Tips from screenplay writers that’ll make your copy better

At the end of last year, I took a screenplay writing course. We studied all-time greats like Thelma and Louise and The Shawshank Redemption before having to (gulp) write our own mini screenplays.

Was I adrift without the cosy parameters of writing for clients? Absolutely. Did I learn a lot about writing? 100%.

Here are some things I learned at screenplay school that you can apply to your writing:

Storytelling

In films, we use storytelling to explore universal themes or make sense of our lives. A film like Call Me By Your Name is a classic coming-of-age story that looks at what it means to exist in that space between childhood and adulthood. It works because we all remember that turbulent time in our lives.

In copy, storytelling helps us connect to our reader by grabbing their attention and helping them relate to the ideas we’re sharing. Think about what story or universal truth you can draw on to resonate with your audience.

Pick an angle

When you start piecing together a plot, you play with the different elements to tease out the most interesting version of the story. You ask yourself: would this story be more interesting if told from another character’s perspective? Would it pop if this character was a different gender, age or nationality? Alien stood out at the time for breaking new ground by having a female protagonist. She’s super relatable and we spend the whole movie rooting for her to survive. Would the film have been as effective and memorable with a male protagonist?

When you’re writing copy, seek out the most interesting or emotive angle so your story packs a punch.

Play with plot

In film, writers play with drip-feeding information to create suspense and intrigue as they guide you towards their conclusion.

Legendary screenwriter, Andrew Stanton, the writer behind Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Up, says you have to “know your punchline”. In other words, know where you’re headed and masterfully guide your audience there.

At the climax of Toy Story, it’s Buzz’s wing-opening mechanism, a trait which Woody earlier ridiculed, that ends up saving the day. It works because we’re given that information at the start of the film, then encouraged to recall it at its conclusion. Want another example? Think about how forgettable Sixth Sense would be if they’d revealed the twist at the beginning.

With copy, you want to feed readers the facts as and when they need them. Ask yourself, what does the reader know already? What do they need to know by the end of the page? What’s the most effective and memorable way to get them there?

Consider the context

Often in film, emotional low points and high points are placed side by side for dramatic effect. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, we’re thrown straight from the heart-wrenching moment where E.T. is dying into his dramatic, euphoric escape from the doctors back to the spaceship.

Think about context when you’re writing copy. What’s the reader’s day been like thus far? What kind of mood are they in? Adjust your copy accordingly.

Find the formula

Most films follow the formula of having five key elements at play: a character (1), action (2), antagonistic force (3), goal (4) and something that’s at stake (5). In Jaws, police chief Brody (1) is hunting (2) the man-eating great white shark (3) to kill it (4) and save Amity Island’s summer (5).

For your copy, you might also play with these elements to find an interesting story. Your reader, the customer, might be the main character, their pain point the antagonistic force. What do they need to do to achieve their goal and what’s at stake if they fail?

Know your backstory

When you’re writing a character, you need to flesh them out in minute detail. What are their core values? What happened to them to make them who they are? What do they eat for breakfast and, more importantly, why?

Of course, most of what you come up with doesn’t end up in the finished screenplay, but it gives your character the backbone, motivators and drivers needed to make your story believable and authentic. In Schitt’s Creek, some of this character development plays out on screen in a recurring gag as we hear regular allusions to Alexis’s adventurous daredevil past, though we never see it play out on screen. It gives a character who risks feeling 2D and caricature-like some depth and intrigue.

When writing copy, this means reading everything you can about a business, industry or topic. Sure, barely any of what you discover will make it to the copy, but will it make your copy better? Absolutely. 

Don’t dictate feeling, create it

No good screenplay ever tells you how to feel. Instead, you’re led to feel certain emotions through what you see and hear. In The Lion King, the landscape is a mirror to what’s happening in the story. Contrast the opening scene, where the scenery is rich and lush and vibrant, to the visuals in the film’s dark climax and again with its jubilant ending.

Similarly, when you’re writing copy, don’t tell the reader it’s an amazing offer or you’re a unique organisation or this is the best product in the world. Show them.

Use their language

When writing for film, studying the way real people speak in real life and then emulating it in your screenplay makes your characters authentic and believable. The best examples of this are when you don’t even notice it, like in I May Destroy You or Fleabag.

In copywriting, seek inspiration from testimonials and user reviews to talk about your customers’ worries and needs in language they relate to.

Keep it clean

In film, a page of screenplay equals a minute of screen time. So you can’t waste six pages describing a character’s hair or the weather. In The Shawshank Redemption, this is the character introduction we get for Andy Dufresne:

ANDY DUFRESNE, mid-20’s, wire rim glasses, three-piece suit. Under normal circumstances a respectable, solid citizen; hardly dangerous, perhaps even meek. But these circumstances are far from normal. He is disheveled, unshaven, and very drunk. A cigarette smolders in his mouth. His eyes, flinty and hard, are riveted to the bungalow up the path.

The Shawshank Redemption – Frank Darabont (1994)

It’s so minimal. But in just 53 words we learn so much about the character.

In copy, the clock is ticking before your reader loses interest or logs off, so get frugal.

Be a cog

When you write a screenplay, you’re the first player in a journey that eventually leads to a finished film. Once the screenplay leaves your hands, it’s likely to be interpreted and adapted by producers, actors and directors among many more. Acceptance of this is essential.

Similarly, once your copy leaves your hands, it’s important not to be too precious, it’s not yours to own any more.

Want copy so good it’s cinematic? Drop me an email and let’s chat.