Screenwriting by Stany Fernando

SCREENWRITING
A Beginners Guide
Stany Fernando
16th May 2018 V.1.0
facebook@avatarstany 1
INTRODUCTION 4
CHAPTER 1: STARTING OUT 5
THINGS YOU NEED TO DO 5
CHAPTER 2: CONCEPT AND RESEARCH 6
COMING UP WITH A CONCEPT 6

YOUR HEAD SPEAKS A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE ONLY YOU CAN UNDERSTAND 6
WRITE DOWN YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH POINTS FORM 6
READ AGAIN AND RE-ORDER 6
FINALISING AND FIXING ON YOUR CONCEPT 7
TRY TO PREVENT DISCUSSING YOUR CONCEPT WITH YOUR FRIENDS OR FAMILY 7
RESEARCH 7
WHY DO YOU NEED TO RESEARCH? 7
COMPARE YOUR RESEARCH NOTES WITH A PERSON YOU TRUST 7
USE BINDERS AND FILES FOR YOUR RESEARCH MATERIALS 7
KEEP IT PHYSICAL 7
FINALISING AND THE TIME SPAN 7
CHAPTER 3: THE STORY 8
INTENTION & OBSTACLE 8

INTRODUCING INTENTION & OBSTACLE 8
DON’T OVER EXPLAIN THINGS 8
FINDING THE CONFLICT 8
YOU CAN START YOUR STORY WITHOUT IDEAS 9
PUSH YOUR STORY FORWARD NOT BACKWARDS 9
RULES ARE WHAT MAKES ART BEAUTIFUL 9
LEARN THE RULES 9
READ SCREENPLAYS 9
THE THREE-ACT STRUCTURE 9
THE SETUP (ACT 1) 10
THE CONFRONTATION (ACT 2) 10
THE RESOLUTION (ACT 3) 10
CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPING CHARACTERS 11
DON’T WRITE BIOGRAPHIES 11

PREVENT CREATING TRAITS 12
YOUR CHARACTER DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HUMAN 12
THINK TACTICAL 12
DON’T WRITE CHARACTERS LIKE YOURSELF 12
© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING
CHAPTER 5: THE AUDIENCE 12
MAKE THEM PARTICIPATE 12

TREAT THEM SMART 13
A CHARACTER THAT KNOWS LITTLE LESS THAN THE AUDIENCE. 13
AVOID CONFUSION 13
DON’T COMMIT THE WORST CRIME 13
MOST OUT OF THEM ALL 13
CHAPTER 6: CRAFTING YOUR OWN SCREENPLAY 13
FINDING THE RIGHT TOOL 13

FINAL DRAFT 14
CELTX 14
KIT SCENARIST 14
ADOBE STORY 14
BE CONFIDENT 14
WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING 14
FIRST AND LAST 15 PAGES ARE IMPORTANT 15
FEW ELEMENTS OF A SCREENPLAY 15
SCENE TITLE 15
CHARACTER NAME 15
TRANSITION 15
STRUCTURE OF A SCREENPLAY 15
CHAPTER 7: DEVELOPING SCENES 16
MAINTAIN MOTION 16
REWARD PATIENCE 16
LAYOUT THE THEME 17
CHAPTER 8: WRITING DIALOGUES 17
IMPROVISE 17
KEEP IT NEUTRAL 17
CHAPTER 9: FIRST DRAFT 21
GET TO THE END 21

PAGE COUNT AND TIME SPAN 21
KILL YOUR DARLINGS 21
CHAPTER 10: CLOSING 21

FAILURE IS GUIDANCE 21
ALWAYS EXPERIMENT 22
BEWARE ABOUT WHO YOU TRUST 22
ALWAYS KEEP A BACKUP 22
RE-READ AND RE-WRITES ARE MANDATORY 22
KEEP WRITING 22
WRITER’S BLOCK 22
TAKE A BREAK 22
ARISTOTLE’S POETICS CHEAT SHEET 23
RULES OF DRAMA 23
STRUCTURE 23
CHARACTER 24

INTRODUCTION
My Name is Stany Fernando; I’m a
Photographer and a Journalist. Apart from that
for the past couple of years I’ve developed a
keen interest in the field of Filmmaking.
Since I couldn’t afford to spend $90,000 for
Film School but that didn’t stop me from
learning it. Using internet and various sources
I’ve been learning to write, produce and
direct. But I’m so far in time to achieve my
goal.
All these years I’ve gained somewhat a drop of
knowledge on Filmmaking. After taking the
Aaron Sorkin’s (The Social Network)
Masterclass; a new door was opened up to.
I thought what if I could put together all the notes and the knowledge together and share it
fellow enthusiasts and inspire them. Thus I created this book. It’s not much; there so many
rights and wrongs here; but hey everyone’s learning forever right?
When it comes to writing people tend to have their own unique style; so please don’t consider
this as a rule book; I’ve combined how I use writing with the Fundamentals of screenwriting.
I hope this book inspires you and make you do something far beyond great. Feel free to share
it with others and contact me to share you tips and thoughts about it. I hope we can learn
something through this.
It's part of my ritual to watch a new film every day, no matter what. It's
important to me.
Hideo Kojima (Creator, Metal Gear Saga)

