Fundamentals of Screenwriting Cheat Sheet

This is a cheat sheet distilling Tyler Mowery’s great video series on the Fundamentals of Screenwriting to an easy-to-read summary, tl;dr format. You can watch the series below:

I made this summary so when you’re writing you can easily pull up parts that you need quickly, to minimise interruption of your flow state.

Although Tyler didn’t include any tips on how to brainstorm ideas, I’ve also added some tips from Paul Schrader’s writing masterclass on idea generation in section 12.

I’ve also added some of my own notes, and paraphrased some things. I’d definitely recommend watching all of the videos first to get the full depth of all the examples Tyler used.

If you enjoyed this guide, give us a follow on Instagram – I document my daily writing/creative process on there.

Feel free to use this as a quick reference tool for when you’re writing out your screenplay, you’ll learn so much with each new story you write! Happy writing 🙂

1) Structure

• You need structure to give audiences what they recognise as story
• Use Dan Harmon’s story circle (copy and paste this to save having to write out the bullet points each time x) 
  • Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • But they want something (NEED) 
  • They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Having changed (CHANGE) 

Example – The Silence of the Lambs

OVERALL

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Clarice
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • To become an FBI agent 
    • Stems from deeper want – to save ppl
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Meets Hannibal Lecter
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Works w Hannibal to catch Buffalo Bill
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Hannibal gives her valuable info about Buffalo Bill
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • Loses her leverage with Hannibal
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Continues to work w Hannibal to catch Buffalo Bill
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • She has become an FBI agent (external change)

ACT 1

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Clarice
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • To become an FBI agent
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Given assignment to work w Hannibal Lecter
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Goes to meet Hannibal
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Hannibal offers to help Clarice
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • Humiliated by Miggs
    • (here the cost happens before getting what they want but the want cost structure still remains)
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Follows Hannibal’s guidance
    • But her want remains unfulfilled so story continues
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • More than just a student, now on the hunt for a killer

ACT 2 PT 1

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Clarice
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • To catch Buffalo Bill
    • How she will achieve her overarching want to become FBI agent
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Another victim found, and unbeknownst to her, another victim taken
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Investigates body
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Uncovers important clue – moth cocoon
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • Learns that Catherine been taken by Buffalo Bill
    • She’s closer to catching Buffalo Bill, but she running out of time – discovery come at a cost
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Makes a deal w Hannibal
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • Clarice is becoming stronger and more assured

ACT 2 PT 2

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Clarice
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • To catch Buffalo Bill
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Dr Chilton exposes Clarice’s fake deal
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Attempts to regain Hannibal’s trust
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Hannibal decides to help
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • Quid pro quo – Clarice has to pay for information by revealing personal information about childhood
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Buffalo Bill continues to evade capture
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • Hannibal forces Clarice to look inward

ACT 3

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Clarice
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • To catch Buffalo Bill
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Investigates Buffalo Bill’s first victim
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Continues to search for Buffalo Bill
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Finds the last missing piece
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • FBI finds the wrong house
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Clarice kills Buffalo Bill
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • Clarice becomes an FBI agent 

Each character has their own story circle, by focusing on protagonist we can maintain clarity, but here’s Hannibal’s story circle for example:

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Hannibal
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • Wants to escape from prison
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Young FBI trainee comes to ask him questions
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Helps her get what she wants – career advancement + capturing serial killer
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Clarice offers him a better prison sentence w more freedom
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • But the deal was a lie
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • So Hannibal escapes from prison
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • And gains freedom

2) Creating characters

Character made up from these components:

Beliefs (values)

• Has to make sense from their pov, you don’t have to agree, just be able to understand why they doing what they doing 
  • I would highly recommend writers to try out acting – as an actor you can’t judge the character you’re playing, you just gotta empathise and understand 
  • To make audience empathise they gotta have clear beliefs /values so audience understands why they do what they do
• Influences their actions – how they get what they want 

Want (visible goal)

• External 
• Stems from character’s beliefs 
• Created by how they view the world 
• Antagonists oppose this want 

Need (your character incomplete in some way)

• Internal – Stems from false beliefs (the lie your character believes is stopping them from becoming whole) 
• What character must discover about themselves /world to become complete, balanced or whole 
• Stems from their beliefs 
• Some characters don’t have needs -> flat arcs/they don’t change in story, like Katniss Everdeen, Daniel Plainview

