Is Screenwriting Difficult?

Screenwriting is easy to start and difficult to do well. The format is simple to learn, but writing a script that holds a reader for 100 pages takes structure, economy and many rewrites. Breaking into the industry is harder still, because competition for paid work is intense.

• The format is easy to learn.
• Structure and economy take practice.
• Rewrites and feedback make it easier.

What makes it hard?

A screenplay has to tell a full story in about 100 pages using only what an audience can see and hear. You cannot explain a character's thoughts or describe their history at length. Everything has to come through action and dialogue, and every scene has to earn its place.

Structure is the other challenge. Keeping tension building through the middle of a script, where most first drafts lose energy, takes practice. So does writing dialogue that sounds natural while carrying the story forward.

What makes it easier?

The format is simple to learn, and software handles it for you. Screenplays are short compared with novels, so a first draft can be finished in weeks or months. And there are thousands of produced scripts available to read, so you can see exactly how professionals solve the problems you are facing.

Feedback makes a big difference. Most problems in a draft are easier to see from the outside. A class or writers' group points them out early, before you spend months going in the wrong direction.

Is it harder than writing a novel?

It is different. A novel can go inside a character's head and take 300 pages to tell its story. A screenplay has to externalize everything and stay lean. Some novelists find screenwriting frustrating because so much is left off the page. Others find it freeing because it forces them to focus on story.

What is hard about the business?

Writing a good script is one challenge. Getting it read, sold and made is another. Competition is strong, and many good scripts never get produced. That is why most writers build a body of work over several years and treat each script as both a story and a sample of their ability.

Making your own short, entering respected competitions and building relationships with other filmmakers are all ways new writers get their work seen.

How do you get through the hard parts?

Set a regular writing schedule you can keep. Finish drafts before rewriting. Get specific notes and rewrite with them. Read scripts in your genre. Most importantly, start with a short script so that you experience the full cycle of writing, notes and rewriting before you take on a feature.

Questions

How long does it take to learn screenwriting?

You can learn format in days. Writing a strong script usually takes several drafts and months of work.

What is the hardest part?

Many writers say the second act, where the story has to keep escalating.

Related course: Screenwriting 101