’t find all ten. When you start reading, you’ll notice that often the screenplay is different than the actual movie and sometimes it’s exactly the same. This is because you’ll never know what version of the script you’re getting. Some of the scripts found online are just transcripts of the movie, while others are earlier drafts and not the actual shooting script. Even if you get the actual shooting script, the movie may be very different in places where post production changes were made; none of this matters, what’s important is you’ll be reading a screenplay. This will give you a feel for timing, pacing, and familiarize you with screenplay format. This will be especially beneficial since you’ve recently seen these films and many of the scenes will play in your head as though you’re actually watching the movie again.

Your next assignment is to think of two or three movies you’ve always wanted to see but for whatever reason have not yet had the chance. This time, I want you to find the screenplay first and read it with your critical eye, making note of what’s working for you and what’s not. Next, get a copy of the film and watch it making careful note of how the screenplay was translated to the screen. Check to see if any of the changes you wanted actually ended up being made. Consider how your image of the script is different or the same as what ended up on screen.

Both of these assignments are great for experienced screenwriters and beginners. If you’ve already studied how to write screenplays, and you’ve even written one or more screenplays, this is still a good way to start before writing your next script. Pick three or four films that are similar in some way to the script you want to write, watch the film, read the script, and make notes of what works and what doesn’t work or what in your opinion could be done better. These notes will help you craft a better screenplay.

If you’ve already studied screenwriting you could skip this next section, but it may be beneficial for you to at least consider some of the suggestions I make here. I’ve read a large number of screenwriting books, and most have at least some value, but in the end, the writing has to come from you, so it probably doesn’t matter too much which books you read as long as you understand fully there isn’t one way to write a screenplay and there is no magic formula. Many books will offer specific formulas, especially regarding screenplay structure. For instance, they may suggest precise page numbers for act breaks, and a list of character types that need to be in certain genres, but the truth is you need to look beyond those formulas and develop your own personal style; nevertheless, the story structure analysis found in any screenwriting book can be useful since all are based on what has worked in the past. This will give you clues as to how to structure your story, but heed my final warning not to try and write a paint-by-numbers screenplay. If you do it will be all too obvious and your amateur status will be revealed.

My best advise for beginners is to read “The Screenwriters Bible” by David Trottier, then don’t read anything else until you’ve completed writing a first draft of your screenplay. You’ll need some screenwriting software before you get started, and the two most used in the industry are Final Draft and Movie Magic, but it really doesn’t matter what you use at this stage of the game. Trottier gives you all the basic information you need to write a screenplay. That, coupled with your experience reading screenplays and analyzing your favorite films should be all you need to write a first draft.

After completing your first draft, I suggest you read a copy of “Making a Good Script Great” by Linda Seger and “Creating Unforgettable Characters” also by Linda Seger. After this it should be all to clear to you that your script needs work and you should get busy doing your first rewrite. Here’s is one of the most important things I’m going to tell you: WRITING IS REWRITING. The strange paradox associated with this truth is that many beginning screenwriters fail because they don’t rewrite enough, and many more fail because they rewrite too much. Rewriting is useless if you don’t know what it is you’re trying to achieve. You MUST know before you start rewriting precisely what your goals are. Are you trying to make it more funny, more exciting, more involving? Do you want to better develop a character or a character relationship? Is the pacing too slow? Make a list of exactly what you want to accomplish with your rewrite and point yourself in that direction. A screenplay is a complex piece of work and it’s easy to go off in any number of wrong directions. Stay focused by sticking to your noted goals. It’s okay to change your goals half way through, but you need to then make new notes and stick to those the rest of the way. You don’t want to end up one of these amateurs who rewrites the same screenplay over and over for years.

