TweetBy Sean Ryan I’ve mentioned previously how important the first ten pages are in your screenplay/script. This is not just important in getting the script read, it is also important if it gets made.  The opening ten minutes of a film are vital.  You need to hook your audience and open your story. Get the [...]

TweetBy Sean Ryan Act 3: The resolution Act 3 is all about the climax and resolution of your story. The act in which the hero gets the girl and saves the day and villain gets what they deserve. This is where you must give your audience their pay off. To tie up all loose ends [...]

TweetBy Sean Ryan Act 2: The Confrontation Act 2 can make or break your story. Keep it tight. Keep it interesting and keep it moving.  Remember Act 2 takes up 2 quarters of your film, don’t waste it. A lot of scripts and films fail in the 2nd act by being slow and boring. Act [...]

TweetBy Sean Ryan Act 1: The set-up I find the first act the easiest to write. You have an idea and set-up, all you have to do is write, write and write some more. One very important point to remember about the first act, is that this is the first part your reader will look [...]

TweetBy Sean Ryan One tip for studying the three act structure and plot points is to watch a classic or your favourite film and keep an eye on the timeline/DVD counter.  As the story unfolds check out the film’s exposition, inciting incident, plot points, climax and three act structure. You will be surprised how subtle [...]

TweetThe Three Acts (An Introduction: structure and plot points) The three act structure is often dismissed and just looked upon as being a beginning, middle and end of a story. But there is more to it than that. If you are writing feature length scripts, you should stick to the three act structure discussed here. [...]

TweetYour First Draft and The next steps Someone once made a good point in relation to the first draft of screenplays when they said “the first draft is just filling pages”. No matter how you work on screenplays, either freestyle – writing the story from start to finish with little planning and finding out where [...]

TweetWriting visually/writing for the screen: (Formatting and structure): One of the many keys in the craft of screen writing is to remember that you are writing for the screen, that you are writing visually. Some tips for keeping this fact in your head: Note:  Some of these tips are concerned with formatting your script, but [...]