The Old Man and the Sea ©Warner Bros.

Ever get a big fish on the line only to have it get away before you could pull it into the boat?  You probably didn’t set the hook.

Rule #1 in fishing: set the hook!

The same is true in screenwriting, only you’re not trying to hook a fish, you’re trying to hook the audience.  You don’t need a fishing rod, you need ten great pages.

©1999 Miramax Films

Do you write part time?  Do you write for just a few hours a day?  Are you writing a spec screenplay a few days a week or month?

If you answered any of these questions in the affirmative you may be losing more time (and creativity) than you think.

Let me give you a few suggestions that will help you get a lot more writing done...

What is the #1 most important ingredient of every great screenplay?

Is it great characters?

Great plot?

High Concept?

It’s none of these.  The #1 most important ingredient of every great screenplay is...

©DreamWorks Animation

One of the most useful maxims in life is known by the acronym K.I.S.S. I'm sure you've heard of it. It stands for “Keep It Simple Stupid”. But simplicity is not just the key to a happy life; it's also the key to great storytelling—which only makes sense because stories are about life.

Well-written animated features, no matter how complex they may seem upon first viewing, have basic character and plot elements that are very simple. To create a simple, well-constructed story you need only answer a few questions. Let me demonstrate using Kung Fu Panda...

There are only two things you need to do to become a better writer: study and write.  The question is: are you studying and writing optimally?

I wrote screenplays for Columbia and Paramount on instinct, and wrote hundreds of animation scripts the same way.  But I’d never really “learned” how to write. I finally decided to get serious about my craft and read all the best-selling screenwriting books.  I learned quite a bit.  But one of the most important things I learned was that WHAT you read is only half of the journey.  HOW to read is the other. Learn the three R's and become a better screenwriter...

The reason I use Excel to develop story structure is based on a writing principle I discovered years ago.  I call it getting a God’s-Eye View of the story.

I realized that by writing my outline beats in a normal word processing program it took screen after screen to go through my scenes.  So while I was looking at one portion of my story, the rest of the story was out of sight.  And as they say, “Out of sight, out of mind”.

But when I write I want all of my story in mind.  And here’s how I do it...

If you are familiar with screenwriting software such as Final Draft and Screenwriter, you know that they make it easier to write scripts by automatically formatting script elements such as character names, dialog and description. But I’ve used Microsoft Word to write hundreds of scripts and actually find it easier to use than expensive screenwriting software—and in most cases just as good.

Follow my instructions, below, and you can turn Word into an effective screenwriting program.

© BIG Animation

Here's a tip for professional television and film screenwriters.

If you haven't thought of this one yet it will save you time by eliminating the need to write some things twice.  But best of all, in just a couple of minutes it will let you see that you've probably already written half of your script.  And that will make most any writer feel GREAT!

What I do is this: After I've written an outline, and am ready to start the script, I cut and paste the outline directly into my script document.

But then I take it one important step further...

© Warner Bros.

If you want to write animation—or if you just want to produce or direct it—it’s important to know the difference between live action and animation writing. First the similarities: 

Animation stories are developed pretty much the same as in live action.  You come up with a concept, sometimes called a premise, describing the basic beginning, middle and end of the story.  The next stage is an outline, laying out each scene, including action and gags.  The final step is the script, with full scene description and dialogue. 

The script form in animation is virtually identical to live action. 

It’s the differences that are important to understand.