There is something incredibly alluring about writing a film. Most writers want to write a better film than the bad ones they see. Some want to write a film to get rich and famous. Others want to write a film that will change the world. Then there are those who simply want to tell a great story. And it’s these great stories that ultimately find their way into the hearts of filmgoers worldwide.
In a world and cyberspace where there’s a traffic jam of information that congests the creative process, it’s not easy for first-time screenwriters to find their own path. And even more frustrating for those who have completed a stack of unpublished drafts, entered copious competitions, but fail to get their screenplay accepted into the arena of film.
It is understandable why the world of screenwriting has become a war zone where everyone wants to be a winner. There are no winners on this heated battlefield, only frustrated storytellers whose inspiration and passion dwindles with each rejection or block.
What most first-time screenwriters fail to realise is that firstly: YOU ARE NOT WRITING A FILM.
You are not writing a film
As a screenwriter, you are a storyteller who happens to write for the film medium. Film is a visual medium that dramatises a basic story line. It deals in pictures, images and pieces of film.
- If the story you are writing happens in words, you are writing a stageplay.
- If the story you are writing happens in thoughts and abstract expressions, you are writing a novel or short story.
As a screenwriter, you are part of a broad storytelling tradition. As a screenwriter, you are half a filmmaker. The mistake most beginning screenwriters make is to think that they are writing a ‘film’. You are not writing a film, you are writing a screenplay that becomes the blueprint for a film.
- A screenplay is writing intended to be turned into a film: 120 pages filled with vivid images (visual narrative), words, dialogue, description, memorable characters and action.
- A screenplay is a story told in pictures, dialogue and description, and placed within the context of dramatic structure
The craft of screenwriting is something that can be learned. How good or bad it is, that’s another story. It is an ongoing creative process that will end weeks, months, or perhaps years later with some 120 pages filled with vivid images, words, dialogue, description, memorable characters and action in what is called a draft.
Secondly, what most teachings fail to enlighten is that: WRITING A STORY BEGINS WITH THE WRITER
Writing a Screenplay begins with the storyteller
Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny. Mahatma Gandhi, as quoted in Hope in the Age of Anxiety
If you want to be a storyteller, it is important to explore your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
Own The Writing Process

In The Writing Studio’s The Write Journey course, the journey begins with you, the storyteller.