1. A clear setting
When and where does the story take place?
INT. CAFETERIA, SOUTH ESSEX COLLEGE - AFTERNOON
2. Describe that setting
Describe it in a couple of short, sharp sentences.
Bustling, busy, full of fashionably dressed teenagers. Chrome and glass surfaces, gossip fills the air as students talk and eat
3. Introducing characters
Throw in a couple of vivid details to make the reader picture the character in their head.
Kayla Frost, 19 - stick-thin, looks line she might snap at any moment. Her Levi's might be faded, but her eyes burn fiercely from under a gothic mop of hair.
4. Naming your characters
Make sure each character's name is different, and looks different when written down. Give each character a surname, too. If they've only got a first name, this comes across as an incomplete identity.
5. Conflict, conflict, conflict
Not only should your screenplay be based on a wider conflict of some kind but each character should also have internal conflicts that they are dealing with.
Doubts, insecurities, unfinished business. None of us glide though life without stuff boiling away inside, and your characters shouldn't either.
6. She's filled with secrets
Giving your characters secrets, whether big or small, enables you to pick away layers and keep your viewer interested along the way.
7. Keep it consistent
Make sure that you keep your characters consistent in both background and behaviour.
If Dave is an ex-con with a violent past, make sure he acts that way when confronted by trouble.
8. Dialogue stuff : Sentences
People don't speak in complete sentences, nor do people all speak alike.
You need to let your characters dictate where the punctuation goes. Gaps, pauses, unfinished sentences.
Try recording people speaking and listening to it back.
9. Stay away from The Nose
The phrase 'on the nose' refers to dialogue that states too clearly what a character is thinking without filtering it through their personality and agenda.
If Dave tells his closest friend "I want to be a policeman", chances are this won't play as well as having the application forms fall out of his gym bag
10. Keep it unpredictable
When Princess Leia tells Han Solo "I love you" in the Empire Strikes Back, the scene is most memorable for his response;
"I know"
You want dialogue to flow, but you need to rethink predictable exchanges. Throw away the first response you think of. Throw away the second one too. Maybe use the third.
11. Keep it varied
Does a character even need to respond verbally to a statement?
If someone says "Goodbye" to them, do they need to speak in return? Couldn't they just wink instead?
Once again, predictability is your enemy
12. First line
The first line your character speaks should sum up an aspect of their personality.
If you're introducing a party animal like Stifler from the American Pie series, his first line wouldn't be something mundane about being late for an appointment.
Your characters only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure it packs a punch
13. Language = life
Make sure your characters' dialogue reflects their life experiences.
A 70 year-old English professor won't speak the same way as a 25 year-old football player.
A character born in 1960 will speak differently to one born in 1990.
Make sure their dialogue reflects this!
14. Double Hyphen
Has one character stepped on another's line? Cutting them off before they finish speaking?
The traditional way to show this in a script is with a double hyphen.
15. Fresh Slang
Why not make up your own slang? Using the latest words, phrases and cultural references will date your script extremely quickly.
Writers like Joss Whedon make up their own phrases and drop those into the script ("What's the sitch?" Meaning "What's going on?" Originated in Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
An audience won't know the difference between a slang phrase you've made up and one they've never heard before, but they'll certainly notice a dated turn of phrase. You dig, man?
16. Mix Dialogue and Action
In life, stuff happens all at once. People don't stop talking because a bus is about to explode; the bus explodes whilst they're in mid-sentence.
Don't be afraid to have action as dialogue crash into each other, because things in real life don't happen in a neat order.
17. Don't tell me what I've seen!!
If Debbie's head just exploded, the viewer doesn't need James to tell them.
"My god, Debbie's head just exploded!"
They had already noticed. Eliminate dialogue that narrates the action.
18. No place for Closed Questions
If you've got a question which leads to a 'yes' or 'no' response in your dialogue, get rid of it.
They stop the dialogue dead, and the audience can anticipate the response.
Replace them with open questions, to let your characters personality shine through.
19. Misunderstandings
Characters should misunderstand and misinterpret each other just as people do in real life.
It gives you great opportunities for conflict and comedy, plus it makes the dialogue read as more authentic.
20. Style Stuff : Present Tense
Always keep your action descriptions in the present tense
Gabby chases Fred into the ice-cream shop
Not
Gaby has chased Fred into the ice-cream shop
You need to have the action unfold in the present as it unfolds on the page.
21. What not to include
The action descriptions in your screenplay should not include:
- Thoughts
- Hopes
- Back Story
- Anything that can't be shown visually
If you want to include these things, you need to show them through events or dialogue.
22. Keep it clear
"The Father of the bride, who runs a pizza restaurant" is ambiguous.
Who sells the pizzas?
The father or the bride?
Compare it to "The bride, who's father runs a pizza restaurant".
Keep it clear. The less ambiguity, the better.
23. OH MY GOD
Using ALL CAPITALS in your action descriptions signifies something important. It's a way of making the important elements pop when someone reads the script.
The whole building EXPLODES
Don't get carried away and end up with half of your action in all caps.
24. Keep it punchy
Break long sentences and keep your descriptions as vivid as you can.
Jennie trying to keep her breathing under control as she walks across a tightrope? Sometimes fewer words do the trick.
Inhale. Exhale. Jennie steps out.
25. Write it first, then edit
This script won't be as punchy, exiting and engaging as possible on the first draft.
Your mission on the first draft is just to get the thing written.
Second, third, fourth fifth drafts are the opportunity to make your screenplay everything it can be.