GETTING GOOD FEEDBACK

Once you have a second or third draft of your screenplay you should be ready to get some feedback. As I’ve stated previously, it’s important that you don’t rely entirely on your own opinion of your work. That’s what I call writing in a vacuum. Every professional screenwriter I know of has someone they trust to offer objective opinions of their work. Sometimes it’s their manager or agent, and often it’s other screenwriter friends. It’s impossible to be objective about your own work and after working on a project for several months, you are so close to the work you no longer see it as fresh and spontaneous, you know every twist and turn, and this will take away from your ability to gauge the effectiveness of the writing. Friends and family can be helpful, but they are usually too nice to give the kind of honest feedback you need, or they don’t know enough about storytelling to clearly state their opinion in a way that can be useful. You’ll need to find readers who can offer meaningful feedback.

There are many screenwriting consultants who will give feedback for a price. Some of these are very good and some are a complete waste of time. I’ve used many of these paid consultants and in my experience you’ll need to pay at least $300 to get quality feedback; those who charge less are more often than not useless. I’m not going to make any recommendations here, because I believe you can get the same quality for free. Actually it’s not entirely free, it’s more like a barter system. You read and critique someone’s screenplay and they read and critique yours. Probably the best way to do this is by finding a local screenwriters group. Google your city and “screenwriting group” and you will likely find one or more close by. Obviously, not all groups are the same, and they will each have different methods of offering feedback, so check them out first and make sure it’s a system that will work for you. The problem with any group is not all members will be helpful and you’re going to be stuck with the same points of view every time you seek feedback. But if the group is large enough you should be able to find two or three readers you can trust to offer quality feedback and that’s honestly all you need. In my experience three reads is the perfect number. I’ve had scripts where I had as many as 20 readers offer me feedback, but I found that to just be a waste of time. Two reads is not enough; you need that third tie breaker reader, and any number beyond that is probably just going to muddy the waters.

Another way to get free readers is to join an online screenwriting community. By far the best free screenwriting community is www.zoetrope.com. This is a website developed by Francis Ford Copola, and American Zoetrope Studios. This site is free to join, and they have a feedback system that requires you to read and critique a small number of screenplays, after which you may submit your screenplay for critique from as many other readers as you can find. The problem with Zoetrope is not all the members will offer quality feedback, and some will in fact be overly critical just to jerk your chain. Still, if you hang out there a while you’ll get to know the sincere screenwriters and can make friends with a few who will exchange scripts with you for feedback. The good thing about Zoetrope is there are a lot of screenwriters there, and you’ll have a large group to select from, which means your odds of finding several to connect with are high.

HOW TO READ A SCREENPLAY AND OFFER GOOD FEEDBACK

If you want to receive quality feedback you’ll need to give quality feedback. Some people who are only starting out as screenwriters feel unqualified to offer feedback to other more experienced screenwriters, but the truth is anyone can give good feedback if they simply follow some specific guidelines.

Obviously you’ll need to carefully read the screenplay in question and write notes as you go. I like to print out the script and write my notes on the script itself. This makes it much easier for me to flip through the script and my notes as I write the critique. Make a note of things you especially like, things you absolutely don’t like, places where you feel lost, places where the story is not clear, problems you have with characters, problems you have with pacing; simply put, what’s working for you and what’s not working for you.

When writing the notes I like to use what is sometimes called the sandwich technique, that is to start with any positives, then point out what you see as problems, and finish with more positives. Positives – Problems – Positives. Writers feel very vulnerable when they submit their work to others for critique, so have some compassion and find something nice to say. Sometimes that’s going to be real hard, but I’ve never read a screenplay that didn’t have something I liked and I’ve read hundreds. Here’s a list of things you should be commenting on in your feedback:

• Overall Impression
• Is it a marketable story?
• Is the story true to its genre - can you tell if it’s a comedy, drama, love story, etc.?
• Does the story structure work for you, does it flow well, is the story pulling you forward?
• Are the characters well developed?
• Is the description clear?
• Is the action well described?
• Is the dialogue interesting, enjoyable, funny when intended to be?
• Is the script well written, easy to read, easy to understand, easy to visualize as a movie?
• Did the ending work well for you?