Stakes (needs to be stakes otherwise no one will care about your story lol)

• External – how will they externally be affected if they do/don’t get what they want?
• Philosophical – how will their beliefs be affected if they do/don’t get what they want

• Beliefs motivate needs, which motivate wants (core thought patterns inform subconscious desire, which inform conscious desire), it’s like going up food chain 
• Create a web of characters w different povs, beliefs and perspectives on a philosophical debate (ie the key moral philosophical question/conflict)

3) Character arcs 

• Gradual internal change in beliefs that character goes through from the beginning of the story to the end 
  • Basically as they move to getting their need this arc happens
• The change /arc defines the meaning of the story – your message, what do you want to say w your story?

Positive arc

• Character believes a lie
• Characters encounters the truth
• Character overcomes lie by finding and accepting the truth

• Characters may have a ghost /wound- a past event that haunts them and is a key reason why they believe the lie
  • When characters have a ghost, their reasons for believing what they believe become a lot stronger
    • Everyone does something for a reason, so it’s just figuring out why they might believe what they believe
• You need to establish the characters lie so we have a point of reference for the change that is to come later on in the film story
• The other characters / events have to challenge your characters lie in order to reveal the truth
  • It’s really useful to have the lie and truth defined before you start writing so you can have a clear idea of where go you’re starting and where are you want to go

Flat arc

• Character believe the truth
• Characters belief in the truth is tested
• Character holds onto the truth

• They have no need, no lie and no internal change

• They have the truth of the beginning of the story and the use it to overcome external tests
• But stories need change, so usually in flat arc stories they change the characters around them 
  • Katniss – those around her to fight against oppression
  • Daniel plainview – exploits those around him, causes their decline//destruction
• You need change in a story to keep your audience engaged

Negative arc

• They usually start on the dark path, they get a glimpse of the truth or what they could be but never embrace it
• It’s really important to figure out why they don’t embrace the truth, usually it has something to do with their past

• Disillusionment arc
  • Character believes a lie
  • Character in count of the truth
  • Character overcomes allied by finding the truth, but the new truth is tragic
• Fall arc
  • Character believes a lie
  • Character clings to lie, rejects a new truth
  • Character believes a stronger or worse lie
• Corruption arc
  • Character sees the truth
  • Rejects the truth
  • Embraces a lie

Your characters have to believe in elements of the lie to get pulled into it, they can’t do go into it for no reason, It has to seem like the right thing to do.

Open-ended arc

• An arc that can be interpreted in more than one way depending on how you view the beliefs – ie whether they find the truth, or end up believing a lie

Example – Whiplash

• Fall arc – belief that greatness is worth no matter the cost , He believes greatness is is more important than a normal life 
  • Lie: greatness is worth it no matter the cost
• Flat arc – Fletcher’s methods work, and the you can achieve greatness it will just cost you
  • Truth: greatness is worth it no matter the cost

4) Purpose of conflict

When you’re writing your stories, always ask yourself? So what? What’s the point? What am I trying to say here? You need to have something to say!

Story is metaphor for life – what is the best way to live?

Meaning in story is determined by values, which are guides on how to live your life.

• Purpose of story – give you an understanding of  a possible way to Live Your Life
  • Competing values/philosophical conflict – Competing ways on how you should live your life
  • What your film has the say / it’s message if determined by what value system comes out on top of the end

• Philosophical /moral conflict 
  • Conflict in beliefs/values between different characters w diff povs
• External conflict –  the obstacles the character faces in the external world
  • Get story moving
  • It’s not what the film is about, it’s just the vehicle in which the philosophical conflict/creators view on how to live life is delivered
• Internal conflict – Internal choices that character has to make

5) Story conflict

Progressive complications

• Create greater and greater conflict 
  • Push characters to take larger and larger actions 
• Create succession of events that continually pass points of no return 
  • Points of no return 
    • External 
    • Philosophical ie belief shifting 

Use want and cost to drive your story forward to keep passing points of no return – as character gets what they want, it needs to come at a cost!

