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Any tips on getting into screenwriting without prior experience?

Been toying with pursuing my long-burn interest in film / screenwriting.

I’m 28 and used to work in theatre as a contemporary dancer now work as a web designer.

Wondering if it’s even possible to make the move and what it might reasonably take to make it?

Thanks
Theo Fapohunda
Theo Fapohunda
Visual Designer / Webflow Developer

Replies2

  • Carlos Torres
    Carlos Torres
    Filmmaker
    Hi @Theo Fapohunda not a screenwritter my self but interested on it and I sometimes put some things together. I feel like reading other scripts and starting to get to know the technical script vocabulary is a good starting point.

    Final Draft is a good software that helps quite a bit to work fast and with the layouts/vocabs of a script and more

    To kill sometime at the same time you learn a bit there are these youtube channels

    https://www.youtube.com/c/Screenplayed/featured

    https://www.youtube.com/c/LessonsfromtheScreenplay/videos

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOpHnp46ORZwdrpoXuhzYMg

    And here you can find scripts from famous movies

    https://imsdb.com/

    Good luck!
  • Mitya Lesnevski
    Mitya Lesnevski
    Film Director
    Hi there! I think there's no strict recipe, but I found a few things that were very useful to me.

    1. Books! Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird is probably one of the best books to check out if you're thinking of going into screenwriting. Another rec would be Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. And of course Aristotle's Poetics

    2. Watch as much Film and TV as you humanly can. Not just "watch" but actually analise what you're watching. If you loved what you saw - break down what exactly worked so well. If you hated it - do exactly the same.

    3. Masterclass is also a good resource. Shonda Rhimes' and Aaron Sorkin's Masterclasses are very good.

    4. Just write. The more you do it, the better you become. It's like learning how to skydive and not die because you know how to opena parachute. Although I think writing often feels like you're about to hit the ground at 300mph

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