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So. You want to write a movie script, but you’re not, actually, too sure how to write a screenplay? I’ve got a route for you. A battle tested map that gives you the basic outline of the process. 10 steps that lead to screenwriting glory.

1. You need one person at the heart of what you are writing who is very much loved by at least one or two people in the world of your story. They should really love this person in fact, because you’re going to really hurt this person, hurt them badly, and the reactions of the other characters are what will power the story.

2. Make sure you are writing in a genre. Understand whether you’re writing a thriller, a comedy, a ghost story, and make sure you understand what the audience likes to see in these types of stories. You don’t have to give them it, but do that from a position of power, not ignorance.

3. Happy endings stink, right? Wrong. They’re harder to write well than the average load of gloom dished out by the average amateur writer, they tend to deliver better word of mouth, and they tend to make people happy. I strongly suggest you plan for a happy ending.

4. Make sure you love your hero – and then devise a very clever ways to hurt them: build their character over the course of the story so that by the end they have powerful desires for two contradictory things. When you resolve that dilemma in the climax you add a massive punch to your ending.

5. You need a villain you absolutely love too. The clever thing to do with your villain is make sure they are explicitly designed to stop your hero getting what they want. And will go the extra mile on this. Even if it hurts. Especially if it hurts.

6. Never ever go to script until you’ve got the entire shape of your story worked out. Know what the ending is, what happens to your hero, and how you’re going to get there. Write that whole outline up as a prose document before writing a word of dialogue. This is called a treatment.

7, Give this prose treatment out to a bunch of your friends. Make them read it. And then listen to what they say. Don’t defend yourself, just listen. When three or more of them identify the same problem, well, you probably do have that problem.

8. Take the opening paragraph of your prose treatment. Think yourself into the world of that paragraph, until you can practically see it happening around you. Make sure you visualize the events over and over again, till it plays like a real movie in your head. This mini-movie is going to be the opening sequence of your script.

9. Get out your word processor, or your script writing software, whatever, doesn’t matter. You can format it later. Get that little movie down on paper now. Write the scenes. Make the characters move, and talk, and feel.

10. Do 8 and 9 over and over, paragraph to mind mini-movie to sequence on the page, until you reach the last page of the treatment.

You have just finished your first draft.

Format it. Print it. Weigh it in your hand. Admire it. You should be proud. Few people get this far. And if you followed these steps, it’s going to be far more readable than anything else you have written.

Philip Gladwin has battled evil TV execs on a daily basis since 1995. He’s a screenwriter and editor, and has created a useful screenwriting website that is packed full of authoritative information for the ambitious screenwriter. He’s also designed a neat little piece of screenwriting software that helps you structure your story along fully professional lines.

I had a fascinating time over the weekend. I’m currently spending a lot of my time pitching new TV series here in the UK, and as part of this exercise I sat down and a load of DVD box sets.

I’ve recently become aware of just how critical the opening ten minutes are, and so I scooted from show to show being quite strict about watching their opening ten minutes and not any more.

It very quickly became apparent that there were two obvious things that the very best shows did far more often than the ones that sank without trace.

It comes down to you giving the audience a very clear understanding of the story world into which you will be leading them as quickly as possible. There’s nothing shatteringly new about this idea, but up till recently I’d been playing around with slow burn openings, so that the audience sometimes wouldn’t really ‘get’ what the show was about till the Act 1 break of the Pilot ep. Big mistake!

So I’m putting this message out as a fantastic example of something valuable you can learn by just watching shows with an analytical mindset.

Rule 1: Get to the precinct of your show in the first ten minutes. If the show is going to be, at its heart, about a mafia boss having trouble with his family and going to a shrink, then show us all that in the first ten minutes.

If it’s about a woman hairdresser who is going to have trouble with her marriage, show us the woman, show us hairdressers, show us her man, show us why they’ve got problems, and give us the guy who’s going to be the cuckoo in the nest.

If it’s a kids’ show about a next door neighbour who spends her days slugging it out with alien invaders, then we need to see the kids, the mysterious neighbour, and a good taster of some nice alien action.

Simple, and obvious, but how many of you would be tempted by a more oblique way in? I know I would have been until I sat there and saw, with my own eyes, the speed at which these shows got to the point.

The Second Rule is also just as easy. We need to get to the main character (or the character who is the main focus of the episode if you are writing a multi-stranded show) very fast. We also need to experience one or two fascinating emotional contractions about them in the same period.

OK. So, if our point of view character, the guy who the show is about, happens to be a murdering gang boss, but he’s also very likeable, we need to see both these sides to his life. Or, to take a police example – if you’re writing about a set of police officers we might reasonably expect to be a little literal minded, show them at work, and then show them as civilised, articulate, and super bright.

