Here’s an example: What if young man from the poor side of town confounds everyone to win the top prize in “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.” Recognize the idea? It's the premise – or also known as the logline – for “Slumdog Millionaire,” written as a question. Writers have to build the drama up one scene at a time until it feels like it will burst, and then resolve the question.
Once the resolution is clear, sit at a computer with Movie Magic Screenwriter or Final Draft or other software programs, type fade in, write down the scenes from beginning to end and type fade out. But the scenes need to follow a formula with certain landmarks.
Inciting Incident
According to Syd Field in his landmark "Screenplay : The Foundations of Screenwriting" the revised edition published in November, 2005 by Bantam Books (ISBN-13: 9780385339032), something happens around page ten that upsets the normalcy of the main character's life. In “Role Models,” the inciting incident occurs when the two main characters, played by Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott, crashed their car. It's the moment where the story is set in motion.
First Turning Point
About a quarter of a ways through the script, the first major turning point comes along. Field said this turning point twirls the story in another direction, ending the first act. In “Midnight Run,” the turning point is when Robert De Niro's character arrests Charles Grodin, thus beginning the long trek across country.
In “Role Models,” the first turning point is when the two characters begin fulfilling their sentence as Big Brothers. The second act is the longest - and most difficult - to write. The action builds and builds towards the end of the act which becomes the
Second Turning Point
This point arrives 75 percent of the way through and again twirls the story in yet another direction, one that propels it towards the end of the tale. In “Midnight Run,” the second turning point comes when De Niro offers a plan to the FBI to resolve the dilemma he faces.
Climax
The third act involves solving the question proposed at the beginning. For “Midnight Run,”the climax had bounty hunter De Niro set up the mob guy by agreeing to exchange computer discs for the Grodin character at an airport in Las Vegas.
It’s easy to analyze the elements of a screenplay by reading scripts of existing films. It's not so easy when new writers have to come with the idea and take it through all the steps. But the difficulty hasn't stopped thousands of people from trying their hand in screenwriting, searching for the next “Slumdog Millionaire.”
