Screenplays and Decision-Making

A friend on LinkedIn recently posted the following question:

"Has anybody written a screenplay? What are the steps? I always see movies that say "Based on a Novel by Ms Whatshername." So is a novel a good way to get started and then test it for a screenplay?"

And what does this question have to do with decision-making?

Below's my reply to the post. Be sure to read the "PS:"

My description of the steps is slightly different [than others who answered].

When I first started writing, I preferred screenplays to novels because novels run two to three times as long. Screenplays run around 120 pages with a lot of white space.

My wife bought me Vikki King's How to Write a Screenplay in 21 Days and I was told by a friend about Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey.

I studied films pretty seriously for several years, ones that I really liked.

Then one summer, I took a week's vacation and sped up the 21-day process to see if I liked writing screenplays. I did.

Both books were excellent for this beginning effort.

Two months after my vacation of writing, my wife gave me a screenwriting course at the local community college for a birthday present. It was great. I was hooked. Took the advance course.

After it, the teacher and I went to a movie together to check out our responses and see if we were mutually interested in action movies. We were. So we partnered up and began writing.

The rest is history as they say. We were blessed with success.

There were downsides to what followed, but not enough to discourage me from writing still or recommending it to others.

Thanks for the question.

John Darrouzet

PS: How will you decide whether to take up screenwriting? You may be interested in my blogs on "Creative Decision-Making" and "Movies for Decision-Makers."

My work on decision-making is based in part on my insight into the way movies work.