Valuable Screenplay Info

When you're just starting out on your screenplay writing adventure – maybe you have completed the first, very rough draft of your screenplay or the movie is just an idea in your head – it can be especially difficult to know where to turn. There are a lot of books, services, Web sites, blogs, and purported experts out there…not to mention your hairdresser's nephew who moved out to LA ten years ago to get into the movie business.

Where do you turn? Whom do you trust? I suggest starting with the following books and Web sites to learn more about movie screenplays. I am only listing information that my writers and I have found personally helpful.

My Most Important Free Screenplay Advice

Takeaway points if you get nothing else out of this page:

1. Register your script before submitting it anywhere . WGA or U.S. copyright registration – registering at one place is enough – costs very little and offers great (although not total) protection against having your hard work stolen. Do not make any screenplay submission – to a potential agent, film festival, film contest, producer, or even your script doctor – without registering your screenplay first.

2. Follow standard screenplay formatting. Another no-no of screenplay submission to the outside world is not following industry standard formatting. Make sure your movie screenplay looks professional, follows standard structure, and doesn't have any typos. If you come off amateurish in your screenplay submission to someone in the industry, you can bet you won't get a second chance.
 

Books to Improve your Screenplay Writing

I've included links to Amazon here for your convenience so you can read previews and reviews and order. Obviously feel free to use whomever you'd like to order these screenplay writing books - I have no affiliation with and don't make any money off Amazon.

 

Making a Good Script Great, by Linda Seger. Making a Good Script Great really discusses structure and can help you take a next step with your movie screenplay.

 

 

 

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by Syd Field. Considered a Bible of the profssion, Screenplay offers step-by-step guidelines for crafting movie screenplays from start to finish.

 

 

 

The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats , by Judith H. Haag and Hillis R. Coles. You absolutely cannot make any screenplay submissions to agents or production houses (selling scripts “on spec”) if your script is not in the correct format. Make sure you understand these guidelines before making any screenplay submissions.

 

 

The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler. If I could recommend only one book to a novice or intermediate screenwriter, The Writer's Journey would be it.

 

Movie Screenplay and Film Industry Links

Visit whichever Web sites you'd like, but be sure to register your movie screenplay with the WGA (East or West; you don't need to do both) to protect your hard work.

Writer's Guild of America (WGA) - The main branch of the WGA, you can be considered for membership once you've sold your first movie screenplay. Register before any Screenplay Submission.	Writer's Guild of America, East - If you live east of the Mississippi , utilize the movie screenplay resources of WGA, East. Register before any Screenplay Submission.	U.S. Copyright Office - A third option to register your movie screenplay: through the United States government. Register before any Screenplay Submission.
Final Draft - Billed as “The Screenwriter's Choice”, this software is industry standard and helps your formatting. If you're serious about writing and have completed more than one movie screenplay, you should own this software.	Daily Variety - Variety is one of the two main magazines for the entertainment industry. Learn who's selling their screenplays and for how much!	The Hollywood Reporter - The Hollywood Reporter is the other major trade publication of the film industry. Another great source for current movie screenplay news.
Script Sales - This site offers a great deal of information, including query letter examples oand a glossary of industry terms. They've merged with DoneDealPro.com and made some movie screenplay information subscription-based, but still worth a look.	Wordplay - Owned and written by veteran Hollywood writers, Wordplay offers bushels of useful advice to screenplay writers of all levels. One of my top screenwriters swears by this site.	Defamer - Read the latest film industry gossip or find links to video games that allow you to perform gruesome acts of ultra-violence to K-Fed.

Any screenplay resources I'm missing that are helpful to you? Let me know.

I hope this movie screenplay information is useful to you. Click here for more personalized attention and specific help with your screenplay.