What are the best screenwriting exercises ( besides reading scripts) for a beginner like me that I can apply to( while I am) writing my first draft?

ie. I am writing a screenplay which I am using as a learning process.

Watch lots movies!  I'm not joking; Nope. Nada.  Nein. No.  It's a good exercise.

Here it is; reverse engineer a scene:  Steal a scene from a movie you know, but have never read the script itself.  Watch it over and over.  While doing so, put pen to paper, jot down what you see - redo it.  Figure out what's necessary to tell the story - what needs to be there. Then compare your version to the original - what was in there that you left out? What did you include that wasn't in the script?

Hopefully this is a little more enticing then just reading screenplays.   Best of luck!-Andrea

Writing shorts is the best exercise for me. Compressing an entire story into a few pages, plot, theme, story arc, and character development. Then, getting feedback on the short is really helpful (you are more likely to get feedback here on shorts than you are features)

Thanks Mathew for the tip. I wasn't sure if I should use my screenplay to practise writing a short or feature but shorts look like a good starting point.

I agree with Matt - shorts are great practice.

Quoted from ghost and_ghostie gal ...reverse engineer a scene:  Steal a scene from a movie you know, but have never read the script itself.  Watch it over and over.  While doing so, put pen to paper, jot down what you see - redo it.  Figure out what's necessary to tell the story - what needs to be there. Then compare your version to the original - what was in there that you left out? What did you include that wasn't in the script? Hopefully this is a little more enticing then just reading screenplays.   Best of luck!-Andrea

Great advice.  I actually started this way, putting on a favorite movie and writing everything I saw and heard on the screen into a screenplay.  This was in the late '90s, before screenwriting sites and script depositories/sharing sites were really a thing, and the only way the average shmuck could get his hands on a script was if he bought the published screenplay.  Eventually I realized the whole process would go by a lot quicker if I stopped writing EVERYTHING I saw, and only wrote down the bare essentials.  Later, when I read my first screenwriting book and realized that's actually what the writer is supposed to do, I felt kind of proud: I'd figured out on my own, with no outside help, exactly how to do it like the pros do lol

Anyway, yes, I think this is a very valuable exercise, and one that more aspiring writers should give a shot.

Quoted from ghost and_ghostie gal Watch lots movies!  I'm not joking; Nope. Nada.  Nein. No.  It's a good exercise. Here it is; reverse engineer a scene:  Steal a scene from a movie you know, but have never read the script itself.  Watch it over and over.  While doing so, put pen to paper, jot down what you see - redo it.  Figure out what's necessary to tell the story - what needs to be there. Then compare your version to the original - what was in there that you left out? What did you include that wasn't in the script? Solid advice Hopefully this is a little more enticing then just reading screenplays.   Best of luck!-Andrea

Writing shorts doesn't just help you learn the format and structure, it helps you develop how to tell a good story. If you can craft a good story for a short, you can do it for a feature. It's easier if you're already a storyteller, but screenwriting is a visual medium and it takes practice for prose writers to adjust.

A feature is a different animal though. The structure is more complex. You get into subplots. The pace and consistency of tone become more difficult. On the flip side, you get to tell a larger story, you get to dive deeper into characters, you can have more locations and more characters (depending on the story), and you get many more scenes. Screenwriting is scene writing.

Don't worry about budget, write whatever you want. Write shorts, write a feature if you really want to tackle that, or write just a scene. The key is to write, and then write something else, and write some more. A feature is a major accomplishment, it takes a lot to finish and I promise it will suck. It gets easier after that though.

As others have said, I think writing shorts helps a lot. You can write them faster, experiment with different things, and get invaluable feedback.

And of course read lots of screenplays and novels.

Not sure about specific exercises but others have mentioned some interesting ideas.

There's lots of material on this site worth reading too. You might find a nugget of wisdom in the screenwriting class thread or even a ten year old OWC thread.

I don't think writing shorts helps.

Watch a lot of movies, read a lot of screenplays. Different eras, different genres, different countries. Accumulate knowledge, then deduce. Most important thing, in my opinion, is to get a feel for narrative structure. How stories develop in feature films. See different approaches, different types of paces. For dialogue, that's more a talent thing, if you have the ear for it.

Quoted from ghost and_ghostie gal Watch lots movies!  I'm not joking; Nope. Nada.  Nein. No.  It's a good exercise. Here it is; reverse engineer a scene:  Steal a scene from a movie you know, but have never read the script itself.  Watch it over and over.  While doing so, put pen to paper, jot down what you see - redo it.  Figure out what's necessary to tell the story - what needs to be there. Then compare your version to the original - what was in there that you left out? What did you include that wasn't in the script? Hopefully this is a little more enticing then just reading screenplays.   Best of luck!-Andrea

Great advice! Thank you!