“For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.”
Alfred Hitchcock
Chapter 1: Starting Out

Starting out as a writer isn’t hard as you think; but complicated for sure, you can guess why…
more like what’s the reason? Personally from my experience I think we limit ourselves.
Limiting ourselves can be a bad obstacle as same as building a solid impenetrable rock wall
surrounding ourselves; my point being you cannot get out or neither others cannot get you out
unless you surround yourself with the things that are relevant to the field you’re passionate
about.
Personally I hate reading books and watching hour long tutorials and conference about
filmmaking where professionals blabber about how they started out. Doesn’t matter who you
are; where you’re from, unless if you have the potential and the fire to make the change you
can break though the industry.
Everybody has their own style when it comes to filmmaking; some manage to replicate one
another and find it comfortable and at the same time some invent their own unique style. I’d
recommend creating your unique style will open up new doors; but it’s not come easy as you
may think.
Everything you’re about to read here isn’t perfect or correct to the core; these are just basic
fundamentals and my thoughts on the theory of writing I’ve come across through the journey.
Please don’t try to go by this book; but taking the advice from this, is highly recommended.
Things you need to do

Watch many movies and tele dramas or anything that falls in the Film category much as
possible
This is the most vital thing you have to consider if you want to be a Screenwriter. You
have to watch films, tele and other categories of films across the globe; this will
somehow at some point will expand your mind and open up doors to new concept and
things
Collect Screenplays and Read Them
This part may be very hard for you to do. As myself I think reading through a
screenplay of a movie you found interesting is an agony; but believe me; if you passed
around 10 to 15 pages you’ll loose track of time
Do not consider yourself an Intellectual
As I said in the introduction; it’s ok to have the fire inside you; but it can also be a
pitfall whenever someone rejects your work. (Rejection is vital part of the success)

Start writing right now

Don’t think of others or what they will think; as long as you take that fear of
judgements out you’ll break through.
Be your own critique
This is kind of advanced yet complicated. But it won’t stay complicated once you do
all the things mentioned above. Being a critique of your own work can be really
challenging; to do that, the vital thing is to be Realistic; to gain realism toward the
field of film making you need to compare various works from different artists to learn
their ways; and in a way it’ll expand your mind as well.
Chapter 2: Concept and Research

You have an idea for a story; just before you start writing or typing it you need to understand
the fact that people as in audience have been advanced throughout all the knowledge and
new concepts that all filmmakers provided through the history of cinema.
Because of those advancements; people really adore facts rather than fantasy; but even
fantasy requires logic from time to time. To Create Logic we need to set our facts straight; to
do that Research plays the most ambiguous part throughout the process.
Coming Up With a Concept

We can’t exactly predict the birth of a Concept; it can be either from a movie you’ve
watched; a tele you’ve seen or it can be a story you’ve read or heard. Just because you find
the story interesting doesn’t mean the audience are going to like it.
Also a Concept can be created through a single scene, dialogue or a moment you’ve planned
for your film.
Always keep a little notebook with a pen wherever you travel; because you never
know when a concept’s going to hit you.
Your Head Speaks a different language only you can understand

Things that pop up in your head can be messy; if you think you can sort it through your brain
you must be Sherlock Holmes; heck he isn’t even real.
Write down your thoughts through points form

Segregating your thoughts through bullet forms helps you re-order everything popped into
your head. Don’t even hesitate to leave even one word in your pad.
WRITING DOWN I MEANT REALLY DO IT PHYSICALLY RATHER THAN TYPING IT VIA A DIGITAL
DEVICE UNLESS YOU LACK A PEN OR PAPER.
Read again and Re-Order

Your points doesn’t have to be in order; the end can be beginning; the beginning can be
middle and the middle can be either end or the beginning; but this is where you will re-order
all your thoughts in order to create a concept aka an outline for your screenplay.

Finalising and Fixing on your concept

Personally I hate this part; because whenever I start working on the Script I’ll be forced to
alter the core concept sometimes it would flip all the effort I’d put in. This happens usually
to any kind of artists. To prevent that you need to polish and make up your mind and learn to
fix on things in general. It’s impossible but try harder.
Try to prevent discussing your concept with your Friends or Family

I’ve learned it through hard way; usually when I discuss my concept before writing it down, it
would change the vision I had for my project and that my friend is a huge obstacle.
Research
Okay, now you’ve passed the Dark Souls of Research and Development. Sorry if you’re not a
gamer. You have everything jotted down; now using the latest technology of World Wide Web
try to make sense out of the stuffs you’ve marked down; or even Books will do the trick too.
Comparing your notes are the most vital part; this is where you’re going to determine how
you’re going to lead your development in the upcoming days.
Why do you need to Research?

