A treatment has no set length but on average a detailed one is around 20 pages.Īs a writer it’s a good idea to give your ideas a dry run.
It’s basically a short story version of your script. What’s a treatment? A treatment can be anywhere from two or three pages to 30 or more pages. Often times, those that are not as familiar with the term, will confuse a synopsis with a treatment. Within the one-sheet will be one solid paragraph that fully captures the core idea of your script. It’s what is used to describe your film/show on a one-sheet (a one-sheet is what you leave behind after a pitch). What is a synopsis? A synopsis is a one paragraph to one page description of the overall premise of your film or show. There may be other moments that happen in this scene, but those significant moments are what you want to focus on when writing your beat sheet. I try to make sure that each scene has at least three beats. A beat is a significant moment in a scene. In television the outline is usually referred to as a “beat sheet.” A beat sheet is the breakdown of each scene into its major beats. The theme and original plot may stay intact, but often times (at least for me) the characters will take you on a few detours and get you to the heart of what you really wanted to write. Sure, there’ll be some resemblances to your original outline. Sometimes the story you thought you were going to write turns out to be something different altogether. If you’re a seasoned writer you are well aware that once you begin writing a story your characters will often decide to take you in a different direction then you initially intended. The outline is an attempt to keep me on track with the story I want to write.
This is what I focus on when writing an outline. I don’t normally have the entire story worked out in my head yet, but I do have an idea of story arc and character arc. When I have a story idea in my head, I’ll take pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write down the key plot points in my story. What is an outline? An outline is normally the first thing I write. Let’s tackle the definition of an outline first.