Finally, you’ll want to make some very specific page note references based on your notes. Let the writer know exactly where you had problems and why, and where you were delighted and why. A good critique will be around 3000 words, more or less. Give the writer enough to work with, but not so much you’ve tried to rewrite the script yourself. The worst thing you can do is offer writing suggestions. Most writers want to do their own writing and it’s far better to offer your opinion of the work and let the writer figure out how to make it better. It’s also a good rule of thumb to keep your feedback focused on the work and not the screenwriter, by never saying things like “You should have made that scene shorter.” It’s far better to say, “This scene felt too long.” Depersonalize your feedback as much as possible and make every comment about the screenplay and not about the screenwriter.

HOW TO USE GOOD FEEDBACK

There will always be someone who doesn’t like your screenplay. Take a look at the list of all the screenplays that have won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and you will likely find several that you don’t personally like. Even good work is not liked by everyone. This is why it’s helpful to know as much as possible about the readers offering you feedback. You need to know where they are coming from so you can assess the value of their critique. It’s helpful to know how long they’ve been writing and studying screenplays, how old they are, what films they like and what films they don’t like, and any other bit of information that will help you decide how much weight to give to their opinions.

Next, when reading feedback, always filter those comments through your own stated goals for the work. Even if all your readers say the main character is too boring, that doesn’t mean the main character is too boring if your stated goal was to make the main character boring. You have to know with certainty what you’re trying to accomplish with your screenplay, or feedback will just send you writing in circles as you try to satisfy the concerns of every reader. Only make changes that point the script toward your intended destination. Readers sometimes completely miss what you are trying to achieve, and that will indicate to you more work is needed, but it will also indicate that reader’s comments may be misplaced.

You’ll need to be very careful as you incorporate changes to your script at this stage. Often a small change in act one means major changes in act three. Take the time to carefully map out your changes making sure to follow the ripple affect of those changes to the end of the script. You have to make detailed outlines and follow them closely so you won’t get lost or leave important things out. In my view, you should never work without an outline. If you find your story moving away from your outline, stop and make sure that’s the right thing to do, and rewrite the outline before continuing. Don’t get trapped in this notion that your script needs to flow out of you naturally without the aid of an outline. A screenplay is a long journey and it’s vitally important to have a road map so you know exactly where you’re going, or you will most certainly get lost. If you have an extraordinary memory it may be possible to outline in your head, and there will be times where a story flows so fast there just isn’t a need to outline, but in my experience those are rare events. Ask any professional screenwriter if they outline and they will likely tell you it is absolutely essential.

Everyone has their own writing process, but I find it helpful to allow some time between reading feedback and starting the next rewrite. I think it’s helpful to let that input age for a brief period of at least a few days, while you bounce around all the various ways you might make changes to your script. Consider all the possibilities, allow yourself the time to come up with as many solutions as possible, and give yourself room to conceive a fresh approach to the work, before you sit down and start writing again. After completing this next rewrite, put it away for a week and then try to read it as though it were written by someone else and you were asked to write notes. Actually write notes just as you would for any other screenwriter. This will give you the information you need to move forward with your project.

THE FINAL DRAFT

At this point you should be getting close to a finished product. If you followed my advice and acquired your feedback by sharing feedback with other screenwriters, you’ve gained valuable experience reading other developing screenplays and searching for what is working and what is not working. This is a fantastic way to develop your own skills and give yourself a more critical eye that will translate to better decisions as you continue to develop your craft. Seeing other screenwriter’s mistakes will help you avoid those mistakes in your own work, and allow you greater clarity when criticism is directed toward your work.

I’m going to suggest you stop work on your script at this point and spend some time reading some of the more advanced books on screenwriting. I’ve encountered a few screenwriters who are absolutely opposed to reading books that analyze the screenwriting process; their feeling seems to be that you either have the ability to tell a story cinematically or you don’t and there is no book that can be of help. Twenty five years ago there were almost no books on screenwriting and great screenplays were still being written; therefore, if you have the talent you don’t need the books. I can see some truth in that point of view. It may be better to simply read lots of great screenplays. I wouldn’t argue with that strategy, but at the same time I think it’s important to note that we have come to a point in movie making where so much has already been done, it’s difficult to come up with anything new and studios today seem to be far more interested in box office receipts than great storytelling. I think it’s a good idea to spend a little time looking at what works from both the storytelling point of view and the marketing point of view.

