4-part series on script development – scroll down for all posts…
In 2008 I had a stroke of beginner’s luck when I won a screenwriting competition. The prize involved developing three drafts with a script editor, and this short series explores that process. First posted on my old blog in 2010, this rewritten version now includes extracts to illustrate the development of the script as I… Continue reading How to Develop a Screenplay: Part 1 – Idea
Winning the Euroscript Competition was the easy part. Next came a string of rewrites and learning how to deal with an intensive development process which made me feel challenged, elated, baffled, and conflicted by turns. The first script report from Fenella Greenfield arrived in August 2008 and was a shattering experience. It consisted of a… Continue reading How to Develop a Screenplay: Part 2 – Deconstruction
The Euroscript development process was going well and the second report from Fenella Greenfield arrived in November 2008. This was when things started to get tricky. Second Rewrite Many of the problems of the previous draft had been addressed. Calum’s character arc was now clearer, well written and more intriguing; the central relationship between the… Continue reading How to Develop a Screenplay: Part 3 – Tone and Theme
The Euroscript development process was coming to an end and I received my final report from Fenella Greenfield in March 2009. So far in this series I’ve been focusing on the problems I had with the screenplay, but it’s important to mention the positive feedback too. Alongside the notes written into the script were brief… Continue reading How to Develop a Screenplay: Part 4 – Final Notes
