Learn how to write a screenplay through detailed analysis of film.
I’m a fan of Malcolm Gladwell. In his book Outliers, he equates success, not necessarily to talent, but more to practice. 10,000 hours of practice to be exact. That’s 250 40-hour work weeks. If you polled today’s top working screenwriters on the amount of hours they devoted to the craft before success came knocking, I bet you’d find similar numbers.
My two cents: nothing beats completing detailed, written analysis of film to truly understand the craft of screenwriting. You can read all the books, attend all the conferences and seminars, but until you get down to the nitty gritty, you’re gonna stumble and fall. Break down your favorite films and find out what makes them tick. Learn from the best — those films that energize your emotions — and then dig into the story you want to tell. I can’t stress this enough. Learn from the films you love.
Visit the Screenplay Analysis section for breakdowns on some of the films that I’ve grown to respect. If you have any questions, shoot me an email — rr at screenplayhowto dot com.