Well to be precise; you need to make things more sensible and more logical to do that you
need research about the notes you’ve gathered.
Assignment: RESEARCH ABOUT A REAL LIFE PERSON.
Compare your research notes with a person you trust

The reason I’ve included the word trust is that; anyone can steal your concept and create
something over it and claim it their own. So in my own experience I’d recommend you to find
a most trustworthy individual for you to share your thoughts and stuffs about your progress.
But beware this person’s critiques might flip your progress.
Ask him/ her to provide guidance than critiquing
Use Binders and Files for your Research Materials

Rather than storing it digitally, unless you use any cloud services; which I wouldn’t
recommend from personal experience. Use Folders and Binders using all the data you’ve
gathered. This can be healthy and easy for you to keep track on things.
Sometimes while gathering required materials you’ll collect tons of

irrelevant things ahead. But remember; NOTHING IS IRRELEVANT. Even the
tiniest bit might help expand your development further.
Keep it Physical
Keep everything physical; write notes; print out the data you’ve gathered and segregate them
down into sections.
Finalising and the Time Span

During a life of a Writer or a Screenwriter or an Artist in General; the time period for
Research could take months or years depending on the weight of the project. But my point
being is that, sometimes you’ll feel like giving up, you’ll feel hopeless but it’s just mind
kicking off things due to the elevated stress levels, take a break; don’t schedule yourself;

unless you work for money under an organisation. Whatever you do, don’t give and loose
hope.
Chapter 3: The Story

Most people tend to jump to this part without any sort of Research and incomplete concept
and think to themselves “This is Hard”. Once you have your CONCEPT and THE DATA you’ve
gathered solid as a concrete you can move on to creating a story for your project.
Intention & Obstacle

Let me tell you a simple story that happened to me few days ago. My mum
asked me to buy a bag of chips and grab a few drinks off the nearest
supermarket for the relatives who visited us after a decade. So I hoped into
my car to drive for the Supermarket but while on the way there was a
Parade. I couldn’t honk at them or ask them to move a bunch of crowd so I
could drive ahead. If I take the other route it’ll burn my fuel and my time
as well. With limited options available I decided to take that specific route
and bought the Items required home.
By the way you might’ve realised that story’s fake. I don’t own a car on my own and no
relatives ever visit me or my family. But my point being is that Intention and Obstacle is what
makes a Story a Story. Without it, it’s just a Documentary showing what exactly as it is.
If you take any Movie, Tele or a Play you see the main protagonist overcoming certain
Obstacle and later he ends up finding a solution on how to overcoming that certain obstacle
and makes i as his Intention.
Introducing Intention & Obstacle

Many professional writers recommend that we introduce the Intention and Obstacle at early
on. Then grab the audience by showing a solution how the protagonist overcomes the
obstacle. But that’s just their own opinions. Try experimenting.
Don’t Over Explain Things

Oh this can be a major disaster. Also it can lead to irrelevant plot holes where you’ll end up
fixing those plot holes further more.
"Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" is much longer than the first three
books because JK Rowling unintentionally created a giant plot hole and had
to spend the rest of the book trying to fix it.
Also plot holes can be created by anything not only while you’re over explaining things
Finding the Conflict

Conflict plays a vital part in a story whether if it’s a Kids targeted or baby shows or children
rhymes. Finding the conflict interesting for yourself doesn’t do much; rather than saying why
you found the conflict interesting to the audience, try to tweak it up. But remember don’t
over explain it.

You can start your story without Ideas

As a writer I really adore this part of the Process. Because as for myself; I become very
curious to see how the story goes this helps us to expand our creativity even further.
Push your Story Forward Not Backwards

Each lines or Paragraph or even a sentence should move the story forward; whether it
contains Flashbacks or past events that’s relevant to the core plot, must move forward to
make the story go further. The best element to keep the story moving is CURIOSITY. Keep
asking audience the questions that you already have the answer for; because they don’t have
the answer for it; in that way the you’ll build a bridge between the audience through
curiosity.
Rules are what makes art beautiful

Learn the rules
All the things you’ve read so far won’t matter until you start watching Movies, Tele,
Documentaries, Plays, etc.
Read Screenplays
Head out to the Internet; download Screenplay; either you can just read it or watch the
movie scene by scene with the related screenplay; see if it follows exactly as the text says in
the visual.
Be a Diagnostician
Don’t change the fundamental part if the story is based on real life; the
truth is vital if it’s real, that’s what makes it logical.
The Three-Act Structure
“People have forgotten how to tell a story; stories don’t have a middle or
an end anymore. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning”
– Steven Spielberg
Since the Ancient Times of Arts and Culture the Three-Act Structure played a vital part. It’s
known as the valuable weapon in the arsenal of any Writers in General.
To be precise the Three-Act structure labelled as
• ACT 1: Setup (Beginning)

• ACT 2: Confrontation (Middle)
• ACT 3: Resolution (End)
The Setup (ACT 1)

As a Writer; this where you colour on your blank canvas. Introduction of the Major/ Main
Characters of the Story. The world or the Universe they’re in. Also the writer has the freedom
to create any setting or character even reality as they wish. It’s the first pages of the script
that defines reason and logic of the story. This early on, anything is possible.
The Confrontation (ACT 2)

