Screenwriting Articles For Curious Screenwriters

The Story Department is a leading website about screenwriting and storytelling. Founded by Karel Segers, we have been serving screenwriting articles since 2006.

Screenwriting Articles

Many principles of screenwriting also apply to storytelling in general. And if you are skilled in writing for the screen, you will probably be able to tell a darn good story an most other formats. You will find articles about all sorts of subjects relating to screenwriting and storytelling, but the main sections are these:

Story

Too many screenwriters dive into the screenplay before they are ready. Writing in script format may be tempting, because it makes you feel like a screenwriter. It may also hold you back from telling the story you should. Worst case, you may get stuck.

The best thing to do is to plan ahead. What will your story be about? Can you summarise it in a few words? One page? Where is it set? How well do you know the characters? These are all questions you should really address before you type ‘FADE IN’.

Script

Now you have a razor sharp picture in your head about what the story will look like. You’re ready to open that screenwriting software and type ‘FADE IN’.
In this section of the site we focus on formatting and style. This is all about clarity, concision and colour (or creativity, if you wish). Scripts do get rejected because their style sucks. More importantly, I believe some scripts also get sold on their superb style. I have read mediocre screenplays – The Disciple Program springs to mind – that sold for a nice figure, just because of their superb writing style.
All this stuff is learnable, and this is why I recommend you read the screenwriting articles on this site.

Sales

Here is an aspect of being a writer that most writers try to ignore. Sadly, if you don’t master marketing, you won’t survive as a writer. Things have changed radically over the past 5 to 10 years, and today it is up to you to do most of your marketing. But hey, I’m here to help! A wealth of articles about pitching and selling will help you make your mark in the market.

Other Sites

Editor in Chief Karel Segers also founded Logline It, and the screenwriting course The Story Series. If you would like to learn screenwriting online, go to The Story Series Online.

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