For storytelling no other book comes close to “Story” by Robert McKee. I did not recommend this book earlier in the process because I think it’s important to have real screenwriting experience before you read this book. If you’ve already made a personal study of several professional screenplays, and if you’ve already written a first draft and at least one rewrite, I think you’ll gain the most from reading “Story”. McKee offers a popular weekend seminar on this topic for several hundred dollars, but it really doesn’t give you much of anything that can’t be found in the book, so save yourself the time and money and just buy the book and read it carefully.

For a marketing point of view I’ll recommend “Storytelling in the New Hollywood” by Kristin Thompson. This book offers a clear history of how Hollywood has developed over the years and should give you a greater understanding of what you’ll be facing when it comes time to try and sell your screenplay.

Of course there are many other books on both topics and I’d encourage you to study as many as you’d like and get as many points of view on these two important topics as possible before starting your Final Draft, but don’t let any of this information change who you are as a screenwriter. Use this new information to check your written goals for your work and see if those goals need to be changed. Don’t believe any one author has the answer because they don’t. If there was a simple formula for creating and selling screenplays the authors of these books would be selling all the screenplays and they aren’t. Take in the information from several different sources and then use YOUR TALENT to manipulate it into something that will work for YOU.

If you’ve made significant changes to your script after your last round of feedback it may now be time to get more feedback before starting your Final Draft. I don’t like to use the same readers over again for a second round of feedback, but sometimes it can be helpful if you have a reader who is willing to read the revised version. You may at this point feel you need to make a few changes and then get some additional feedback. At this stage of the process there is no way I can guide you. You’ll have to make this decision based on what you’ve learned up to this point, and what you are seeing in the script you have written. In any event, you’ll need to make at least one more attempt to rewrite your script and make it the best it can be. I don’t think it’s possible to come up with a professional Final Draft in less than three drafts, and most screenwriters will rewrite several times more than that before they are satisfied they have a product ready for market.

HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL FEATURE FILM SCREENWRITER

I haven’t titled this section, “How to Sell Your Screenplay” because I don’t believe writing one script and then trying to sell it is a good idea. I’m not going to discourage you from doing whatever you can to sell that first script, but I will tell you to become a professional you’ll need to write many more than one screenplay. I would suggest you write at least three before you try to sell any, but I don’t expect anyone to follow that advice. You may conceivably get your first script into the right hands at the right time to make a sale but that is about as likely as you winning the lottery. It’s far more likely that you’ll get your script to someone who is impressed with your talent but not particularly interested in the script you’ve given them and their first question will be “What else do you have?” If you have nothing else ready, you’ve just lost an important opportunity. At the very least, you should have two or three new screenplays outlined and be ready to talk about those projects in detail, before you put yourself out into the marketplace. You will be in the strongest position if you have three completed screenplays and three projects in development.

In large part it is very true in Hollywood that it’s not what you know, but who you know. Still, Hollywood is always looking for exceptional talent, and if you have exceptional talent the people you need to know will be happy to become your friend. But before you start shopping for friends, make sure you have protected yourself from those who might want to take advantage of you. Always register your copyright before submitting your work in any form to anyone. You can quickly register your screenplay on the Writers Guild website http://www.wgawregistry.org/webrss/ and you should also register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/. This is going to cost you a little money but it’s an insurance policy you should not be without.

If you personally know someone working in the movie business, no matter what job they have, even if they just sweep the floor, ask that person if they know anyone who would be willing to read your screenplay. Let the guy who sweeps the floor read your screenplay, because if he likes it he may at some point be in a position to pitch it to someone else who has power to pitch it to someone else and there is a chance your script could eventually fall into the hands of a decision maker. If you don’t know anyone working in the movie business, ask all your friends and family members if they know anyone working in the movie business. If they do, see if they can get your script read. I once had a script read by a producer by sending it first to a Hollywood animal trainer, because this script had several dogs in the story. The trainer liked my script and sent it on to a producer and within a few weeks I was in development with that producer, although the project later stalled out and died. The one script of mine that was read at CAA was the result of a friend who was working for Fedex who happened to deliver a package to the home of a CAA agent. My friend started a conversation with the CAA agent and convinced him to read my screenplay. Hollywood is a RELATIONSHIP business. A personal recommendation, one person to the next, is by far the best way in the back door.

