It’s like walking into the circus arena and proclaiming that you want to be, not the clown or the juggler, but the high-wire act, balancing precariously on a thin wire, hundreds of feet in the air, while thousands of faces look up, awestruck at your handiwork.

It’s like being the protagonist in your favorite thriller. There will be times when you feel like you are on top of it, and you’ve got it all figured out, but there will be other times when it feels like you haven’t got a clue. There will be false starts and dead ends, but there will be thrilling chases and last minute heroics.

And yes, there will be times when it will feel like all is lost, but we all know, in a movie, when it seems like all is lost, the best is yet to come. Have I scared you away yet? Good, then strap on your crash helmet and safety goggles and let’s get going.

If you are interested in the art of screenwriting, you’re interested in the art of storytelling. So, let’s begin with a little story about a story….

Many centuries ago, a master storyteller told a parable about a man who sows seed. As the man scatters seed, some falls on the compacted soil of a pathway and is spirited away by birds. Some falls on rocky ground, where there is too little soil for a plant to take root. Some falls among thorns that choke away the life of the young seedlings. However, some falls on rich soil that produces a yield of thirty, or sixty, or one hundred fold.

I want you to look at the parable of the sower in a slightly different way. I want you to think of the seed as story ideas. Even though it may not seem like it, they are plentiful, and they are falling all around you. You are the soil of the parable.

Moist, nutrient-rich soil will produce plump, plentiful fruit. The fruit is the projects that you will write. But, those story ideas, those seeds, will shrivel and die if the ground they fall on is dry, parched and lifeless. Are you prepared to bear fruit?

There are many sites that claim to teach the art of screenwriting, but it seems like many of them place their focus solely on product. They tell you what a screenplay is, and then give you a kind of do-it-yourself gizmo kit that seems to suggest that, if you connect lever “a” to lever “b”, and segment “c” to segment “d”, that after all the bolts and screws are tightened up, you’ll have a screenplay.

We view things differently here. We’re not looking to develop screenplay assemblers, because fabulous screenplays have heart, and soul, they’re forged from flesh and blood—just like you! They are not mass produced and churned out at a factory. They are painstakingly crafted out of the heart and soul and dreams of a living, breathing person.

Here at How to Write a Screenplay-AID, we want to focus on the most valuable aspect of the screenwriting process—you, the writer. We want to empower you so that you can take those “story seeds” and nurture them into lush, verdant, fully developed stories.

Hence, our name. How to Write a Screenplay-AID is exactly what it says it is. This is a site where we want to teach you how to write screenplays through Affirming, Inspiring, and Developing YOU, the writer. We feel that this is the best approach to helping you achieve screenwriting success. You are the muscle that has to be strengthened, the tool that has to be sharpened—the soil that has to be enriched. You are the investment. We want to invest in you. Are you ready to invest in yourself?

So, sit back, relax and take your time exploring the site. You might want to get started by visiting the Introduction page. You might want to sharpen your creativity skills by visiting the “Creativity Corner”, but I think the best way to start might be by visiting “The Investment” page. Wherever you begin, you’ll find it’s well worth it. If you have comments or suggestions, please visit our contact page and let us know how you feel.