For a aspiring female horror screenwriter to help groom and show the way

The best advice I can give you is have fun writing and don't worry about anything else, and try not to get too hung up on the technical aspects. The easy way to write a screenplay is to just type character names and what you want them to say. Here's an example.

Jack: It's sunny today.

Jill: I know. That's why I brought my umbrella.

Jack: Because you think it's going to rain?

Jill: It's a sun umbrella, genius.

Jack: What's the big difference?

Jill: The weather.

See? Just do it like that, and you won't have to worry about anything complicated and can concentrate on what you want your characters to say.

YOu should research the correct format. there's nothing more frustrating than having to go back and reformat everything. You can google 'proper screenplay format' or something and find a wealth of info.

It's like writing a book. A tiny bit of research goes a long way.

Very helpful site: wwwblakesnyder.com . A fantastic agent I know recommends this method!!

Go to an online script site that has scripts like this one:

http://www.script-o-rama.com/

and read through some of the scripts so you can get a feel for the formating and style.

Also try to keep in mind that most scripts are written in 3 act structure: they have a beginning, a middle and an end that are roughly the same length each.

The bad scripts that I've read either have problems with the 3 act structure, have bad dialog or weak/poorly developed characters, or just aren't interesting.

The good scripts that I've read do those things well, plus they manage to stay one step ahead of the audience - they give you a sense that something's going to happen next, but either you can't guess what it is or you guess wrong.

Another tip - don't make it up as you go along. Just sitting down and starting to type a 90-120 page screenplay without considering structure or flow can lead to a rambling wreck (trust me, I know, I wrote a rambling wreck once).

It's best to start out by creating a skeletal structure. A great thing to do would be to write out the title of each scene, and in prose, write out what happens in that scene. Don't worry about dialogue at this point (unless you want to write some to help you visualize, which is fine).

Also, I think visualizing the ending before you actually start writing is very important. The end is the bullseye to which the rest of the story is being guided. It is the target. I think it is very valuable to understand, as much as possible, how the story will end, before you even begin to consider the details of how it begins.

What Jessica said about three act structure is right on.

Characters are a tricky art and as a writer they are my weakest point. What you want to strive for are believable characters that have an arc; meaning, they change over the course of the story (at least, the main protagonist should change). A good character never ends in a story just as they began; the story is filled with life altering events which molds them into something entirely new by the conclusion. Gone with the Wind, for example.

Read a lot. Books, screenplays, short stories. Short stories are a great example of how to get a character from point A to point B in a limited space, while developing a character and giving them a believable arc. The person doesn't have to be the better for it at the end. The script can chronicle his downfall, like the movie "Falling Down."

Watch good movies and bad movies. Pay attention to the dialogue. Watch the movie as a critic, not to be entertained. Figure out what makes it work, and what doesn't work. What ruined it, and what would have fixed it.

Have a plot and stick to it.

Well I do a lot of movie watching and I'm a big critic and look at what work and what didn't and haha I'm going to rant later about what I liked an REALLY didn't like about Jennifer's body in a couple of hours so I do have that going for me. But I should do that with scripts and books. I do read scripts but not as much as I should. Well I read theater scripts and enjoy those because I have a larger background in that area than film scripts. I read a couple not as much as theater though.

I do a lot of script ideas I write those down skeletal ideas though so I guess that works like basic ideas, plot devices, characters, so that is good. Nothing really concrete but that is it.

Sometimes I go with it and write down a scene in my head in no order and do that but I don't have any dialogue and write it down but that's it.

and remember - even if you think something is going to suck, write it out anyway. It may NOT suck, and if it still does after it is on paper/DOC, you can still throw it away in the end.

I've found that when I write something that sucks, it's because what I wrote before it was off and it sent me in a sucky direction. So I go back to where I got off track, and start over from there.

Ok should you be willing to let people tell you to change a character or let someone work with you to help "sell" your stuff? I'm like a big control freak and sticking to my vision.

I will no way change my character to make her white or thin and I want to play my character or should I be willing to let someone play her? I guess that be entirely up to me I suppose. But those of you who are writers what do you advise Andrew, Heidi, Jessica, asharceneaux (what's your name by the way sorry heh if I never got it as long as I been her I have adhd) but I would appreciate your advice none the less.

I'm not oppose to having a partner with me that shares my vision, but I won't have some hollywood mother fucker coming in to tell me to change to characters to appeal to a "certain main audience". I don't know I just don't want anyone tell me just because I'm a woman or Latina I'm not familiar with whatever. I doubt Hollywood will take an interest. Maybe I'm looking too much into things. I need to find Lloyd Kaufman "make your own damn movie book" I need that now I was reading it, but I didn't finish it. I guess a good way to have control is to be part producer of your stuff or a director.

No, do what you want with the script until you sell it, then chances are good the producers will want you to do a re-write so it better fits their budget and what they have to work with, such as changing the plan crash in the desert (very expensive) to a car crash (a lot cheaper), or to change your 30 something lead actress to a college student since they lucked out and got one of the generic secondary high school characters from a prime time TV show to appear in the film.

You can always start your own production company and finance your own films. Get your friends to act in it, and do your own distribution. Then you can definitely do whatever the heck you want with it.

Unfortunately, insisting on your way all the way and expecting to make money with it probably won't happen. It's the cold hard truth of the industry. Granted, I can only speak from the writing aspect of it, but once you sell, sign a contract and give the rights to someone else, they can change anything. You can fight it, but that means breaching your contract and labeling yourself as hard to work with.

yeah, it is a tough call.

Since this is your first project, I suggest writing a short, and shooting it yourself for a low budget with friends.

This way, you can make your vision true to what you want (within a low budget), have fun, and also learn if you want to be the writer, the actress, the director, ... you may find that you love holding the camera better than being the actress, you you may hate the experience so much that you just want to write scripts and never actually film anything ever again as a director. It will be a learning experience. It will also force you to translate what you have written onto the screen, making your talent as a writer grow, because you'll be forced to think about how what you write is going to be shot. It is hard to think that way since when you write, imagination can make anything happen. What works well in a film can be completely different, though.

I say shoot this first one yoruself, but do a short, since that will be easier.