Getting your script read by agents and managers is much the same process. Most agents read scripts that are recommended by people they know and trust and the same goes for managers. Remember, there are tens of thousands of scripts bouncing around Hollywood. These people have to have some way to filter out as much of the garbage as possible, and I can tell you from personal experience reading hundreds of amateur screenplays, most are garbage. That is good news if you are one of the talented few who can write a great screenplay, but the problem then becomes how to keep your script from being lost under that enormous pile of garbage.

There are agents, managers and production companies that have a process for reading work from first- time writers. This usually involves sending a brief query letter describing the script you’ve written and then waiting for them to ask for the script. You’ll find several online services who will offer to send your query letter out to a thousand or more of these potential industry readers, but let me warn you most of these agents, managers, and productions companies are not major players in the industry, they are usually fringe players fishing for something that’s being overlooked in and effort to make a big score. Some will offer you unfair terms to purchase, or option your work, and others will flat out steal your concept and rewrite it using different writers. If you decide to use one of these services that send your query letter out to hundreds of potential readers, take the time to research every request to read your script. Only send your script to people who have some track record in the industry, or who you can somehow verify as legitimate.

You can acquire a list of agents who will accept query letters from new writers on the Writers Guild website http://www.wga.org/agency/agencylist.asp#top and this is the most reputable list of agents since it has been endorsed by the Writers Guild, but this is still a long shot in terms of actually getting your script read. You may have more luck using the “Hollywood Creative Directory” http://www.hcdonline.com/ or the “Writers Guide to Hollywood Producers” and the “Agency Guide” published by Fade In books http://fadeinonline.com/shop/index.php?cPath=26 These publications will give you the names of production companies willing to read your query letter, and this is probably your best way to get the attention of an agent or manager. If you have a production company that’s interested in your work, agents and managers will be far more inclined to be willing to read your work.

When you’re trying to make your first sale, you may be willing to work with a first time producer, like those that will contact you when you use one of those bulk query services - this is entirely up to you. My best advice would be to only deal with these unproven producers with low budget material that would probably not appeal to a major studio. Keep in mind, once you’ve placed a screenplay into development via an option, it will then be less valuable to agents who generally like to deal with fresh, un-shopped material. And always, always use an entertainment attorney before you sign ANY contract.

I recommend sending your material out to what I call the A-list production companies. These are the production companies that have a development deal with a major studio. This means a major studio has already agreed to share the expenses of making one or more movies with this company. For the most part, studios are the ones who buy screenplays. If you find a production company without a studio deal that likes your script, chances are they won’t buy your script, but they will go looking for a studio to buy your script to move the project forward. In this case, the production company will usually buy from you what is know as an “Option” to buy your script, which means they will give you a small amount for the right to shop your script for a designated period of time. During this agreed upon time period, you will not be allowed to show your script to anyone else. When the option expires, the script is yours to do with as you wish again, or the option may be renewed.

A-list production companies, those with a studio deal already in place, will have the ability to immediately purchase your screenplay. The Hollywood Creative Directory has a feature that allows you to search for production companies with a studio deal. Most of these A-list companies will not accept what is know as “Unsolicited Material” meaning they only read scripts sent to them by agents, managers, or other known sources. You’ll have to do some research, select the companies that you believe are the best fit for the screenplay you’ve written, find out what movies they’ve made in the past, and read any interviews you can find with the principal producer to learn what kinds of things they are looking to make in the future. Once you’ve selected your A-list companies, pick up the phone and call them. Ask what their submission policy is, and if you are good on the phone, ask to speak directly to someone in the development department so you can pitch your screenplay over the phone. Be prepared for lots of rejection, but some of these companies will read your query letter and some of these companies will listen to your very brief pitch over the phone. It often just depends on who you get on the phone and what the current development circumstances are inside that company on the day you happen to call.

