What Are the Advantages of Studying Writing with ACS Distance Education?
- You can start at any time to suit you.
- The courses are self-paced.
- You can study when and where suits you. They are flexible to fit in around you and your lifestyle.
- Keep up to date on your learning.
- Update your CV.
- It is not just a course, it is a package of learning that includes – course notes, tutor feedback, self-assessment tests, research tasks and assignments.
- Our tutors are all experts in their field, with years of experience in writing.
- They are also keen and enthusiastic about their subject and enjoy working with students to improve their knowledge and skills.
- Courses are also updated regularly to meet the demands of the changing needs for knowledge and to keep our courses up to date.
During the course, you will learn more about building characters -
We must be true to our characters. As a scriptwriter, we should ensure that our characters have the correct characteristics to develop the story in the correct way. Imagine you are writing a script about a poor, down at heel man, living on the streets in poor shabby clothes with no money and then finding out that he is being blackmailed and is a millionaire. Unless there were pointers in the story to suggest that he was wealthy, the audience may not believe the story you have created, we need to ensure that we give those clues. For example, he may be very well spoken, know a lot about good whisky, say that he has travelled the world etc. These ‘clues’ might help the reader to believe us when we say he is a millionaire.
Try and visualise your characters. What do they look like? How do they talk? What do they do? How do they behave? Are they good or evil? Are they human? If we can imagine what a person looks like, we can find it easier to find their voice when we are writing a script.
Character Planning
Background: Research your character – don’t make simple mistakes that may not be realistic; for example, if your character is a GP he or she is not likely to be performing complex surgery.
Know your character - their traits, their position, their job, their family situation, their cultural background: ethnics, religion, social standing, education, interests, their ethnic background, their physical and mental attributes, their behaviour, how they speak, how they walk and how they react in various situations.
Question your character: When you develop a character, it is handy to set a list of questions – as if you were conducting an interview. Respond to each question by researching and imagining what this character would be like –their attitudes, behaviour, appearance, social standing and so on. Asking questions is a great tool in character development.
Development: A character is developed and shaped through their environment, their upbringing, their education, the people that have influenced their lives (for good and bad) and the time in which they lived or live.
Time period: The way a character behaves, dresses, speaks etc., is reflected by the time in which they live. If you are setting a tale in the future of course you will have a lot more licence as it may be pure fantasy. Those that have lived in the past (in whatever period) must reflect this in their speech, attitudes, behaviour, dress and social standing. Research, research and research and you are unlikely to go wrong!
The location: The setting of your script will influence its atmosphere – a script set in outback Australia will have a totally different atmosphere to one set in the lush tropics or the English countryside. Again, this requires research – if you get it wrong your script will most probably be rejected and if it sneaks through your audience will undoubtedly pick you up on it and you lose credibility. Either write about what you know or be prepared to do a lot of research or even visit the places you are writing about.
Career: As discussed before – make sure that the career suits the character, their life and in general the way they speak, dress and behave. A surgeon will have a totally different character to a farmer. A very well-dressed person is more likely to be affluent than they are a vagrant.
BE IN DEMAND
There is always demand for suitably qualified script writers - for contract work, freelance opportunities and permanent employment roles.
- Do you want to develop the skills and the knowledge to work in this growing industry?
- The predicted future growth of the script writing industry is steady. There is an expected 25-30% growth of this market in the next 5 years.
What Next?
- Do you want to become a script writer?
- Do you want to improve your script writing skills?
If the answer to one of these questions is yes, then why not enrol today and get started?
The only way to become a writer of any kind is to write.
Get started. Don't say, "I want to be a writer." Decide to say "I am a writer."
You can enrol today by clicking the “Enrol Now” button above.
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