Quoted from Zoe What are the best screenwriting exercises ( besides reading scripts) for a beginner like me that I can apply to( while I am) writing my first draft? ie. I am writing a screenplay which I am using as a learning process.

Lots of possible exercises. One I find useful is identifying an arc and following it to see how it is rolled out.

Quoted from Demento I don't think writing shorts helps. Watch a lot of movies, read a lot of screenplays. Different eras, different genres, different countries. Accumulate knowledge, then deduce. Most important thing, in my opinion, is to get a feel for narrative structure. How stories develop in feature films. See different approaches, different types of paces. For dialogue, that's more a talent thing, if you have the ear for it.

I actually agree here almost 100%.

I wouldn't worry about foreign films at this point.  I really wouldn't even worry so much about "story" while you're watching.  Pay attention,l of course, but focus more on what you're seeing, and think about how it works, how it doesn't work, or how it may be better.

For the writing part, I always say to peeps, just concentrate on a scene or series of scenes.  Story can be nonexistent, but focus on writing whatever scene you come up with, the very best you can, including technical things, grammar, visual writing, and mood.  Mood is important.  Most don' have a clue what that really is or how to write it.

WHen I decided I was going to have a serious go at writing screenplays back in around 2014, I threw away everything I thought I knew about writing, read "How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make" by Denny Martin Flinn, used that to write a short and then posted it here on Simply Scripts.

It got ripped apart, but I learned a lot from it. I continued doing that until people actually started giving good comments on the scirpts I posted. It is a fantastic learning process as long as you can take constructive critisicm and learn to dismiss the rest.

Looks like Zoe is no longer around...  

Come back, Zoe! We need all the women writers we can get.

I read that same book you did, Mark. Still have it and re-read it now and again cause it's a goodun.

Read good scripts and read bad scripts.

Give feedback on others work.

Don't just watch movies, think of how you'd write the script for whats onscreen.

Share your work with others to read.

Keep writing.

Thought I'd share this one for connecting metaphors to themes!

https://industrialscripts.com/visual-metaphor/

I'm new to the site and writing in general but I 'm keen to improve my knowledge and skills.
I've noticed from the boards that the general advice is to read loads and scripts and watch loads of movies, take from them and apply to my writing.
Good advice.

But, I find myself needing motivation and a goal to achieve. I don't have a particular story to tell but what's the best way to practice writing so that when I do have something concrete to write, I'll have the basic skills to get started.
The OWC was a great start, but is there anything else I should be doing?

I have an idea for a writing exercise but I don't know if it's been done before and I'm not sure where I should post for feedback.

Forgive my naivety, all advice gratefully received.

Quoted from Geezis I'm new to the site and writing in general but I 'm keen to improve my knowledge and skills. I've noticed from the boards that the general advice is to read loads and scripts and watch loads of movies, take from them and apply to my writing. Good advice. But, I find myself needing motivation and a goal to achieve. I don't have a particular story to tell but what's the best way to practice writing so that when I do have something concrete to write, I'll have the basic skills to get started. The OWC was a great start, but is there anything else I should be doing? I have an idea for a writing exercise but I don't know if it's been done before and I'm not sure where I should post for feedback. Forgive my naivety, all advice gratefully received.

Write a single scene. Let's say a Father and son fighting about a car. Post it and I'll give you  a detail review

Quoted from eldave1 Write a single scene. Let's say a Father and son fighting about a car. Post it and I'll give you  a detail review

Thanks eldave1, I'll do it now, give me 10 minutes. One question however, how do I post it?  

Quoted from Geezis Thanks eldave1, I'll do it now, give me 10 minutes. One question however, how do I post it?

Collaborative Efforts

Here:
https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-collaborate/
Just in case you're not sure where that is.

Quoted from LC Here: https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-collaborate/ Just in case you're not sure where that is.

Hi, how do I upload the scene?

I come from a novel-reading background rather than a movie-watching. I feel that writers without a background reading novels are weaker as their vocabulary is often smaller. You don't really need to watch movies at all. You just need to understand how stories work.

I get regular work writing audio plays. I hate audio plays, I find them boring. But I can write them easy enough because I've read hundreds, possibly over a thousand, novels. So I understand how stories work and can make them work within any discipline. I've also written video scripts for large corporations. I'm currently working on a musical short for some Californian rappers.

My advice to you would be to become well-read. This way, you can use your talent within any discipline and not limit yourself to screenwriting. However, even if you just want to write screenplays, then being well-read will serve you better than watching lots of movies.