The confrontation is the hardest one to press on as the Writer. Since it’s by far the longest
one between Act 1 and 2, writers face challenges creating further plot elements by
establishing the story and the characters yet so many blank pages away to keep the story
forward. At this point the writer must’ve created a solid frame for the narrative.
Example: If the Protagonist shoots the Antagonist with a Gun during the
Confrontation. Rather than explaining it in the Final Act now is your Chance
to maybe add a Scene where he picks up a Gun
The Resolution (ACT 3)

This is where the as the writer you should establish the Conclusion and the answer to the
questions you threw at the audience. Mainly in movies the Protagonist will be face to face
with the Antagonist finalising in a showdown. But this proved to be the shortest one compared
to ACT 1 and 2.
THE THREE-ACT STRUCTURE

Rising Actions
Crisis
Introduction
SETUP CONFRONTATION RESOLUTION
Demographic of the 3-ACT Structure.

“The Greeks had no act structure in their plays. The plays had one act. The
Romans had five acts. It’s arbitrary. It appeared in plays because of the
need to have intermissions. People can’t sit for three hours in a theatre
listening to an auditory experience without taking a break or going to the
restroom. It appears in television shows because they want to have
commercial breaks so they can sell something. None of which has anything
to do with story.”
– James Bonnet
Detailed Essay on the THREE-ACT Structure
Chapter 4: Developing Characters
This rule is relative to each class. Even a woman may be good, and also a
slave; though the woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave
quite worthless. The second thing to aim at is propriety . . . . Thirdly,
character must be true to life . . . . The fourth point is consistency: for
though the subject of the imitation, who suggested the type, be
inconsistent, still he must be consistently inconsistent.
(Aristotle’s Poetics XV)
READ ARISTOTLE’S POETICS HERE;

KNOWN AS THE BIBLE OF SCREENWRITERS/ WRITERS. IT IS THE LAW TO WRITING AND CREATING
EVERYTHING A STORY STANDS FOR .
When it comes to a story as we all know obviously the Character is the replacement that
stands in for the audience. As audience we tend to sometimes sympathise or experience what
the character goes through. Usually the character is born through intention and obstacle.
Don’t Write Biographies

Whenever you’re trying to create a Character; you don’t have to create long biographies/
back stories unless that character you wanted to input exists in real life. A character can be
created without any sort of context throughout your story later somehow at some point he or
she will deal with intentions and obstacles where the context will be revealed.

Prevent Creating Traits

Creating traits for your fictional character isn’t forbidden; but later while you’re working on,
it’ll make things complicated for you. So prevent creating traits early on the story; going with
the flow as you’re writing is the best option for upcoming writers in the industry.
Your Character doesn’t have to be Human

Stop trying to make your character human; whether if you’re writing about a sweetest person
or a sick psychopath; leave critiquing to the audience. Write Characters not people.
Think Tactical
Now you have an Intention and an Obstacle; which means you’re pretty much close to
creating a Character and a Universe. Now put yourself in the mind of that Character; be that
character you’re about to write and think what would you do to overcome the Obstacle
you’ve just created.
Don’t write Characters like yourself

It’s all about perspective. Try to surround yourself with others; see how they’re being
themselves; what makes them so attentive toward others. Keep asking the WHYs much as
possible. Try to think like a different person; act out a day like a different person.
The Character will be good if the purpose is good
(Poetics XV)
When you’re writing about a real person; you can add certain traits as the story flows to
make the plot move forward and tweak the character’s intention. But beware how you do it;
if the character turns out to be fake; it won’t be a biography anymore.
Chapter 5: The Audience

Now you’ve learned How to come up with a Concept, Researching, Creating a Story using
Intention and Obstacle, Character Creation; now you’re almost ready to cook your own
recipe; but before we begin; are you sure that people will love your dish?
Make them Participate

Audience wants to Participate; I don’t know any more way to put this simple than this. But
it’s very hard and complicated than just 4 words in a sentence. If your intention and obstacle
built through curiosity and other elements entirely they’re just going to find it boring; just
plain and simple as that. They don’t want to sit back and observe; they want to put pieces
together; so make them.

Treat them smart

Audience always likes to put things together. Treat them like they’re smart. If you make your
movies too complicated like Christopher Nolan; your audience base will be low in number; it
won’t get you anywhere only they’ll recognise you as some intellectual.
A character that knows little less than the audience.

