We go to movies or stage plays to be entertained. Sets and stages are created as backdrops for the story, and actors are chosen to portray the characters, delivering lines the scriptwriter has written and engaging in actions called for in the script and/or by the director. Story-appropriate sound effects complete the desired ambiance to complete the story. Viewers then can fully engage the senses of sight and sound, as well as emotions, to bring the story to life exactly as the writer(s) and director intended. Of course, taking a script to screen or set is more complicated than the overly simple description above, and one or several variables may come into play along the way that complicate the process even further. Still, the end result will hopefully accomplish its purpose, whether to entertain, educate, terrify, or otherwise affect the viewer. While stories often entertain, there much of the similarity between story writers and screenwriters and playwrights ends. Because nove...

Do you know what two important verbs typically go into the making of a screenplay? Doing and Saying . Characters do things, and characters say things. Like a book, like any good story, movies have plots and subplots that tie into the same question: what does the protagonist want and what keeps him/her from obtaining that want? In the quest to see how this story ends, characters do and say things. Why am I repeating this and why is it important to know—especially in regards to seeing your book visually for the screen? Check out one of the many free scripts at Simply Scripts . One thing that you will not notice in a screenplay is heavy exposition, pages upon pages of description, of characters’ thoughts and feelings, of minute detailing that brings a story to life in a book but would weigh a screenplay down in the worst kind of way. In a screenplay, writers are quick to give just enough definition, description, or setting of the stage, but primarily, they are concerned wit...

Last year, I took to writing screenplays…again. As a teen, I wrote them and then moved to writing short stories and novels. Something last year called me back to scripts, and it’s been a wonderful learning journey so far. In the last year, I’ve braved the contest world and submitted one feature-length script and one short script to competitions. Didn’t win, but both placed, giving me enough gumption to continue the journey. A friend of mine mentioned the idea of writing more short scripts because they could be used as calling cards – if produced – for larger works. Short scripts can be as short as one page or as large as 60 pages though most tend to fall within 3 to 25 pages. It’s important to note that in the script world one formatted page runs about one minute of airtime. The advice my friend gave me happened to coincide with The Muse Online Writers Conference , put together by the awesome everywoman Lea Schizas. If you don’t know about the conference, you should. One class I took d...