How to become a screenplay writer?

Any movie or television series has a story to tell. A screenplay writer creates the plot of the show and writes the sequence of a scene. In other words, a screenplay writer decides how a story pans out on the screen.

While daily TV soaps can often have similar scripts, what distinguishes one from the other is the way it is played out on screen. This is exactly where a screenplay writer’s role comes in – to write a screenplay creatively enough to produce it better on-screen.

The demand for screenplay writers is growing. While the media industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country, according to India Brand Equity Foundation, television industry forms the largest segment in media and entertainment and is expected to grow at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5% to reach US$ 15.2 billion in 2019.

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“There is a lot of competition and one needs to be an extremely good writer to make sure that there is no one else who can ensure good quality at a lesser pay than yours,” says Pooja Shrivastav, screenplay writer, Rashmi Sharma Telefilms.

Shrivastav ,who has written for popular TV shows like Adaalat and Sasural Simar Ka, says that one should be able to meet deadlines. “For television, especially, you get a story and within four to six hours you need to churn out the screenplay and send it to the dialogue writer before it goes for a shoot. For a particular show, one might need to write more than two to three screenplays which can take up about 12 hours a day.”

There is a huge supply of screenplay writers in the industry and a lot of competition. You need to give your best in every script you work on. If you turn in average work it is bound to get rejected , Shrivastav adds.