It gives an opportunity to explain the audience as the confused character learns.
Avoid Confusion
Make sure they follow the story. Don’t even put them in the tiniest bit of confusion unless
you’re about to hit them with something unexpected.
Don’t commit the worst crime

Telling the Audience something they already know or something they figured out is the worst
crime a writer could commit.
Most out of them all

Don’t loose them. Try to keep them occupied; with unexpected turns and treating them
smart.
There are people who will get the story once they sit down and start
observing
Chapter 6: Crafting Your Own Screenplay

As I was starting out I always wanted to skip out to this specific part; but with patience and
observation also obviously after lot of learning and grinding through internet and books I’ve
come to the conclusion that “World isn’t that small.”
Now that you have read all previous 5 Chapter (atleast I hope so) now you’re ready to write
your own screenplay.
There aren’t any special type of rules. Screenplay isn’t rocket science; it’s an instruction
manual handover by IKEA on how to setup your furniture; in this case you hand out your
visionary instruction to the director to bring it to big screen.
Finding the Right Tool

We aren’t living in the 1950s anymore; annoying typewriters and expensive cigars and cutting
off from friends and family so you could type in your screenplay all serious for months and
years.
Most people tend to use MacWrite for writing screenplays but that was before all these
special screenwriting softwares. Heck even I thought I could get away with Microsoft Word.
It doesn’t matter on what you write or how you write; as long as they could understand the
content as you intended it to be it’s more than enough.
Here are some Screenwriting Tools you can find through Internet:
FINAL DRAFT
I don’t know where to begin; it’s being used by so many recognized filmmakers like, Aaron
Sorkin (The Social Network), James Cameron (Terminator) and many more. The minimal and
effective interface with unique tools designed for both Professionals and Amateurs is proved
to be why it’s so damn expensive.
Final Draft is available for both MAC and PC with the Price Tag of $249.99
CELTX
Widely used by many organisations and independent filmmakers and writers until they
discontinued their App. Unlike its competitors, this tool does everything as final draft under
an affordable price. Celtx can be accessed online with any modern browser. Heck I even
started off with this one.
You Can Download the Discontinued App Here
KIT SCENARIST
This Russian bombshell of a gem is an Open-Source tool available for free from their official
website. Powerful and effective as Final Draft; easy and minimal interface, will make you feel
like Tony Stark working on his Suit. The Cool Statistical Feature where you can keep track of
estimated time for each scenes you write which I don’t recommend you to follow and as well
as the Character Dialogue count and peak time, so many features etc. all for free.
ADOBE STORY
I’ve never had quite experience neither never had the privilege to use it before. But
according to the official site; it says, Adobe Story CC lets you write screenplays and scripts
quickly, use scripts to generate schedules and production reports, and collaborate online.
Part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Story CC helps production run smoothly from
planning to post-production.
Be Confident
I myself remember being scared even before I type in my first sentence; what if this doesn’t
turned out to be good? What if this ends up being cringe? What if people laugh at me for this?
So many WHAT IFs occurred within me soon I remember having a panic attack in my bed. But
later on I came into the conclusion that whatever I’m about to write will stay with myself;
and I won’t get it out until I make it better.
Having the confidence is utmost important to a writer. Doesn’t matter how many pages and
time you use to write a single scene, don’t hesitate to do it.
Write Down Everything

You have your story and Characters ready; you have completed 75% of the process by so far if
you have them. Don’t try to perfect it; your screenplay doesn’t have to be the First and Last
one. Write whatever comes into your head; each scenes, each dialogues add everything into it
and call it Sketch Draft.

First and Last 15 Pages are Important

For a healthy screenplay, first 15 pages are vital to grab the attention of the audience and
indulge them into our story; then the last 15 pages are same as well because rewarding
patience is mandatory; because this is where you answer the audience to the questions you
threw at them.
Few Elements of a Screenplay

SCENE TITLE
• EXT: Exterior
• INT: Interior
• I/E: Interior and Exterior
CHARACTER NAME
• V.O: Voice Over
• O.S: Off Screen
• O.C: Off Camera
• CONT’D: Continued
• Subtitle
TRANSITION
• Fade In
• Fade Out
• Fade To
• Cut To
• Jump Cut To
• Dissolve To
• Back To
• Match Cut To
• Fade to Black
Structure of a Screenplay
Sample Screenplay Structure

EXAMPLE:
A Screenshot of Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs Screenplay
Download Free Screenplays Here
Chapter 7: Developing Scenes

Scenes are basically segments that segregates your Movie, Tele or anything related to Film. As
I said there aren’t any special rules to creating a Screenplay. But it’s our job and responsible
for us to guide the director to help bring our vision to life.
Each scenes must move the plot forward as I said earlier. Filling it with unexpected turns and
actions or even consequences are good key elements to creating interesting scenes, but avoid
doing it constantly.
Maintain Motion
Flow each scenes with Dialogues, Actions, Camera angles in each scenes. One scene should
move on to one another; and keep the plot moving forward.
Reward Patience
Audience will remain patient if each scenes were filled with twists and questions; for that we
must reward them for holding out for so long patiently with a twist and the answer; well it
doesn’t have to be a twist but it can be anything that’s relevant to the plot.

