How to Write a Screenplay for Kids

If you love movies and love kids, you might have a few kid-friendly ideas that you would like to see up on the big screen one day. If you have an idea that you think would make a great movie for kids, then you can work on transforming it into a kids' movie. The first step is to write the screenplay. You do not have to have screenwriting experience to write a screenplay for kids.

Instructions

1. Flesh out the details of your idea. Take your premise and come up with characters and what each one is going to do in your script.

2. Make an outline. Write down each thing that's going to happen in your screenplay in order. At the very least, you need a beginning, middle and end. Know the problem, how your hero is going to go about solving it, and the outcome. Keep your age range in mind and don't complicate the premise beyond that age level.

3. Write your first draft. Use your outline and write each scene with both dialogue and action. Keep your audience in mind. Humor that's good for adults isn't always good for kids.

4. Format your screenplay. Screenplays are formatted differently from other forms of writing. You can format while you are writing the screenplay, but it's easiest to format when you're done writing. That way you don't have to keep fixing your formatting. You can find proper screenplay formatting in many books at your local bookstore, including "The Screenwriter's Bible" and "Screenwriting for Dummies."

5. Rewrite your screenplay. Let it sit for a few days and read your screenplay again. You'll find a lot of things that you can write better.

6. Get feedback. Let some kids in the age range you are targeting read your screenplay. Let them read the script and find out what they think. If there are things they don't understand, make changes until the kids can easily grasp everything.

Tips & Warnings

• Your screenplay needs a catchy title.

Resources

• Screenplay format samples