Everyone learns differently and interprets information differently. What this means to a writer is that there is no wrong way to write a story.
You might say, that every story must have a beginning, middle and end. And at it's most basic level, this is true. You must start somewhere, there must be stuff in the middle, and you must finish somewhere. But, does that mean every story must be told in exactly the same way? No, it doesn't.
And there is no wrong way to write a screenplay, mostly. There are industry standards that you are expected to follow, but those aren't hard and fast rules because some writers don't follow those standards and are still successful.
I live by the adage that you should learn the rules, then break them.
I learned this by reading several screenplay/film maker books.
For screenwriting, I've read Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT, Robert McKee's STORY, Syd Field's SCREENPLAY and THE SCREENWRITER'S WORKBOOK, along with a few others such as SCREENWRITING FOR DUMMIES. I have several film maker books, including Robert Rodriguez's REBEL WITH A CREW, and $30 FILM SCHOOL. I am a self taught film maker and screenwriter.
There are many experts, but none of them know the secret, because the secret is different for everyone.
Here's what I have learned that works for me.
OUTLINE - always outline first. If you don't outline, you have no idea where the story starts, goes and ends. You might have a vague idea of these things but it's not a road map, or for you modern kids, it's not gps.
Some might enjoy the rambling along the trip and seeing where they end up, but that might or might not create a good, sellable screenplay. So, outline.
CHARACTER BIO'S - I always try to create a character bio. Even if none of that ends up in the script, it's there for reference. Think about it, you are creating a person, a person with feelings and flaws and motivation. They don't and should not just spring forth from your brow like a Greek god of old as the legends tell us. To make them real, at least for me, I need to know who they are, how they came to be who they are and what they need. Otherwise, who cares.
SCENE BY SCENE - this goes along with the outline. After I outline, I then break down the action scene by scene. Seems like it's taking the spontaneity out of things but honestly, it does help. It's just another tool to help you organize the thoughts and craft a good story.
RESEARCH - I have to research things, for instance; if doing something science based I have to understand the science that feeds it...like time travel, which isn't actually possible, but you should understand a little physics and such so you can create something plausible. I know, it's fantasy but everything is better with a grain of truth.
TITLE - I have to have a title, even if it's only a working title.
LOG LINE - I have to have the log line because it helps me understand who I'm trying to sell this thing to.
Then, when I have done these things, I sit down to write. I craft an opening scene that grabs you by the feels (whether it's horror, drama, romance, comedy, etc.)...but this isn't always successful. I call this THE HOOK ... in other words, how I'm hooking the audience in to watching further. I don't always succeed in getting it right the first time.
That's when Red and Curley come in. Sometimes, I can tell them the premise and one or the other helps me find that hook.
Then I write, following my road map as closely as possible to make sure I don't end up in a metaphorical ditch or metaphorical jail. After I have typed FADE OUT ... then I leave alone, or get a reader to read it over.
And then we rewrite.
That's how I create a screenplay.
Ciao for now!
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