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD QUERY LETTER

Understand these companies that accept query letters are getting a boatload every day. Often the people reading query letters are unpaid interns or other entry level employees. These people have read thousands of query letters and believe me, most query letters sound exactly same. You’ll need to write a query letter that stands out but don’t try to be cute or clever unless you are a world class comedy writer. It’s better to stand out by describing your script in such a way as it would be stupid for the person reading your query not to ask for a copy of your screenplay. This is difficult, and it all has to be accomplished in less than one page; half a page is the best format.

Here is a sample format you might use:

Submission for your consideration:

TITLE

GENRE

LOGLINE: A logline is your screenplay boiled down to one sentence. A logline is used as the calling card for your screenplay when it comes time for marketing, and it may be the one and only thing some people read regarding your script. Often, if you can’t hook them with the logline you’re just out of luck.

Strictly speaking, the logline should only be one sentence in 25 words or less. There has been a lot written about the logline and you might do a Google search for how to write a logline if you want a more detailed analysis of the process and a complete understanding of the various schools of thought on the topic. I’m going to make it very simple here.

The goal of the logline is to make the reader want more.

Logline = Who the story is about + what that character wants + what’s standing in their way.

A cop comes to L.A. to visit his estranged wife and her office building is taken over by terrorists.

That’s Die Hard and this logline hooks me and makes me want to read more about this project. That’s the goal.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: This is where you’ll sell your idea and you’ll need to make the reader hungry to read your script. You’ll need to make the reader believe he/she may lose their job if they don’t read your script, but you can’t do this by saying “this is the greatest screenplay ever” or “ this is going to be a blockbuster”. You have to make the story so intriguing it becomes a must read screenplay. I can’t tell you how to do this - you either have the talent to write compelling stories or you don’t. If the story being told in your screenplay is indeed compelling, it should not be difficult to make it so in this brief synopsis.

CONCLUSION: This line may simply say something like “Thank you for your time and consideration.” Or if you have some special reason why you are the best person to have written this screenplay, for instance, this is a story about Navy Seals and you spent twenty years as a Navy Seal, or maybe you just won first place in the Austin Film Festival screenwriting contest, then include that here. Don’t list stuff that’s meaningless like graduating from film school, no matter how prestigious you think your school is it’s still just school and only prestigious competitions, or real world experience is important here.

While we’re on the topic, let me just say a little about screenwriting competitions. Winning any of the major screenwriting competitions will get you some recognition and will likely get your work read by agents, managers, and producers. Smaller, lesser known competitions are not going to carry any weight at all. Entering your work in competitions is a strategy that you may want to employ, but it should not be your focus since your goal is not to win contest but to get paid and become a working professional screenwriter.

I’m going to refrain from actually giving you a sample query letter because that will just make you more likely to write a query like everyone else. Resist the temptation to search the Internet for sample query letters. Develop your own personal style that is brief and compelling. The people reading query letters are short on time and they will appreciate you getting right to the point. They don’t want to hear your opinion of the work - they want to be knocked out by your great concept.

The goal of the query letter is to get a production company, agent, or manager to request a copy of your script, but sometimes you’ll get a request for a “Treatment” instead of the script. In the early days of Hollywood, a treatment was always written before the screenplay. The studio would have to sign off on the treatment before they would order the script. Those treatments consisted of 40 to 50 pages or more, detailing every scene in the movie and usually included at least some dialogue to give a flavor of the various characters. Some screenwriters still write treatments before writing a screenplay, but most just outline these days. The treatment production companies are requesting is not this long form treatment; what they are looking for is a 3 to 5 page treatment that details all the major act breaks, all the major plot points and subplots, all the twists and turns from beginning to end, usually with no dialogue at all. They want a shorthand version of your screenplay. Some screenwriters absolutely refuse to send out a treatment when they have a completed screenplay, because there is no way a treatment can deliver the story with all of its subtleties, or properly demonstrate the pacing of your screenplay, or give a real feel for the characters you’ve created; nevertheless, as an unproven writer, it may be in your best interest to deliver a treatment whenever asked for one.

