Free Screenwriting Software by Plotbot—write screenplays online with friends. Top 10 Screenwriting Tips Introduction to Screenwriting How to become a screenwriter. Over the last quarter century I’ve stumbled and lurched my way to some understanding of the screenwriter’s craft.
As our AFTRS Graduate Certificate of Screenwriting students begin their journey, I thought I’d share the 10 things I wish I’d know when I started out. 1. Why people go to the movies If you’re making films to be viewed by the cinema-going public, it would seem pretty obvious that you should seek to understand why people go the movies, wouldn’t it? Not to me. Hero’s Journey. In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell identified the story elements that were common to all the great stories across cultures and generations.
Chris Vogler in The Writer’s Journey applied Campbell’s thinking to the movies and came up with 12 steps that define a classic story structure. These 12 steps – and my own Hero’s Emotional Journey – form the foundation for my Screenwriting Courses.