Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Lawrence
I've just about finished a novella of about 27k words, and believe it would lend itself to a screenplay. Writing the thing was very much a Red Smith exercise, and I have no desire to even attempt converting it myself. ...
|
I know you don't want to write it yourself but, realistically, that's probably your best chance at marketing it. Good screenwriters who have access to agents usually have their own ideas to work on. Once you've written your screenplay you can hire a screenplay consultant who can help you make it presentable. Some aren't too expensive -- some advertise at Done Deal Pro (a forum dealing with screenwriting).
https://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/
Screenplay format is not that hard to figure out. Show, don't tell. Nearly always write in present tense. Find important details and be succinct. Most screenplays have a lot of white space.
There are four main elements...
Scene (where and when whatever is happening happens)...
INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY ("INT." stands for interior. "EXT." for exterior.)
Action (Just regular descriptive that tells you what's going on. Usually an action paragraph shouldn't be more than three or four lines.)
Character Name and...
Dialogue
An example of the format...
Code:
INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY
JOE and PETE watch NASCAR while guzzling beer, scarfing
pizza and scratching their bums.
They're accomplished multi-taskers.
PETE
WOW! Look at 'em. 'Round and 'round
and 'round!
JOE
(nodding vigorously)
Da-yum I love NASCAR!
What's under JOE's name is a parenthetical (or wrylie). These aren't supposed to be used often, but they work as shorthand.
You don't really need to remember any of this. There is good, free, screenplay writing software. It's easier to use it than explain it -- but these applications take care of all the formatting.
Two of these are WriterSolo and KIT Scenarist, both available for Linux, Windows or Macs. WriterSolo works online or offline. KIT Scenarist is offline only.
https://writersolo.com or
https://freescreenwriting.com
https://kitscenarist.ru/en/index.html
You can ask questions at Done Deal Pro, it's not as busy as it once was, but pros still show up there from time to time. You can also ask questions in this thread, but I'm a wannabe who's been playing around at it (unsuccessfully) for about 20 years.
Good luck.