1. By Corin Metzger

2.  The premise in screenplay writing is the basic concept that drives the plot.  Ask yourself “What is my story about?”  A good premise is almost always derived from an emotion.  If your story doesn’t have a clear premise it will lack the focus and drive it needs.

3. The four main characters in Stand By Me  Every good script starts with a protagonist character.  The antagonist is the one against the protagonist.  All of your characters should have their own quality that set them apart from one another.  Create biographical information about your character before you begin your screenplay.

4.  After creating your basic storyline, you need to think about the obstacles that you want your protagonist to face.  The 3 act structure  Sub-plots used to be only for comic relief, but now they are used to advance the main plot.

5. A scene from the movie Milk  The first few pages of a screenplay are the most important.  Scenes should not run much more then two minutes (or two pages long)  The back story  A scene should end with a punch.

6.  There are many formatting rules.  Share with others when you are done your first draft.  Be open to suggestions and criticism when making your second draft.  Be prepared to write many more drafts before you write your last “the end”.

7.  I need to start thinking about what I will write next.

8.  American Film Institute. The Basics Of Screenwriting. Reference From: http://www.fathom.com/course/21701762/session5.html  Trottier, David. The Screenwriter's Bible. 3rd Expanded ed. Beverly Hills: Silman-James Press, 1998. Print. Picture Sources:  http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://application.denofgeek.com/images/m/rop/005_Stan d_By_Me.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/256929/top_10_ritesofpassage_movi es.html&usg=__ZjIn66H6tu7J- bQ34hDy0xYsbb0=&h=300&w=450&sz=28&hl=en&start=27&itbs=1&tbnid=X-WXRp- mDTBbNM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstand%2Bby%2Bme%26start%3D20%26hl%3De n%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1  http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://afod.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/milkmovie.jpg&i mgrefurl=http://afod.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/&usg=__rbKS1SkItzOOnYMfMHdYV6mkhpc=&h=2 25&w=325&sz=66&hl=en&start=3&itbs=1&tbnid=xrdHx0s9rwpkRM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=118&prev=/ima ges%3Fq%3Dmilk%2B(movie%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1  http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://forcomradesandlovers.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/ screenplay.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forcomradesandlovers.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/coffee-shops- la-ny-and- screenplays/&usg=__R_q0mrSwRYEBQKdNAuLEaSqScFE=&h=267&w=258&sz=4&hl=en&start=1&itbs= 1&tbnid=hFC1pGTz6K28qM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=109&prev=/images%3Fq%3DScreenplay%26hl%3Den%2 6gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1