Screenplay Primers

A helpful series on the screenwriting craft from the good people at the Writers Guild Foundation.

What exactly is the Writers Guild Foundation? In their own words:

Founded in 1966, the Writers Guild Foundation preserves and promotes the history and craft of writing for the screen. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we’re proud of all we do for the community, including our Veterans Writing Project, our Volunteer and Mentorship Programs, our Archive, and the Shavelson-Webb Library.

In terms of their educational outreach, they remind me of why I launched Go Into The Story nearly fifteen years ago: Provide free solid resources for writers. Previously, I featured this: TV Spec Script Formatting Primers. It’s a terrific series which all of you writers interested in television should read.

Now I recently discovered this WGF resource: Screenplay Primers.

Using loads of examples from both current and classic screenplays, these posts cover a range of topics all aimed at providing you bits of wisdom as you write your screenplay, especially if you don’t have access to the library.

Here are links to each of the fifteen subjects in the series:

1.) PAGE ONE

2.) CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

3.) IGNITION POINTS (aka Inciting Incidents)

4.) PROSE (aka Description)

5.) CHARACTER VOICE

6.) DIALOGUE

7.) SUBTEXT

8.) VOICE-OVER

9.) WRITTEN TEXT ON SCREEN

10.) MUSIC AND MUSICAL NUMBERS

11.) BACKSTORY AND EXPOSITION

12.) SUSPENSE

13.) STAKES

14.) MONTAGE AND SERIES OF SHOTS

15.) THE END (aka Last Pages)

These articles offer a solid foundation in how to write a screenplay.

Twitter: @WritersGuildF

For more Writers Guild Foundation resources, go here.