• Without suffering (ie cost) characters 
  • Not forced to change 
  • To confront what they believe 
  • Not Forced to act 
• Through suffering (cost)
  • We see who the characters really are, what they believe in, how much they really want their goals 

Scene conflict

Don’t try to artificially inject conflict, should focus on creating characters and their wants/objectives so conflict grows naturally when you plant the characters in scene together.

Scene objective – character’s specific goal for this specific scene

Super objective – character’s overall goal and reason for doing what they doing

• At beginning of scene frame what the scene about
• Funnel down to single point – most important dialogue stated last

Troubleshooting dead scenes

If scene feels like it’s not working/slow ask yourself:

• What is the super objective?
• How does this scene serve the characters’ larger goals?
• What is the scene objective?
• What does character want in this scene that pushes them towards what they want?

Each scene needs to play a specific function in the story – new piece of info learned, action taken, choice made etc.

You need to clearly be able to articulate why scene in story, otherwise should cut it!

TO SUMMARISE

• Start with your characters and their deeply held beliefs
• Challenge those deeply held beliefs with other characters who believe differently
• Start small and grow larger so conflict rise and forces your characters to change

6) Exposition in narrative

Exposition – info about setting, biography, and characterisation audience needs to know to follow and comprehend events of story.

• Difficult balancing act
  • Too much – audience get bored
  • Too little – audience confused, then bored

So here are the broad concepts for adding exposition in your stories:

Show, don’t tell

• More interesting to see actions take place instead of hearing them through narration/character explanation
• When we see who are character his through that actions instead of people telling us who they are we have a lot more reliable viewpoint
  •  Actions speak louder than words
• If you’re writing dialogue were characters describing another character stop!
  • A better more interesting way is to encounter and introduce your character through seeing their words and actions
• If you’re writing about in your characters are describing other events that doesn’t move the current scene forward – stop!
  • Let us see the event 

Attack with exposition

• Using information as a weapon to attack your characters /audience? – to further the immediate conflict/to turn the story/create points of no return
  • Information that the character doesn’t know – Give exposition to audience and character at the same time

Right timing

• “Like all else, exposition must have a progressive pattern. Least important facts come early, most important later, and critical facts last.” – Robert McKee
  • Ie darth vader reveal
• To create a compelling reveal, the audience can’t think that they’re missing anything, they need to believe that they had all the facts 

Overwrite your exposition first, force yourself to know your story!  Easier to trim off fat than to create something from nothing.

• What audiences need to know:
  • Clear understanding of what’s going on on the surface
  • The protagonist and their clear want
• What they don’t need to know:
  • The big secrets or every small detail
  • The true underlying need of the protagonist

7) Exposition for screenplays

• Ppl NEVER tell each other important information they both already know

Methods of exposition for screenplays:

Direct telling

• Just direct explanation of the exposition
• Make sure to attack with exposition
• Keep it short and sweet

Flashbacks

• Audience needs a desire to know – without a desire to know it’ll slow the momentum of the story
• Attack with exposition –  what we learnt should affect our understanding of the present and the characters

Montage

• Be careful, if used incorrectly just end up showing passage of time w no stakes/furthering of the story i.e. Captain America fighting hydra
• Attack with exposition – need to turn the story/give us a new understanding of the character 
  • I.e. Godfather montage, not just a bunch of cool killings, showing the audience the info he’s got all these killings done and become the new head of Corleone family

Dream sequences

• Generally just try to avoid – usually inconsequential to story, not so subtle exposition dumps of important information
  • Because no stakes/cost, it’s not gonna be interesting
    • If a dream sequence has stakes it’s not a dream – just part of narrative/sci-fi mechanic – i.e. Inception/Matrix
• Only useful when they directly affect actions in real life? When they a catalyst for action – just try not to overdo it

Forced exposition

• Keep to absolute minimum and only use when necessary – ie title card in social network 
• Avoid long chunks of exposition, If your story absolutely has to have this comedy at the beginning to set up the world and avoid it as much as possible when your stories moving – it’ll kill momentum
  • Star wars title crawl 
  • Newspaper clippings to dump exposition
  • “WASHINGTON DC” like why dude you already got a shot of the whitehouse 

Stylising exposition

• To get through big chunk of exposition in middle of story 
• Basically every financial concept in The Big Short – masterclass in that
  • Use visual analogies – jenga blocks, poker game

All these methods of giving exposition need to follow the fundamentals of exposition covered in previous section:

• Show don’t tell 
• Attack w exposition 
• Right timing

8) Dialogue 

Dialogue is not a conversation, it’s a tool to develop story and for the characters to get what they want.