Layout the Theme

You can layout the entire theme of your project just as you have it inside your head before
start writing. Use Index Cards.
Best way to introduce a character to the audience is to show what the

character wants. (The Intention)
Create the illusion for intelligence
Chapter 8: Writing Dialogues

Rather than Actions; Dialogues makes the plot move easier compared to a silent movie. But
when it comes to creating dialogues it’s like walking on a thread, you never know when the
pitfall of your project is going to be.
Improvise
Creating Dialogues can be very difficult it’s not because it’s hard but we always don’t fix on a
single dialogue that easily. To prevent that from happening; the best way is to speak out loud
the dialogues you wrote like the characters you’ve come up with; see if they are speakable.
This can be even better if you’re good with Accents.
A good screenplay doesn’t end with Good Scenes or Good Dialogues, even
though after you’re done with the screenplay make sure it’s more
understandable and the actors are able to say the dialogues.
Keep it neutral
Take a Look at a Single Scene from Netflix’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
[2017] Written and Directed by Noam Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox)
INT. LIVING ROOM
Harold and Danny watch the Mets game.
DANNY
You can see he was safe.
Harold switches off the TV in frustration.
DANNY HAROLD
Dad! I can see this. The Mets
don't want it.
The phone rings. Harold picks up the old cordless. Danny

turns the game back on.
HAROLD
Hello?...Hello?...Who?...L.J.!...
(brightening)
Hey, hey!
DANNY
They’re pinch hitting for deGrom.
HAROLD
(to Danny)
Shhh...
(to L.J. on the phone)
What's that?
He pantomimes for Danny to turn the game down. Danny does.

Harold angrily motions to do it further.
HAROLD
He was a talented kid when he took
my class, sure...Yeah, I'd think
he'd be an able assistant...OK...
Oh, you know, doing the
work...Bard has come to me about a
show... What's the news
there?...Oh, I didn't know, how
are you doing?
Danny texts Eliza: Yo.
CLOSE ON THE PHONE: It goes through blue and Delivered.
The dots come up as if something is being written back.
Danny brightens.
HAROLD
Maureen says they're fete-ing you
at MOMA...You and Tim
Burton!...Right, Matisse and
Picasso too, sure...
Danny waits.
CLOSE ON THE PHONE: The dots disappear. Nothing.
Danny, discouraged, puts his phone away.
HAROLD
Let's get a lunch one of these

days, you still in the West
Village?... Brooklyn?...Or to your
opening?... I'm coming if you
invite me...Next Friday...Yes, I
think I can come. Although I've
boycotted MOMA since they've
started doing these theme park
shows...OK, I'll see you there.
He hangs up. Instantly back to the game.
HAROLD
That was a strike! Turn it up.
DANNY
Was that L.J.? I always liked
L.J..
HAROLD
He says he had a prostate surgery,
I didn't know about.
DANNY
And I really like his work.
HAROLD
The early, experimental work is
terrific. You know, he and I
showed together at Paula Cooper
back in the late 60’s.
DANNY
Uh huh. I love the 80's stuff.
Those bears.
HAROLD
You liked the bears? Hmm. I
guess the bears. You know, back
then, I was the headliner.
DANNY
I'd like to come if that's all
right. It would be a real treat
for me.

HAROLD
I think it's filled up. L.J. is
getting me in special.
DANNY
OK.
HAROLD
I'll see about getting you a
ticket. You might have to pay.
DANNY
OK, whatever.
This is a Great Example to learn how Dialogues works to move a single Scene toward the Plot.
Read the screenplay here
Imitating the Human Nature is impossible due to variety of options on how we behave. But
Noam Baumbach somehow managed to pull it off; my point being here is if the dialogues are
speakable the Actors will do their best to deliver.
Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that
comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual
terms.
Alfred Hitchcock

Chapter 9: First Draft

First Draft is just a drop of salt against a vast ocean to be formed. A Good writer doesn’t care
how many drafts he has to come up with to make the screenplay or his project better. If you
think you’re done with First Draft, you’re not a good writer.
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
Get to the End

Doesn’t matter how your Stories are going to end; it can be either good or bad; nothing is
great, ever never. So if you’re writing a screenplay; don’t go looking for perfection. Write
what’s coming into your head and rush to the End.
Page Count and Time Span

It doesn’t matter how many pages you use for a Feature or a 30 minute tele episodic project.
All that matters is the Content and a good plot. Even the time doesn’t matter; sometimes for
me personally it took me 7 months to finish a feature screenplay; and I haven’t got to the end
yet. Try to make something good and out of the box and enjoyable at the same time.
Kill Your Darlings

Let’s say after a brief time of struggle; you’ve completed your work; now it all came up good,
the dialogues, scenes and everything. After showing it to a trusted person for critiquing, he
says it’s too lengthy; if that’s the case find little things it can be either a Dialogue, An entire
scene or an action that is so good to be removed; if it’s not relevant for the plot; remove it.
Because sometimes little Sacrifices are worth it.
Chapter 10: Closing

I’m so glad to share all my knowledge toward you all; well atleast a portion of it; heck, I’m
still learning. All these things you’ve just read isn’t possible to make it happen just by gaining
all the knowledge as I said; you need passion and the interest and the fire to dive deep into
the world of writers
Failure is Guidance
Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s a part of success.
I’m not going to sugar-coat this, you are going to fail but only for a brief moment; it will push
you to the edge when people critique. But take them as lessons; they are the best tutorials
you’ll ever find anywhere. Don’t loose hope; don’t give up.
Always Experiment
Some people might disagree with me in this part; but what I’ve learned is that if you keep
pushing the edge and try new things and angles there’s a new chance you can invent
something new.
Beware about who you trust

