A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter for short), scriptwriter
or scenarist, is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting,
writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television
programs and video games, are based.Screenwriting is a freelance
profession. No education is required to be a professional
screenwriter, just good storytelling abilities and imagination.
Screenwriters are not hired employees but contracted freelancers.
Most, if not all, screenwriters start their careers writing on
speculation (spec) and so write without being hired or paid for it. If
such a script is sold, it is called a spec script. What separates a
professional screenwriter from an amateur screenwriter is that
professional screenwriters are usually represented by a talent agency.
Also, professional screenwriters do not often work for free, but
amateur screenwriters will often work for free and are considered
"writers in training." Spec scripts are usually penned by unknown
professional screenwriters and amateur screenwriters.There are a
legion of would-be screenwriters who attempt to enter the film
industry, but it often takes years of trial-and-error, failure, and
gritty persistence to achieve success. In Writing Screenplays that
Sell, Michael Hague writes, "Screenplays have become, for the last
half of [the twentieth] century, what the Great American Novel was for
the first half. Closet writers who used to dream of the glory of
getting into print now dream of seeing their story on the big or small
screen."
or scenarist, is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting,
writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television
programs and video games, are based.Screenwriting is a freelance
profession. No education is required to be a professional
screenwriter, just good storytelling abilities and imagination.
Screenwriters are not hired employees but contracted freelancers.
Most, if not all, screenwriters start their careers writing on
speculation (spec) and so write without being hired or paid for it. If
such a script is sold, it is called a spec script. What separates a
professional screenwriter from an amateur screenwriter is that
professional screenwriters are usually represented by a talent agency.
Also, professional screenwriters do not often work for free, but
amateur screenwriters will often work for free and are considered
"writers in training." Spec scripts are usually penned by unknown
professional screenwriters and amateur screenwriters.There are a
legion of would-be screenwriters who attempt to enter the film
industry, but it often takes years of trial-and-error, failure, and
gritty persistence to achieve success. In Writing Screenplays that
Sell, Michael Hague writes, "Screenplays have become, for the last
half of [the twentieth] century, what the Great American Novel was for
the first half. Closet writers who used to dream of the glory of
getting into print now dream of seeing their story on the big or small
screen."
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