Forums » General Forum

Advice Needed! How to write the script for a poem?

    • 47 posts
    September 29, 2022 1:00 PM PDT

    In the past week, I have created a post asking for your advice on how to create an Autumn short film about a Poem. I have received many great tips from you and I am thankful for that. However, now I have stumbled upon another problem. I need to write a script for my project and I am not sure how to do it.

    I wish to create a short film using the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. It would be a great practice for me to write a detailed script based on this, describing the scenes that I will film, the characters that I will use and so on. This will be my first script for a real project that I will write, therefore I need your help once again!
    Problem No. 1: How do I write the script? Is there a template I should follow?
    Problem No. 2: 
    Considering the Poem already exists, how do I adapt it to my script? Filmmakers do this all the time when they are adapting books into movies. How should I proceed with this poem? Should I leave anything out of the short film? Should I add something original and creative that is not in the poem?

    Problem No. 3: What software should I use to write this script? I know there are many options that I can choose from however I am not sure which would work best for a student like me with little to no experience.


    This post was edited by Julia Doyle at September 29, 2022 1:00 PM PDT
  • October 7, 2022 1:20 PM PDT

    There shouldn't be a difference between scripting a poem and a normal script. You could use the format for any existing script.

    For the adaptation part you would have to look at how other who are more experienced already did this. There is the example of books that get turned into movies, such as the series "A song of ice and fire" by George RR Martin which became the famous "Game of Thrones". Or "The Hobbit" or "Lord of the Rings". You need to do a bit of reading on your own to see how they did it and you should be able to find these scripts online as well or at least parts of these scripts. 

    I heard that WriterDuet is a good software for screenwriting.

  • October 7, 2022 1:20 PM PDT

    It might not be much but I hope my post can help you Julia!


    This post was edited by Deleted Member at October 7, 2022 1:21 PM PDT