Quoted from DustinBowcot I come from a novel-reading background rather than a movie-watching. I feel that writers without a background reading novels are weaker as their vocabulary is often smaller. You don't really need to watch movies at all. You just need to understand how stories work. I get regular work writing audio plays. I hate audio plays, I find them boring. But I can write them easy enough because I've read hundreds, possibly over a thousand, novels. So I understand how stories work and can make them work within any discipline. I've also written video scripts for large corporations. I'm currently working on a musical short for some Californian rappers. My advice to you would be to become well-read. This way, you can use your talent within any discipline and not limit yourself to screenwriting. However, even if you just want to write screenplays, then being well-read will serve you better than watching lots of movies.

Thanks for that Dustin. Never thought about using books to help improve my dialogue. Thinking on it now, it makes perfect sense.

Cheers

The past couple of scripts/scenes I've posted on here have been I've written very quickly and made many many many mistakes but with all the pointers and feedback I've received I should improve (hopefully).
For my next exercise I've decided that I'll pick a movie that hasn't had a sequel and write the first ten pages of the sequel.
Criteria is the original characters must be included, the sequel MUST take place within the next 24 hours following the end of the original movie and MUST continue the genre.
With this in mind, I'll attempt to write the first ten pages sequel to John Carpenters "The Thing".
It's very ambitious I know but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Wish me luck.

Quoted from Geezis The past couple of scripts/scenes I've posted on here have been I've written very quickly and made many many many mistakes but with all the pointers and feedback I've received I should improve (hopefully). For my next exercise I've decided that I'll pick a movie that hasn't had a sequel and write the first ten pages of the sequel. Criteria is the original characters must be included, the sequel MUST take place within the next 24 hours following the end of the original movie and MUST continue the genre. With this in mind, I'll attempt to write the first ten pages sequel to John Carpenters "The Thing". It's very ambitious I know but nothing ventured nothing gained. Wish me luck.

good luck

Quoted from eldave1 good luck

Thank You

Not in the least bit relevant to anything but a quick update on my exercise.
Four days and I've wrote four pages.
It may seem I'm being lazy but I'm fitting in writing between work and family duties.
This is harder than it seems, formatting, scene setting, characterisation, dialogue, grammar.
It's hard freeking work

A couple of days ago, I wrote over 5000 words in one day. I had to hit a deadline, that's why. Usually, though, I call a day's work, 2000 words, and I average around 500 words per hour - I believe that is approximately 2.5 pages of a screenplay.

If you do a page per day, it will take you 90 days, on average, to write the rough draft of a feature. That's not too bad. The important thing is discipline and ensuring you keep the motivation.

Good to know I'm not lagging behind on my script then.
It's a constant re-read of everything I write and amending as I go.
I don't have the discipline yet to set a daily goal but that, as well as everything else, will come eventually.

Thanks for your advice.

Knuckled down, got w writing and finished my exercise.
Where is the best place to post for review and feedback please?

I'm the worst person to ask in regard to the right place for new threads. I know you can upload your script to the site - which is the long way. Or, you can find something approximating the right place on the boards, make a new thread, and share a link to your script - which is the quick way.

Quoted from DustinBowcot I'm the worst person to ask in regard to the right place for new threads. I know you can upload your script to the site - which is the long way. Or, you can find something approximating the right place on the boards, make a new thread, and share a link to your script - which is the quick way.

Thanks, I'll hunt around.

Quoted from Geezis Knuckled down, got w writing and finished my exercise. Where is the best place to post for review and feedback please?

If you think it's truly 'ready', then just choose the genre and submit it here https://www.simplyscripts.com/submit_your_script_new.html.

If you're rather unsure then perhaps you may want to create a thread on the "My Work In Progress" board, sitting few boards below screenwriting class. There, the advantage would be that you yourself create the thread and can post your script link there promptly, now, and with that, can modify your initial post, including the link etc, whenever you want... and also you'd be able to delete the whole thread yourself, which otherwise would need the admin as well.

Only point is that you must have an own server or other cloud space (drive dropbox...) there.

Quoted from PrussianMosby If you think it's truly 'ready', then just choose the genre and submit it here https://www.simplyscripts.com/submit_your_script_new.html. If you're rather unsure then perhaps you may want to create a thread on the "My Work In Progress" board, sitting few boards below screenwriting class. There, the advantage would be that you yourself create the thread and can post your script link there promptly, now, and with that, can modify your initial post, including the link etc, whenever you want... and also you'd be able to delete the whole thread yourself, which otherwise would need the admin as well. Only point is that you must have an own server or other cloud space (drive dropbox...) there.

Thanks, think I'll stick with whichever option is easiest for me.