Creative Writing & Screenwriting Worksheets

[Pages:43]Creative Writing &

Screenwriting

Worksheets

Collated from a decade of material used in Jamie Rhodes' courses and workshops, this collection of exercises is a public resource for writers seeking to develop their creative writing and screenwriting skills.

Written by: Jamie Rhodes

Jamie Rhodes

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Contents

Forward by Jamie Rhodes....................3 Finding the Story..................................4 Character.............................................10 Structure..............................................17 Dialogue..............................................23 Genre...................................................30 Writing Technique.............................35

Jamie Rhodes

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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Forward

My first gig teaching creative writing was in my very early twenties, freshly trained as a script reader, I walked nervously into an all girls' secondary comprehensive school. Standing in front of thirty rowdy teenage girls, hoping they will be remotely interested in what you have to say ? and praying they won't heckle too viciously ? is quite a daunting experience! Thankfully, it went well and went on to teach screenwriting and creative writing in many schools, colleges, universities, media centres, community groups and homeless shelters throughout the country, working with adults and young people of all ages and backgrounds.

Over ten years, I have developed a large selection of worksheets and exercises to suit specific audiences in terms of age, ability and desired outcomes. I felt the time had come to offer these worksheets publicly in one simple pack, grouped according to the particular writing elements they are designed to address. I hope you find them useful.

The exercises do not need to be followed in any particular order, and not every exercise in each section will appeal to every writer. Everybody works in different ways, but it is my intention that the exercises should be diverse enough in their approach that there is something in each section for every writer.

I use many of these exercises when writing my own stories, turning to different chapters of the pack to improve my work and keep practicing. Feel free to get in touch and let me know what has worked for you.

Happy writing!

Jamie Rhodes

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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Finding the Story

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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Finding the Story

Exercise 1 ? Before the Internet

With the Internet offering such a wealth of information at your fingertips, it is easy to forget how vital other avenues of research can be to finding intriguing stories. The local library is a good place to find information that is not available on the Internet. A quick look at the local history section can reveal some unique inspiration for true stories.

1. Scan the books about local history for potentially interesting people or events in your region.

2. Choose one person and one event, then either: a. Put the person in the event and write about how they might react. b. Make note of the main plot points taking place in the event, adapt them slightly to increase drama if needed. c. Write a brief character study on the person and identify a dramatic turning point in their life.

3. Using part 2, write a timeline for how the story that you have found or adapted could be told.

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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Finding the Story Exercise 2 ? New Information Researching something that you have absolutely no knowledge of can be interesting and useful when finding a story to tell. First choose a character, it can be one that already exists or you can invent one. Think of one subject that your character knows a lot about, but that you know nothing about.

Now list ten facts about this subject: 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

These facts will be known by your character and will contribute to his/her personality. Make notes on how this aspect of a character's personality could be used within a story.

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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Finding the Story Exercise 3 ? Interview We are constantly surrounded by stories, every person has a story to tell, and so a brilliant story may be closer than you think. For this exercise, ask a relative or family friend if you can interview them about their life (bear in mind an older person will have more stories to tell). Interview them in a journalistic way, asking detailed, probing questions. Be sure to take notes about periods of their life stand out as particularly dramatic or emotive. From the interview, pick apart one thing to focus on and write a short sentence for a potential story idea.

Example: If I interviewed my Granddad, a succinct story idea description might be: 1. A short film about the emotional journey of an old widower whose only son has left home to join the army and fight in a war.

Story Ideas: 1.

2.

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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Finding the Story

Exercise 4 ? Quick Writing

Getting a story out of your head is difficult, but it helps if you remember that at this early stage it doesn't have to be ground breaking or even good. Just get it on paper. This exercise will help to dump a batch of story ideas out of your head, and then sift through them for potential gems.

Write 25 titles in the boxes on the left hand side of the table below. Swap your titles with a partner and have them circle 5 that sound interesting. Of these, choose 3, and write a short synopsis about the story behind the title.

Title

Brief Synopsis

Title:_______________________

Title:_______________________

Title:_______________________

Copyright ? 2016 Jamie Rhodes

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