How to Start Screenwriting With No Experience

Start by reading produced screenplays, learning standard screenplay format, and writing a few pages every week. You do not need a film degree or industry contacts. Screenwriting software handles the formatting. Finish a short script first, then get feedback from other writers and rewrite.

• Read at least five produced scripts in the genre you want to write.
• Write a short of five to ten pages before you attempt a feature.
• Feedback from other writers, followed by a rewrite, is where most of the learning happens.

What you actually need to begin

You need a story you care about, a screenwriting program, and a regular time to write. That is the whole list. Producers, agents and competition readers judge the pages in front of them. Nobody asks where you studied or who you know before they read your script.

Many working screenwriters started in other jobs. Teachers, nurses, lawyers, bartenders and retirees all take screenwriting classes, and some of them go on to sell scripts. What they share is that they kept writing after the first draft.

Read screenplays before you write one

Reading produced scripts is the fastest way to learn what a screenplay is. You will see how little description professionals use, how scenes begin as late as possible and end early, and how characters often say one thing while meaning another.

Start with five scripts in the genre you want to write, and include at least one film you love. Many studios publish scripts during awards season, and libraries such as the Script Lab, Simply Scripts and the BBC Writersroom have free collections.

As you read, notice three things. How long is each scene? How many lines of action come before the first line of dialogue? Where does the main character make a choice that changes the story? Write your answers in the margins. That habit will carry over to your own pages.

Watch films with the script open

Pick one scene you know well and read it while you watch it. You will see what the writer put on the page and what the director, actors and editor added. This shows you how much a screenplay leaves out, and why it can afford to.

Notice where lines were cut or scenes were moved. Scripts change in production, and seeing those changes helps you understand that a screenplay is a plan for a film, not the film itself.

Learn the basics of format

A screenplay has a small set of elements: scene headings, action lines, character names, dialogue, and the occasional parenthetical or transition. It is written in 12-point Courier so that one page runs about one minute of screen time.

You only need to learn these rules once. After that, software applies them for you and you can focus on story. Our guide to what a screenplay looks like walks through every element with an example page.

Choose your software

Final Draft is the industry standard and the format most producers expect to receive. WriterDuet, Fade In and Highland are cheaper or free to start, and all of them export files that open in Final Draft. Pick one, write a page in it today, and learn its keyboard shortcuts as you go.

Avoid writing a screenplay in a normal word processor. You will spend more time fixing margins than writing.

Write a short first

A short screenplay of five to ten pages teaches structure, character and economy in a form you can finish in a few weeks. Finishing matters more than anything else at this stage. A completed short teaches you more than half of a feature.

Keep it simple. Two or three characters, one or two locations, and one clear situation that changes by the end. A short that could be shot on a weekend with friends is also a short you might actually get made, which is the best possible way to learn.

Find an idea and test it in one sentence

Before you write scenes, write a logline: one sentence that names your main character, what they want, and what stands in their way. If you cannot write that sentence, the story is not ready yet.

Outline before you draft

An outline does not need to be formal. A list of eight to twelve moments, from the opening image to the final scene, is enough for a short. For each one, write what happens and what changes for your character.

Index cards work well because you can move them around. If a card does not change anything, cut it. If two cards in a row have the same emotional tone, consider swapping one.

Write the first draft without stopping

Set a weekly target you can keep, such as three pages. Write forward and resist rewriting yesterday's pages until the draft is finished. First drafts are supposed to be rough. Their job is to exist so that you have something to improve.

If you get stuck, skip ahead to a scene you are excited about and come back later. Momentum is worth more than order.

Get feedback, then rewrite

Share your draft with two or three people who read screenplays, ideally other writers. Ask specific questions: Where did you get bored? Who did you care about? What confused you? Specific questions get useful answers.

You do not have to take every note. Look for patterns. If two readers stumble at the same scene, something there needs work, even if their suggested fixes differ. Then rewrite. Most of the craft of screenwriting is learned in the second and third drafts.

A class or workshop gives you this every week, along with deadlines and a group of writers at the same stage. That structure is the main reason beginners finish scripts in a class when they have not managed it alone.

What to do after your first script

Hear it out loud. A table read with actors, even friends reading on a video call, shows you which lines work and which ones nobody would say. Then start the next script. Most writers need several scripts before one is ready to send out, and each one goes faster than the last.

Questions

Do I need a film degree to be a screenwriter?

No. Producers and agents judge the script, not the qualifications. Classes and workshops help with craft and feedback, but a degree is not required.

What software should a beginner use?

Any dedicated screenwriting program works. WriterDuet, Fade In and Highland have free or low-cost options, and Final Draft is the industry standard. Choose one and learn it well.

How long should my first screenplay be?

Start with a short of five to ten pages. Once you have finished one or two shorts, a feature of 90 to 110 pages is a realistic next step.

Can a teenager start writing screenplays?

Yes. Everything in this guide applies at any age. Reading scripts, writing shorts and getting feedback is how every screenwriter learns, and starting early gives you more time to practise.

Related course: Screenwriting 101