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Tips for Screenwriters:

How to Write a Script in
6 Basic Steps
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 28, 2022 • 5 min read

All Hollywood movie magic starts with a first

draft and evolves into a screenplay fit for the big
screen. Writing a film script for a feature film is a
long and challenging process that requires a
degree of technical know-how. With sufficient
study, practice, and familiarity with the standard
scriptwriting process, though, you can master
the craft of screenwriting.

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How to Write a Script

How to Properly Format a Screenplay

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How to Write a Script

Writing a feature spec script—or even the script

for a short film—can seem overwhelming, but it’s
manageable if you break it down into methodical
steps. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating
your movie script:

1. Write your logline. A logline is a one-

sentence summary or description of a
movie. Loglines distill the essential elements
of your screenplay—the main character,
setup, central conflict, plot points, antagonist
—into a concise teaser. The goal is to write
an enticing synopsis to hook the reader into
reading the entire script.

2. Create an outline. Film story structure

typically follows a three-act structure, with a
setup, inciting incident, and redemption.
Begin creating a roadmap by writing down
the main events of your script in sequence.
You can build a storyboard in a traditional
outline format over one or two pages, or, if
you have the space, you can write
sentences on index cards and post them on
a wall to make it easier to view and
manipulate the parts. Each event should be
a single, short sentence. Your sole dramatic
question is the force that will shape your
story's main plotline or throughline. You can
also create a screenwritingbeat sheet with
broad strokes and descriptions of your
screenplay's action and character growth.

3. Build a treatment. Consider your

treatment a beefed-up prose version of your
outline, which reads more like a short story.
If you’re shopping your script around, a
treatment is what you might use to gauge
interest; it can also be an excellent exercise
to see if the story works the way you’re
hoping it does in your head. Your artistic
vision comes into play with the treatment, so
build out your world and your characters as
lush as you’d like. Learn more about writing
treatments in this how-to guide.

4. Write your screenplay. Writing

screenplays takes hard work. Remember all
the rules you’ve heard before: Show, don’t
tell. Write in the present tense. Adhere to
proper formatting. Try not to do too much
editing while you write. Let your movie ideas
flow, and then structure them once you’ve
got everything on the page.

5. Format your screenplay. Script

templates are easy to find online, and plenty
of screenwriting software will automatically
arrange your writing into a screenplay
format. Final Draft is the tool of choice for
most professional screenwriters. The
industry standard for a script format is 12-pt
Courier font, with a 1-inch right margin, 1.5-
inch left margin, and 1-inch margins at the
top and bottom.

6. Edit your screenplay. It may take

several rounds of rewriting and revisions
before you reach the final draft. Author and
screenwriter Neil Gaiman describes the
writing process as an explosion. “You
explode onto the page—the story is an
explosion,” says Neil. “And you get to the
end of it, and once it's done, you get to walk
around it and…look at the shrapnel and the
damage it did. You get to see who died and
see how it worked. That's the point where
you get to think about it. You get to think
about what works and what doesn't work.”

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How to Properly Format a Screenplay

Most screenwriters use script-writing software to

format their scripts automatically, but it’s
essential to understand how to format your work.
After learning to write in screenplay format,
scriptwriting will become second nature. The
fundamentals of formatting include:

1. Action lines: Align descriptions of action

with the left margin of the page.

2. Camera angles: Writers do not typically

include camera angles in scripts unless a
camera angle is essential to how a scene
unfolds, perhaps enabling the delivery of a
joke or big reveal.

3. Character names: When introducing a

character for the first time, write their name
in all caps, followed by a short description in
parenthesis.

4. Dialogue descriptions: Center any

descriptions of the character’s line delivery
in a parenthetical directly above the
dialogue.

5. Dialogue: Write the name of the

character speaking in capital letters,
centered on the page, and indented 3.7
inches from the left side of the page. Center
the character’s lines on the page below their
name. Indent each dialogue block 2.5 inches
from the left side of the page.

6. Font: An industry-standard screenplay

features size 12 Courier font.

7. Locations: EXT for "exterior" or INT for

"interior" should always precede scene
headings.

8. Off-screen or off-camera: Signify

characters who can be heard speaking off-
screen with O.S. (off-screen) in film scripts.
(For characters speaking off-screen in TV
shows, write O.C. for off-camera in TV
scripts).

9. Page margins: You should have a 1½-

inch margin on the left of the page, a 1-inch
margin on the right of the page, and 1 inch
of white space on the top and bottom of the
page.

10. Page numbers: Apart from the first

page, number every script page. Typically,
one page equals one minute of screen time.

11. Scene headings: Often called

sluglines, scene headings belong in all caps,
aligned left on the page. A scene heading
appears at the top of each new scene. It
includes the following information: “EXT.” or
“INT.” (abbreviations for “exterior” and
“interior”), the location, and the time of day.
For example: “INT. ABANDONED
WAREHOUSE - NIGHT”

12. Title page: The script should have a

title page with no content apart from the title
and the screenwriter’s name, contact
information, and representation (if
applicable).

13. Transitions: Write instructions like

"FADE OUT," "FADE IN," or "SMASH CUT
TO" in all caps, aligned with the right margin.

14. Voiceover: Signify voiceover by writing

"V.O." next to the name of the character who
is speaking.

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