Hi P&Sians,

I hope my constant questioning isn't becoming a nuisance to you - but I'm really keen to learn  

I have read the threads on the forum, followed a number of links to other pages, have Googled my heart out and posed the question to Na and yet I am still stuck!

I am looking for some resources (books to purchase, websites etc) to aid in writing scripts or with written scripts available for purchase/download. There are a stack out there for sure, but I've discovered most of them have a religious/biblical connotation, a moral lesson or are used purely for educational purposes. Whilst I believe these are highly valuable, they are not what I envision for my puppets or I. I am struggling with even knowing where to start in terms of writing scripts. Can anyone point me in the direction of where to start, some resources or tell me how you yourself got started?

I am convinced I will never be a performer but it would be nice to experiment in the comfort of my home and give my puppets a voice!

Thanks

Lizzie

I have a great book: "Kurzfilm- Drehbücher schreiben" by Axel Melzener, but he doesn't seem to be translated.
What I really liked was the structure of a story, the arc. There are many different theories, here is the wiki- link, even though it is blocked for 24 hours: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_theory

I think that it is a good point to start. Practically there is a bit in the YouTube- Playbook: http://www.youtube.com/creators/playbook.html

Of cours this is for short films, but where is the difference to a short story?

Thanks heaps Rikka! I will read up once the Wiki strike is over. I honestly had no idea youtube offered support with film construction etc. What an awesome resource! That's going to take some time to pull apart and translate to use for my purposes. Brilliant. Thanks!

Lizzie

You're welcome, glad I could help. I stumbled on the playbook by accident myself.

There is a fantastic book called The Screenwriter's Bible that will address anything you need to know.  I forget the author but a quick Google will answer that.  There are also online programs like Celtx that will automatically format your work so all you need to do is write.  I use Final Draft, which is an excellent program, but it's not free.  In fact, it's about $300, but it's idiot proof (which is great for me).

As for scripts, Drew's Script-o-rama is a very good source for downloadable/printable scripts.  Again, simply googling 'free script downloads' will help.

There are many script formats depending on if you are writing a film, a play, a TV comedy, TV drama, TV movie, etc. and it can get very complicated.  No matter what I write, I just use the film format - it's most straightforward.  
I'll offer a few tidbits though.

First, use Courier or Courier New font.  This most closely resembles old typewriter font and when used it follows the approximate 'one minute per page' rule - one page f script is about one minute of film.

Next, a script is broken down into 5 elements: Slugline, scene description, speaker, dialogue, parantheticals

1. Slugline - this is the where and when at the beginning of each scene.  It's written in ALL CAPS and tells whether we are inside or outside (INT. or EXT.), where we are specifically (DINER, HOSPITAL, FOOTBALL STADIUM, etc) and what time of day (DAY, NIGHT, AFTERNOON, etc.)  An example:

INT. DINER - DAY

2. Scene Description - what does the room look like, who is in there, what are they doing, etc.  Always write in present tense.  When identifying major characters, type in ALL CAPS the first time they are introduced only, then regular size thereafter.   Minor, incidental characters need not be capped.  Example:
--
A typical diner.  The red vinyl seats and formica countertops are cracked with age and wear.  A waitress, JOLENE (45, bottle blonde, too much make-up) is leaning on the counter leafing through a newspaper as a trucker slurps his coffee beside her.

BOB JONES, 25, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, enters.  The waitress casually glances at him, but makes no effort to show interest.
--
NOTE: Bob has never "walked" anywhere.  He always walks or is walking.  Write it as if it's unfolding as you read, just like a film will unfold as you watch.


So the set up of the scene looks like this:

INT. DINER - DAY

A typical diner.  The red vinyl seats and yellow formica countertops are cracked with age and wear.  A waitress, JOLENE (45, bottle blonde, too much make-up) is leaning on the counter leafing through a newspaper as a TRUCKER (40's, jean jacket and ball cap) slurps a cup of coffee beside her.

BOB JONES, 25, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, enters.  The waitress casually glances at him, but makes no effort to show interest.

3., 4., and 5. Speaker, Dialogue, and Parantheticals

Speaker: Who is speaking
Dialogue: Wat they are saying
Paranthetical: How they say it (avoid using this unless it's absolutely necessary)

There are official and specific measurements for margins when it comes to where the speaker's name appears on the sheet, how for from the left, how far from the right, etc.  We ignore those if we are using a Word document.  To get the page set up properly using a basic writing document do the following:
 
Tab over from the left margin six times and type the speaker's name  The speaker is always in CAPS.
If you use a paranthetical, tab over five times
Dialogue tabs over four times.

Keep your dialogue relatively center to your speaker name.  DO NOT centre align the whole thing.  Imagine your page is divided into three equal columns.  Keep the speaker, parantheticals and dialogue contained in the center column - do not let your dialogue run all the way to the right margin.  Example:

                                                                                    BOB
                                                                              (smiling)
                                                           Can I get a glass of water please?
                                                           It's hot as heck out there.

Example:

INT. DINER - DAY

A typical diner.  The red vinyl seats and yellow formica countertops are cracked with age and wear.  A waitress, JOLENE (45, bottle blonde, too much make-up) is leaning on the counter leafing through a newspaper as a TRUCKER (40's, jean jacket and ball cap) slurps a cup of coffee beside her.

BOB JONES, 25, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, enters.  The waitress casually glances at him, but makes no effort to show interest.

                                                                                      BOB
                                                                                 (smiling)
                                                                Can I get a glass of water please?
                                                                It's hot as heck out there.

The waitress lets out a deep sigh and slaps the newspaper closed.  She turns on the sink faucet and grey, sludgy water oozes out.  She fills a dirty glass and plunks it in front of Bob, offers him a look that seems to dare him to ask for something else, and then returns to her paper.

The trucker snorts a laugh as he shakes his head.

                                                                                        TRUCKER
                                                                       Son, you done picked the wrong
                                                                       drink.  Don't you know this here's
                                                                       a coffee shop?


FINAL NOTE:  If you can't see it or hear it on screen, don't write it.  Unless you will somehow establish though words or actions that Bob has been in love with Jolene since Kindergarten, don't write it.

So that's a very basic tutorial.  I suggest looking around online.  There's plenty of resources.  Oh, and the Screenwriter's Bible is written by David Trottier.

Hope that helps.

The above sample does not include stage direction such as cuts, zooms, etc.  Most spec scripts don't use them - only shooting scripts.  For personal projects it's typically personal choice.  I leave it to the director unless I have a specific vision for a specific shot.

Well, from a pro! Cool!

Not quite pro, but I've written a few in my time.

Good enough for me...

Not to distract from the otherwise useful info:

But I don't think Lizzie is asking for info on 'how to write a script', in terms of formatting, but 'how to write a script' in terms of taking a germ of an idea and turning it into something useful for puppets. The simpler way of puttting it: how do you write for puppets, and how is it different to writing 'normal' plays?

Correct me if I'm wrong Lizzie, that's just what I got from our conversation...

Speaking for myself, I too find writing for puppets extremely difficult, but have no problem figuring out formatting. So for myself, I'd like some input on the above question whether Lizzie meant it or not   But thanks for posting that info Poorfishy, as I'd forgotten about Celtx and wanted to find it at one point. I'll go looking for it again.