When writing a treatment, simply tell your story in the most compelling way possible. Try to get the reader to SEE your movie as they read. Write in a way that will evoke the emotions of your story and bring your characters to life. Make sure you cover all the bases and don’t leave anything out. Some writers think it’s a good idea to leave out their clever twist or not fully expose the ending to entice the reader to ask for the script to discover these elements, but this would be a big mistake. When asked for a treatment you are expected to deliver ALL the story details. Giving them what they ask for is your best chance at getting your script read.

HOW TO MAKE INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS

As I’ve already stated, the movie industry is a relationship business. You have to make industry connections and develop those relationships cultivating them into more connections and more relationships. Writing a great screenplay is only half the work. The other half is putting yourself in a position to sell your work and establishing yourself within the marketplace as a professional screenwriter. Writing a screenplay you’ve developed from scratch is what is know as writing a “Spec Script”, meaning you’re speculating you’ll be able to sell it to someone. The truth of the matter is very few spec scripts sell each year in Hollywood. Most screenplays are the result of a studio or production company developing an idea with one or more screenwriters; this is what is known as assignment writing. Often, a good spec script will be the calling card that will get you a screenwriting assignment, and this may be the way most outsiders get started.

If you send out query letters and a production company makes a request to read your screenplay, chances are you won’t hear from them for several weeks, after which you will receive a polite rejection letter. Sometimes you may never hear from them at all. You can call after a few weeks and ask if your script is still under consideration, but that endeavor is really pointless since you’ll never know if you’re getting straight information, and the simple truth is if you’ve written something they want you can be sure they will contact you. If lightening strikes and a production company likes your script, the next step will be for them to call you into their office for a meet and greet. They’re going to want to size you up and see if you’re someone they’d like to work with. Even if they think you’ve written the best script ever written, they may decide to pass if you seem difficult or in some way incompatible with the way they work.

Don’t think of a first meeting as a sales meeting, because the chances are it’s not going to be that at all. Look at first meetings as a chance to build new relationships. Go to meetings with the intentions of building relationships, not making a sale. If discussions about a sale or option come up, it’s always best to listen carefully, ask lots of questions, express an interest in making a deal, then let those making the offer know you’ll need to seek advice from an entertainment attorney or agent before you accept or reject any offer. Any professional will respect that response and you should leave the meeting and follow through by contacting an entertainment attorney or agent immediately while the iron is hot. But more likely than not, you’ll probably leave any first meeting with no offer of any kind being made, and if they are interested in your work, some time later you will be asked to another meeting where you will be offered a chance at a screenwriting assignment, or perhaps discussions about developing the screenplay you pitched in your first meeting.

At this point I want you to understand, building relationships is the most important aspect of any meeting, or any contact either by query letter, phone, or face-to-face meeting. Keep notes about who you meet, who you talk to on the phone, and who you correspond with via email, etc. People in Hollywood change jobs frequently and you never know when the great relationship you have with the intern in the mailroom will turn into a relationship with the newest agent at CAA.

By far the best way to build relationships is to be working in the movie industry yourself. This is where those of you who are young and single have a great advantage. If you truly want to become a professional feature film screenwriter you’re going to need to be in the L.A. area where you can take a meeting whenever the opportunity presents itself. Those of you living outside the L.A. area are greatly limiting your chances to build industry relationships. If you have a family to support I think it would be reckless to pack them up and move to L.A. to chase a screenwriting career, but if you have a spouse who can pay the bills, and who has a profound respect for your talent, and will support you financially as well as emotionally, you should consider a move. If you’re young and single you should do whatever it takes to make the move. I would suggest working two jobs to save as much money as possible before moving to L.A. because rent is expensive here and you may need to work several months as an unpaid intern to qualify for the job you want. And chances are the job you want is only going to pay minimum wage, so you need to be prepared to live a frugal lifestyle while you work your way up the food chain of the movie industry.