The only time my character will speak in a story is if they want something and they’re going to use speech to get it.

CONTEXT is key to writing dialogue.

Before you start worrying about the nitty gritty dialogue in the scene, look at the bigger picture, and at context – Look at the scene itself and see whether it’s actually necessary in the story.

Dialogue is like the cherry on top, it can’t replace substance for a scene, if you have a shit scene, but really witty dialogue, it’s still gonna be a shit scene – you’re just polishing a turd.

Style of dialogue is like the type of topping you choosing to garnish your scene with, not the core part.

Build context for your scene first, focus on understanding why your characters are talking, not the way in which they’re talking!

If you focus on style over substance, you going to write yourself into a corner.

Good dialogue can be invisible, like editing – it serves the stories function and doesn’t draw too much attention to itself.

David Mamet questions for writing dialogue

• Who wants what from who? (objectives) 
• What happens if they don’t get it? (stakes) 
• Why now? (urgency) 

Focus on the purpose of the scene

• How does this scene’s existence move the story forward? 
• Why are your characters here? (circumstance)
• What does each character want? (objective)
• What will happen here that turns the story? 
• Who or what is standing in the characters way? (obstacles)

Focus on making your characters sound fluid and natural

• You achieve this through practice and failing and making stilted dialogue and learning from it
  • It really helps to just read the dialogue out loud, to get a sense of how the dialogue actually sounds

9) How to use a mid-point

Mid-point is concept used when writing feature-length screenplays.

To avoid feeling confused on how to get from your beginning to ending can be useful to buy towards a strong midpoint to to give you a story more structure.

• Midpoint – send your a story in a new direction
• Build to midpoint – a specific event to derail your characters going after goal
• After midpoint force characters to deal with this new situation

It’s basically just points 5 and 6 on Dan Harmon story circle, get what they want, but at a cost.

• What does my character want? 
• What major cost will my character pay after they get what they want?

 10) How to write a scene 

You want to keep it simple on the first time round so you’re not bugging yourself down and slowing the writing process.

Once you’ve got that first pass done, you can go in and find tune and tweak everything.

Writing a scene for first time – keep it simple! 

• What do my characters want in scene and in story? 
  • Ensure your characters motivated properly and scene moving story forward 
• What happens in scene that changes and moves it forward? 
  • Every scene should turn story – i.e. learn new info, realisation, take action, confront antagonist, figuring out what to do next 
  • Exemplified how in Save The Cat on your beat sheet you need to go positive to negative /negative to positive – we need variance to get rollercoaster effect and so doesn’t flatline i.e. die on the page 
  • Think of it like a chain turning with teeth stopping it turning back the other way – basically like the rollercoaster mechanisms for bringing the cart upwards

Rewriting a scene – get more analytical, fine tune 

• What do the characters want? 
• What is the specific problem in the scene ? What creates the scene Conflict? 
  • Scenes without conflict obstacles just exposition (i.e. superhero standing around explaining plan /villain backstory in conference room) 
• How do the characters try to get what they want? (tactics) 
  • Could they take even stronger actions? How would that affect the characters and story 
• How does the scene change the overall story?
  • Every scene needs to serve a purpose otherwise it’s just fat you need to cut

11) Formatting screenplay 

Just search online for your favourite films, and read their screenplays to get an idea. One my fav films is Parasite, have attached the screenplay here:

