Making It As A Screenwriter: Learning the Basics of Story Telling

In our first article, Making it as a Screenwriter: What it Takes to Get Started and Be Successful we talked about some of the harsh realities of breaking into Hollywood as a writer. It's a tough shell to crack, but that's all you need to do: one tiny crack, one small door that opens for you... then it all changes.

But you have to be prepared for that door to open. So where do you begin? Ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I a creative person?

2. Can I imagine whole worlds or places?

3. Do I understand human motivation?

4. Am I a visual storyteller?

5. Can I be self-disciplined and structure my time?

6. How do I deal with rejection, being told "no" and someone else rewriting my work?

7. Do I have sufficient income to sustain me while I learn?

Serious questions if you want to become a paid and working screenwriter. By the way, most emerging screenwriters have a "real job" they continue to work at while practicing the craft of screenwriting. The dream of selling your first script for a million dollar deal is just that... a dream. Nothing wrong with it and we all have it. Just know that those types of deals are far and few between. We will cover more on deals and what you could realistically expect in a later article.

All right. Let's assume you've made the decision to plunge forward and you want to learn what it takes to stand out from all the other thousands of working writers. Great! Consider yourself a very special kind of person; someone who will never look at a movie on TV or in the theater quite the same way again... ever.