If I were young and single, I’d be looking to work at a respected medium size production company. I wouldn’t want to be at a company that was so small there just wasn’t much opportunity for me, and I wouldn’t want to be at a company that was so large I would go unnoticed. Frequently, the easiest way inside these companies is through an unpaid internship. More often than not, internships are only handed out to people in college, but this may only require you take one or two classes at a community college like LACC which has a pretty good film program. Remember, you’re not the only person who wants to work in the film industry - there’s going to be major competition for any position, even the unpaid ones, so be prepared for a fight. Sometimes the best job openings are only sent out to the major film schools, so you would do well once you get into town to make friends with people at the USC and UCLA film schools who have access to these, or consider taking a UCLA Extension film course that may provide you with access to the job list.

I personally would not consider getting a job as a script reader, although those jobs may be easy for you to get if you’re particularly good at writing screenplay critiques. The reader’s job is to read a screenplay and write a two page report called “Coverage” consisting of a one page synopsis of the story and a one page critique of the screenplay. You may be asked to read three or four screenplays a day which could have a negative effective on your own writing. I’ve talked with many industry readers and some say it’s been detrimental to their writing, and others say it’s actually helped. It just seems to me you can over saturate yourself with screenwriting and dilute your enthusiasm for the craft if you’re dealing with screenplays all day every day. So give careful consideration before you seek a job as a reader.

For my money, the best entry level job in Hollywood is the production assistant. Understand, new production assistants may end up washing the producer’s car and going out for coffee, but at some point you’re going to become involved in the actual business end of making a movie come to life. If you work hard, show up early and stay late, and prove yourself valuable you’ll quickly advance to jobs that involve making real industry connections. Also keep in mind, many production assistants end up being overworked and you may have little time to do any screenwriting, so this is another reason why you might want to complete three feature scripts before coming to town and attempting to build relationships by working in the industry.

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESS

To become a professional Hollywood feature film screenwriter you first need to perfect your screenwriting craft. You do that by watching lots of movies and reading lots of screenplays with a critical eye, focusing on uncovering what makes a movie and a screenplay great in your opinion, and equally important, what makes a movie or screenplay bad in your opinion.

You then study the basics of screenwriting, purchase screenwriting software, and write a first draft screenplay from beginning to end. After completing your first draft, you study books detailing what to look for in a good screenplay and how to develop great characters. You then use this information to rewrite your first draft.

At this point you seek fellow screenwriters you can trust to offer you good feedback on your work. Your goal should be to get three screenwriters to read your work and write notes for you. During this time you read the work of other screenwriters and further develop your skills by uncovering the problems with their scripts and writing detailed notes.

You should now spend some time studying more complex books on screenwriting and you may also seek to attend screenwriting seminars and search the Internet for more in depth discussions on the topic.

You then continue the rewriting process until you have a completed final draft of your screenplay. Your goal should be to complete three feature film scripts and have three others in development before you approach the marketplace with your work. All your work should be registered with the Writers Guild and the US copyright office.

Before you approach the marketplace with your work you should move to the L.A. area if at all possible.

WHEN YOU ARE READY you should contact anyone you know who works in the movie business, including those who sweep the floor, and ask if they can help you get your screenplays read. You should also ask all your friends and family members if they know anyone working in the movie business who can help you get your screenplays read.

You should use the Hollywood Creative Directory or the Writers Guide to Hollywood Producers and the Writers Guild agents list to send out query letters to those willing to consider work from new screenwriters.

You should do whatever it takes to get a job in the movie industry that will give you access to people who can help you get your work read. And you should continue to network in any other way possible, including on the Internet, at any movie industry events you can attend, and join movie industry organizations that are open to outsiders.

NEVER STOP WRITING. NEVER STOP BUILDING MOVIE INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIPS.

If you have real talent and follow this path you will absolutely become a successful Hollywood feature film screenwriter.