I’ve learned this the hardest way possible, I’ve lost count of all the times I was betrayed by
the people I’ve trusted from Friends and Family; so I’m not saying shouldn’t trust anyone; it’s
just be careful whenever you’re discussing your ideas with them.
Always keep a Backup

If you start working on your script make sure you make a backup in Online which is highly
recommended. So make a copy to an external storage device.
Re-read and Re-Writes are mandatory

Doesn’t matter how much time you took for writing but use more time to re-read and re-write
your screenplay as much as possible over and over again.
Keep Writing
Everything you’re about to write isn’t going to be great; I believe your idea is very good; but
it doesn’t mean you can rely on it. Keep making screenplays as much as possible. Practice
makes perfect.
Writer’s Block
Some of you might’ve heard it, some of you have didn’t; for those who doesn’t know, it’s a
primary condition amongst writers where they loose the ability to produce new works;
whenever you’re in this kind of situation don’t stress out; go with the flow; do not push
yourself, personally for me it would take around months for me to continue my screenplay.
Take a Break
During the process you will get depressed; you’ll feel like there’s no hope and no use in doing
this. You’ll feel like distancing from everyone else; including your friends and family. Talk to
someone; take a break. Don’t take your anger and frustrations out on someone; remember
you’ll need people when it comes to reality. Remember always keep trying.
I believe this might’ve inspired you in some way but hold on to that fire but
don’t act on it yet; just give it time and take it slow.
Thank you for reading this; if you find any errors or want to contribute
please Email me at:
stanyfernando@photographer.net
I’d like to Thank Masterclass.com and the Community including the great
teacher Aaron Sorkin himself.

ARISTOTLE’S POETICS CHEAT SHEET

RULES OF DRAMA
Drama is Imitation: Drama is not “real life.” In other words, the emotions an audience feels
when they’re watching a good dramatic work aren’t exactly what they’d feel encountering
the same scenarios in real life. Learning how to imitate life in a way that keeps your audience
interested and emotionally involved is the secret to good dramatic storytelling. As Aaron says,
“People don’t speak in dialogue... people’s lives don’t play out in a series of scenes that form
a narrative.”
Drama Is not History: Real life is full of confusion, chaos, and contradiction — good
storytelling isn’t. Don’t ever let a dedication to “the facts” get in the way of crafting a tight,
understandable story. Relate this to how Aaron writes with the “more important truth” when
he’s incorporating research.
Drama Is Action: Stories are more than just descriptions of interesting people or interesting
places — they have to be descriptions of events. One way of testing if your story is
appropriately “active” is by asking yourself: Do my characters undergo a major change (e.g.
from happy to sad, broken to stable, etc) over the course of the story?
Stories Have Harmony and Rhythm: Dialogue shouldn’t sound like real conversation and scenes
shouldn’t feel like interactions in real life. Almost always they’ll be snappier, more
condensed, and more focused. They might also be funnier or more emotionally charged.
Choosing certain phrases over others because of the way they sound, or their length, or their
emotional resonance are important choices that give a script its harmony and rhythm and
often separate the good from the great.
Genre: In a tragedy, your main character should undergo a major change of fortune — almost
always from good to bad, happy to sad. In comedy, even though your characters have defects,
their defects should never wind up being painful or destructive. Tragic characters have to
suffer. Comic characters make it through unscathed.
STRUCTURE
Good Stories Have a Beginning, Middle and End: Aristotle was the first to formulate this now
well-worn formula. He put it this way: “A whole is that which has a beginning, a middle, and
an end.” In other words, your audience should be able to watch your story without being
distracted with wondering what happened before the story started, what more happened
after it ended, or how the characters got from the beginning to the end.
A Plot Should Be Serious, Complete, and of a Certain Magnitude: The plot shouldn’t be made
up of ridiculous and unlikely episodes. It shouldn’t wander or leave actions unfinished, and it
shouldn’t be too long and lofty, or too small and unimportant.
Unify Your Plot: A unified plot consists of one central action and nothing more. Aristotle’s
test of this was to ask of every element of the story (every scene, line of dialogue): If this was
gone, would the story still function? If the answer’s always ‘no’ — you’ve written a unified
plot. Relate this back to Aaron’s advice on rewriting and “killing your darlings” — chip away
at anything that isn’t related to the main conflict.

