What could possibly make you a better writer than doing more reading? No matter what your writing project type—speech, humor blog, how-to book, memoir, romance novel—reading examples is a brilliant idea.
When you read anything, you are giving your brain some great exercise, especially useful when you sit down to write something yourself. As your read, your brain is remembering hundreds if not thousands of subtle connections between language and storytelling.
Reading screenplays provides an added benefit, even if you have no plan to write one yourself. Each is naturally designed to both “show” (especially) and “tell” (using professionally-crafted dialogue).
Curious, I looked at the IMSDB screenplay section and viewed The Devil Wears Prada (that great movie with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway). I can so vividly picture this scene and find it fascinating to see it as the cast and crew did.
A screenplay exemplifies how to get creative and communicate everything the audience needs to understand about a character, the scene, the mood, and every relationship.
Find one for a movie you’ve seen and read it. Note how the story unfolds, the details all count, and the dialogue always forwards the action.
Here are 5 websites that allow you to download professional movie scripts.
- IMSDB – Internet Movie Screenplay Database
A valuable resource for researching movie crews, casts, and trivia- just as useful for those looking for screenplays of all kinds and genres.
- AwesomeFilm
Dozens of scripts you can download with a single click, alphabetized for easy searching.
- Screenplays For You
Everything from low-key award-winning dramas like Sideways to action blockbusters like Avatar.
- The Script Lab
The Script Lab comes in handy if you’re looking for more recent screenplays.
- Movie Scripts and Screenplays
http://www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/
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