SCREENWRITING PREP: 5 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU WRITE A SINGLE WORD

It’s both exciting and terrifying to start a new screenplay. The excitement takes hold because you’ve had this idea playing in your head for a while, and you’re finally committed to getting that idea onto the page. The terror can reside in the fact that you now have to bring those visuals and thoughts into the realm of screenwriting structure, and make your story a reality.

But if you do some front-end work before you jump into the script, your writing process may be more successful than just “vomiting” out a quick first draft. Here are five screenwriting prep exercises you should do before you write a single word.

FORMER BIG BREAK TOP 3 FINALIST PIVOTS FROM SCREENPLAY TO GRAPHIC NOVEL

When filmmaker Eric D. Howell’s screenplay The Revolution of Cassandra placed in the top three of the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest in 2018, he was excited to be recognized by the people behind the software he relied on every day. But what he didn’t know was that recognition would send him on a journey that would take his story beyond the screen and into the dazzling illustrated world of graphic novels. 

His story about belief, activism, and the power of sisterhood is now being published as a three-part comic book series. We interviewed Eric to learn how his script made the journey to being a graphic novel, and how this may be a viable path for other screenwriters and their work.

WRITE ON: ABRAHAM'S BOYS WRITER/DIRECTOR NATASHA KERMANI

In this episode, we chat with Natasha Kermani about her new movie Abraham’s Boys that extends the world of Dracula into a psychological family drama with its own chills and thrills.

Natasha talks about adapting the Joe Hill short story of the same name, shares tips for structuring a short story into a feature film, and ways a writer can bring a classic monster story like Dracula into a modern setting.  

THE WAY OF THE GUNN

Did you know that James Gunn was paid just $150 for his first screenwriting job? We look at the long inspiring journey of Gunn’s career all the way to the Man of Steel.

10 SCREENWRITING TIPS FROM DAN GILROY

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