What are some scriptwriting techniques that can elevate your media project?

1 Start with a logline

A logline is a one-sentence summary of your script that captures the essence of your story, the main conflict, and the protagonist's goal. It's a useful tool to test your idea, pitch your project, and keep your focus. A good logline should be concise, specific, and intriguing. It should also hint at the genre, tone, and audience of your project. For example, here's a logline for the movie The Sixth Sense: A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

2 Use the three-act structure

The three-act structure is a classic storytelling framework that divides your script into three parts: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. Each act has its own turning points, obstacles, and stakes that drive the plot forward and keep the audience engaged. The setup introduces the main characters, the setting, and the inciting incident that sets the story in motion. The confrontation raises the tension, complicates the conflict, and challenges the protagonist. The resolution resolves the conflict, shows the consequences, and reveals the theme.

3 Create memorable characters

Characters are the heart and soul of your script. They are the ones who make the audience care, laugh, cry, and root for them. To create memorable characters, you need to give them distinct personalities, motivations, flaws, and arcs. You also need to make them relatable, believable, and consistent. One way to do that is to use the character diamond, a tool that helps you define four key traits of your character: their essence, their strength, their weakness, and their contradiction.

5 Show, don't tell

Show, don't tell is a golden rule of scriptwriting that means you should use visual and auditory cues to convey your story, rather than relying on narration or explanation. Showing, rather than telling, allows you to create more vivid scenes, immerse the audience in your world, and evoke their emotions. For example, instead of telling the audience that a character is angry, you can show them slamming a door, throwing a glass, or clenching their fists.

6 Get feedback and revise

No script is perfect on the first draft. You need to get feedback and revise your script until it's as polished and effective as possible. Feedback can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your script, spot errors and inconsistencies, and get new perspectives and suggestions. To get feedback, you can join a scriptwriting group, hire a script consultant, or ask a trusted friend or colleague. To revise your script, you need to be open-minded, objective, and willing to cut, rewrite, or add scenes as needed.