• Only write in script writing software – final draft, studio binder, celtx etc etc 
• Each page roughly a minute of screen time 
• Unless absolutely necessary to story just write day /night bro 
• When writing action lines focus on what the audience will be seeing / hearing 
  • You can’t do stuff like novels and write characters thoughts
  • Screenwriting you need to write VISUALLY, cuz this a visual medium – if you can’t point camera at in and film it, don’t write it 
• Action lines to 4 lines or less to make it easier to read 
• Character name in all caps first time meet them 
• Any sounds in all caps eg the door SLAMS 
• Any particular object that is particularly important to story can be in all caps to highlight importance to reader 
• Parentheticals used to describe way of delivering dialogue that may seem counter intuitive 
  • Usually unnecessary though, don’t try and direct the film from the page, let actors and directors do their job 
• Only write in camera shots to script if you directing 
  • Up to you, I think it creates a better reading experience if instead of ECU John eye twitching. John’s eye twitches.
    • You imply camera angles w your language, and can keep more options on table without pigeon holing yourself when in collaboration w your DP
• Just read screenplays to get better idea on formatting 
  • John Wick a great example for looking at how to write action in screenplay format
• Honestly everyone has their own way of formatting the nitty gritty i.e. some people so just do you 
  • You have a lot more liberty to do it how you want if you gonna be directing 
• Script formatting is just the packaging of your idea, focus on telling a good story as opposed to trying to get format absolutely perfect 
  • The finished product is the film, not the screenplay 
• Feel free to break script format but just ask yourself will breaking script format help ppl making the movie deliver what you wanna deliver? 

12) Writing a short film 

• Keep it simple! Once you got more experience under your belt you can look at breaking rules, exceptions etc, but until you can write a solid simple story there’s no point
  • Learn the fundamentals, principles etc build up from there 
• This shouldn’t take a massive amount of time, don’t worry about making it perfect, it’s a low time commitment, just write it, learn lessons from it and move on!

Idea generation (Paul Schrader)

• What’s the most pressing problem you have in your life right now?
• What metaphor can you use to express this idea 
  • A stand in for your problem 
  • Could be an occupation 
    • Taxi driver was Paul Schrader’s metaphor for being super alone amongst so many ppl, being surrounded by ppl but being completely alone 
    • A double agent /industrial espionage for someone in the closet – they both living a double life and have to lie to their loved ones 
    • More examples at 23:38
  • Could be anything, but the metaphor can’t be your problem itself, needs to be LIKE it but not be it itself 
    • Metaphor for lonely boy isn’t lonely boy, metaphor for unattractive girl isn’t unattractive girl 
    • For it to be a metaphor, it needs to be different 
    • Like 2 wires, need to be right distance for spark to jump across, if too far spark won’t make it, if too close you’ll smother connection and no spark 

• Build philosophical conflict – backbone, viewpoint vs viewpoint 
  • Attach different povs to characters that creates conflict in their beliefs 
  • This conflict creates a moral dilemma 
  • Viewpoint a is x, viewpoint b is y – the two opposite ends then can populate the spectrum w beliefs in the middle
    • Attach diff characters to each, if protagonist gonna change they usually be in the middle being pulled one way and the other
    • A mentor/guiding figure would be on one end – the guiding force ->obi wan
    • Antagonist usually have very strong viewpoint – the other side -> vader
• Figure out your own process, you might find it easier to build other aspects like character first, some ppl like to figure out plot first, but you should have an idea of philosophical conflict going into it
• Structure
  • It MATTERS in short film just as in any narrative 
  • Story circle really useful tool 

Example – Mortynight Run 

• Philosophical conflict 
  • Absolute morality (Morty) – there is a right and wrong 
    • Selling weapons objectively wrong 
    • Life objectively valuable 
  • Moral relativism (Rick) – there’s no objective morality
    • Selling weapons is okay 
    • He defines his own morality 

• Character in a state of comfort (YOU) 
  • Morty believes in absolute morality
• But they want something (NEED) 
  • Morty wants to fix the ethical problem Rick has created 
• They enter an unfamiliar situation (GO) 
  • Morty goes after K. Michael 
• Adapt to it (SEARCH) 
  • Morty tracks down K. Michael 
• Get what they wanted (FIND) 
  • Morty stops K. Michael from killing his target 
• Pay a heavy price for it (TAKE) 
  • Saving Fart leads to many other deaths 
• They return to their familiar situation (RETURN) 
  • Morty gets Fart back to his portal home 
• Having changed (CHANGE) 
  • Morty kills Fart to stop his universe from being destroyed 

Philosophical statement /message – shit isn’t black and white, knowing what the ‘right’ thing to do isn’t always clear

Beliefs + characters + action = character action motivated by beliefs (ie the driving force of your story) 

• Just write. Don’t procrastinate by watching more script videos, you’ll learn so much more by doing 
• Quick tip – if your story circle/plot events are feeling contrived, always bring it back to character – what do they want?