ScreenplayLab Screenplay Checklist for Writers

by Robin Rowe Aug 28, 2005

1. Flawed Hero's Journey. Have a flawed hero on a quest. Avoid ordinary people doing ordinary things. If it's about everyday life then you could be shooting a documentary. A film should seem bigger than life. The hero is the person who's point of view (POV) is telling the story. The hero must be sympathetic (generally that means likable) because it's the person who the audience is supposed to identify with. The lead character must lead, not be passive. A hero seeks justice, whatever that means based on the hero's morals. The hero needs a sidekick so he has someone to talk to in dialog. In a romantic comedy the hero should bond with the family of the intended. The hero's journey is to discover trust, faith, love, and honor. The villain's trip is power and greed...and the villain cheats.
2. Have Action. Be fast paced. Don't let characters walk when they can run. Even a character-driven ensemble piece needs action to move the story. Start with a climax and build from there. Have action in every scene.
3. Be Cinematic. Show a visual struggle. Show something people would pay money to see. Give the cinematographer something to work with. Don't talk about doing something. Show something happening and have the dialog talk about it.
4. Have Great Dialog. Use snappy dialog that's brief and to the point. Avoid monologues and long non-dialog descriptions...a screenplay is not a novel. Build the dialog on the plot and the characters. Don't have at random dialog. The dialog is a way to move your story forward. Don't confuse dialog with story. A story is what happens, not mere talk.
5. Be Funny. All films need humor. Be upbeat. Be quirky. A film should be entertaining. You can be funny. If you don't know how then take an improv class and study with comedians. It can be learned. Carry a notebook in which you write down everything you encounter in life that makes you laugh.
6. Have Great Characters. Create clear personalities who personify a particular virtue or vice and have a clear goal and a clear obstacle. Focus on a few characters. Don't have more characters than you would feel comfortable inviting to dinner. A script with too many characters won't be able to attach stars because their agents will reject it as a bad career choice for lack of significant screen time. Think star vehicle. Having too many characters will make it difficult to table read because nobody has a table that big. It will be impossible to pitch because it will take too long to describe the characters. If you have too many characters you actually have no characters because there isn't time to develop them. Note that extras (who don't talk) don't count as characters.
7. Have Great Plot. Follow industry-standard story structure and story arcs. Set the hook by page ten. Have a three-act structure. Have a climax. Have a happy ending...even if the happiness is a mixed blessing. If readers say it isn't believable then make it believable. That something "really happened once" only counts for documentaries. The plot should work and contain surprises. No loose ends. Avoid deus ex machina, that is, a god-like element introduced to provide a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.
8. Have Subplot or B Story. Screenwriter Robert Towne says no American film can succeed without a subplot. According to Towne, the subplot in CASABLANCA was the romance, and the plot was the transit papers. A sitcom or TV drama must have a B story. The B story is a story about a secondary character that should intersect eventually with the plot-line of the lead character. Having a B story or subplot is a standard device to build suspense and to add variety.
9. Follow Industry Standard Format. Use screenwriting sofware such as Final Draft or Celtx so that you have the page layout correct. Not just the page format, industry standard also applies to things like how characters are introduced in the script. Don't describe characters until we see them or they speak. Don't over-describe. Let the director do his job. Don't under-describe. Don't make the director do your job. Don't forget to describe characters. Spellcheck! Grammar check!
10. Be Efficient and Respect Budget. Don't show anything that doesn't advance the film. Everything should have meaning. A feature should be about 100 pages. If you want it to go longer then write a sequel so that everyone can get paid for your extra pages. If you go long you will lose control of what's shown in the finished film because it's more material to be cut later in post. Don't use so many actors or sets that it would break the budget. Note that an actor speaking just one word is entitled to be paid the SAG day-rate as a principal performer and to get residuals. A script with too many characters may be rejected by producers as too costly.