Think like a street hawker. Make your big impact fast. This is what you’re selling, so get it up in our faces.

I spent about an hour on this exercise, and it was fun, and I wasn’t too rigorous about it. I suspect if I’d sat there and really analysed stuff I’d have found a lot more rules, but these two were the big ones. If you do it too I’m sure you’ll discover a whole set of truths that you might not have suspected existed before.

The last thing to say is, it was amazing how it was the great shows, the ones that stayed afloat for years and went down in history, followed these rules far, far more effectively than the ones that lasted one or two series then slipped below the waves.

And THAT is definitely something to think about.

In general, I strongly recommend you get used to the idea of watching a lot of material like this, stopwatch in hand. Keep records of when particular moments occur – how long into movies, and tv episodes you go before lead characters, big twists, set up moments occur. See if you can see patterns across different movies. It’s amazing what even a few experiments like this will reveal.

Then, once you’ve started noticing these big pattersn, you might be interested in looking out the structural tools and devices I lay out in my own Guide on How to Write a Screenplay – and with that in hand you’ll definitely find it a lot more straightforward to build your own great stories.

Philip Gladwin has been a pro screenwriter and editor since 1995, and is also the man behind the fast growing Screenwriting Goldmine website. He has taken everything he has learned and used it to create a step-by-guide on how to write a screenplay.

We use out television for entertainment, that’s what it was designed for. We suspend belief for an hour or so while we enjoy being entertained. Some believe, however, that TV rots the brain cells with all the violence etc. Some shows, however, still have morals and teach us lessons for life. These are the best of those.

The first one is Psych; this is a networked crime drama which I think is great fun. A guy who’s memory is photographic and wits are razor sharp passes himself off as a psychic to solve mysteries and crimes.

Everyone loves to play detective, and I am one while this show is on. It really gets you thinking and makes great TV.

A favorite show of mine is on ABC and is Super Nanny. This fascinating program deals with the super nanny, Jo Frost, helping parents on both sides of the Atlantic who simply can’t cope with their kids anymore. You can catch re runs on Style every day.

She enters their homes and gives out great advice on how to handle their unruly kids without screaming at them or dealing out harsh punishments. Both the kids and their parents benefit greatly from Jo Frost’s presence.

I’m not a great fan of makeover programs but the likes of How do I look? fascinate me. These people mustn’t have mirrors in their homes the way they dress. They are shown what to suits them and how to wear it, and become chic and well dresses people.

I don’t believe in judging a book by its cover, but they so often are. Tips to improve how you look can have a huge bearing on the rest of your life.

If I can be entertained and educated at the same time, I’m very happy. I get both of these from all the CSI shows, NCIS and Law and Order. They show behind the scenes of our legal system as well as dealing with moral and ethical dilemmas. No subject is taboo, however disturbing.

The writer additionally often shares knowledge on topics including floor register cover and air conditioning vents.

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The movie Sunshine Cleaning, which got released back in the beginning of last year, was finally offered without charge through my TV cable plan. I have really been itching to watch it based on all the great things that I have heard about it and just finished viewing it.

First, I’ll fill you in on a basic synopsis of the movie without giving anything away. This is a movie starring Amy Adams as Rose Lorkowski and Emily Blunt as Norah Lorkowski, two sisters in their late 20s or early 30s, living in New Mexico.

Since their mother had died when they were really little, the sisters were reared by their father who was able to give them lots of love throughout those difficult years. Rose’s son Oscar, who is played by Jason Spevack, is about 8 years old.

Although he is very smart, Oscar has been passing the years minus a father figure which has resulted in a few difficulties along the way. He is not very easily understood.

Both the sisters have come across hard times financially as they continually tried to get somewhere in life. Yes, he found a way to make things work for himself, but their father is still not doing all that much better than they are.

Norah and Rose make the decision to begin a business, and that is what this movie is mainly about. It is not a business that you would normally think of because cleaning up areas where people have died is what this business happens to be. Every bit of residue and blood has to be removed from the area, but moving the dead bodies is not required.

As the two sisters go along in this distinctive business, everything that goes on with it is told in this movie. During that time, there is an examination of Rose and Norah’s relationship as well as Rose and Oscar’s relationship, along with some other ones.

With some great acting jobs, you certainly feel a connection to the characters of the movie, feeling their joy and pain through their ups and downs. I’d recommend seeing this movie if you’re looking for a high quality drama.

This author also often contributes articles about things like iron bed frames and full size bunk beds.