One Thing Should Lead to Another: Each element of a plot — each scene, each line — should
come out of what preceded it and lead to what follows. Aristotle thinks the worst mistake you
can make in plotting is to have episodes “succeed one another without probable or necessary
sequence.” Remember, each scene has a purpose — it should move the story forward.
Cause and Effect, Not Coincidence: Good stories are driven by the actions of their characters,
not by coincidences or forces outside of the main action. Aristotle cautioned against the use
of Deus Ex Machina — where a hero is saved by a stroke of good luck that has no relation to
his/her own activities over the course of the drama (many films and TV shows fall prey to this
sin; keep your eyes peeled for them).
Not too big or too Small: A good story should be easy enough for an audience to digest in one
sitting — large enough that they have to pay attention but not so large that they lose track of
crucial details before the story’s done. Remember to not lose or confuse the audience, as
Aaron details in “The Audience” chapter.
Complex Plots Are Best: The two elements of complex plots are reversals and recognitions.
Reversals occur when a character’s intentions result in unexpected and opposite outcomes.
For recognition, the character is destroyed not by what happens but by the knowledge of
what really happened. Recognition scenes usually come as surprises to the hero and the
audience. And remember, as Aaron says, the best type of reversal happens when the audience
doesn’t see it coming.
Probable Impossibilities Are Better Than Improbable Possibilities (or as Aaron calls it, a
‘possible improbability’): If you’re wondering whether a scene or an element of a story is too
ridiculous for your audience, don’t ask, “Could it happen?” Instead ask, “Would it happen?”
Use Your Imagination to Make Things Credible: An audience is very perceptive when they’re
imaginatively engaged in a story — a good writer should be too, to make sure you don’t leave
any glaring errors for the audience to pick up on.
Stay Away From Narration: Remembering that drama is imitation, stay away from “telling”
your audience too much. Remember to show the audience what a character wants, rather
than telling them.
CHARACTER
Anti-Hero: A character who does not necessarily have virtuous or villainous qualities but is
able to behave heroically if the opportunity arises. As Aaron says, when writing anti-heroes,
treat them as heroes and relate to them as much as you can to write a believable character.
Character Is Action: An audience gets the deepest sense of your characters by watching what
they do. A vivid main character must undertake an important action — this will be, of course,
the main action of your plot.
Good Dialogue Comes From the Characters’ Choices: Audiences come to understand
characters in the context of their choices — when they’re moving toward or away from things.
When engaging characters talk, they exhibit preferences — strong ones and clear ones — they
don’t just relate facts. These preferences are grounded in the tactics they use to overcome
obstacles.
Create Characters Which Make an Audience Feel: The audience should be able to feel pity for
a tragic hero — that means you have to create a situation which the audience can understand
in the context of their own lives.
Good Characters Are Complicated: In good drama, a hero undergoes a major change of
fortune. If you want this change of fortune to make an audience feel deep emotions, certain
types of heros work better than others. The most emotionally engaging movement, according
to Aristotle, is when a good man with certain shortcomings meets tremendous suffering. A
flawed hero is someone we can all relate to, and his downfall will fill us with pity and fear.
Credible, Consistent Characters: Credible characters follow, more or less, universal rules of
probability. Again, if you’re wondering if you’ve written a credible character, don’t ask,
“Could that person exist?” Instead ask, “Would the audience be likely to understand a person
like that?”
Full Text of Aristotle’s Poetics, provided by The Internet Classics Archive.

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SCREENWRITING

CHAPTER 1: STARTING OUT 5

THINGS YOU NEED TO DO 5

CHAPTER 2: CONCEPT AND RESEARCH 6

COMING UP WITH A CONCEPT 6

CHAPTER 3: THE STORY 8

INTENTION & OBSTACLE 8

CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPING CHARACTERS 11

DON’T WRITE BIOGRAPHIES 11

CHAPTER 5: THE AUDIENCE 12

MAKE THEM PARTICIPATE 12

CHAPTER 6: CRAFTING YOUR OWN SCREENPLAY 13

FINDING THE RIGHT TOOL 13

CHAPTER 7: DEVELOPING SCENES 16

CHAPTER 8: WRITING DIALOGUES 17

CHAPTER 9: FIRST DRAFT 21

GET TO THE END 21

CHAPTER 10: CLOSING 21

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

ARISTOTLE’S POETICS CHEAT SHEET 23

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

Hideo Kojima (Creator, Metal Gear Saga)

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

Chapter 1: Starting Out

Things you need to do

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

Start writing right now

Chapter 2: Concept and Research

Coming Up With a Concept

Your Head Speaks a different language only you can understand

Write down your thoughts through points form

Read again and Re-Order

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

Finalising and Fixing on your concept

Try to prevent discussing your concept with your Friends or Family

Why do you need to Research?

Compare your research notes with a person you trust

Use Binders and Files for your Research Materials

Sometimes while gathering required materials you’ll collect tons of

Finalising and the Time Span

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

Chapter 3: The Story

Intention & Obstacle

Introducing Intention & Obstacle

Don’t Over Explain Things

Finding the Conflict

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING

You can start your story without Ideas

Push your Story Forward Not Backwards

Rules are what makes art beautiful

The Three-Act Structure

To be precise the Three-Act structure labelled as

• ACT 1: Setup (Beginning)

The Setup (ACT 1)

The Confrontation (ACT 2)

The Resolution (ACT 3)

THE THREE-ACT STRUCTURE

SETUP CONFRONTATION RESOLUTION

Demographic of the 3-ACT Structure.

© Stany Fernando 2018 A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING