LogFAQs > #949911817

Joker98 posted...

What are some differences you've noticed? I've been interested in that myself.

The biggest difference being, unless a particular attribute of something is important to the story, you can't be as descriptive as you are when writing a novel or short story.
Screenwriting is more like a blueprint laid out for a show or movie, rather than a story passage. That doesn't mean you can't have fun with it though.

My rule of thumb when writing things is to treat it like I'm part of a bigger thing where other people also have a job they need to do:

So I try to avoid describing exactly what a character is wearing because that's the wardrobe person's job (though you can give a general idea on their style).
I try to avoid camera directions (unless it's important to the scene) because that's the cinematographer/director/storyboard Art's job.
I try to avoid editing notes/specific transitions (again, unless it's actually crucial to a scene) because, obviously, that's the editor's job.

That's how I'm doing things for the most part and it makes sense to an extent, but honestly, it's kind of bullshit. Screenwriting is one of those things where the more established you are, the more you're allowed to get away with those things. There's learning the rules before learning how to break them and then there's just not following these rules entirely.

Tarantino is such a perfect example. His scripts are super fun to read, but they're FULL of stuff that they look down on in screenwriting classes. Really makes you realize how much luck plays a part in all of this.

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