How To Write A Treatment Based on content by Marilyn Horowitz
Writing a treatment is a skill that can help any screenwriter succeed, at any point in the creative process.
There are at least three parts of getting a screenplay sold or financed. Learning to write a treatment can jumpstart a writer's career because it allows a screenwriter to communicate his or her screenplay idea in a brief but compelling way. It also can be a powerful diagnostic and creative tool.
Writing a treatment helps a screenwriter assess his or her work wherever they are in their process. I cannot recommend this process enough.
What Is a Treatment?
There is controversy about the length a treatment can be. Some say up to 60 pages, but the point of the treatment is to communicate your story as quickly as possible, so brevity without sacrificing juice is the key here.
1. a one page written pitch. 2. two to five page document that tells the whole story focusing on the highlights. 3. a lengthy document that is a scene by scene breakdown of a script. I consider this an outline, and a waste of time as a marketing document, though it can be an important step in the creation process In my experience, the two to five page version works best.
What Should Be in a Treatment?
This two to five page document should read like a short story and be written in the present tense. It should present the entire story including the ending, and use some key scenes and dialogue from the screenplay it is based on. What Should Be in the Treatment?
1. A Working title
2. The writer's name and contact information
3. WGA Registration number
4. A short logline
5. Introduction to key characters
6. Who, what, where, when, why and how.
7. Act 1 in one to three paragraphs. Set the scene, dramatize the main conflicts.
8. Act 2 in two to six paragraphs. Should dramatize how the conflicts introduced in Act 1 lead to a crisis.
9. Act 3 in one to three paragraphs. Dramatize the final conflict and resolution.
Break the Story Down Piece by piece
How to Write a Treatment
- Find a Title
- Write a Logline: Follow the example below when writing a logline: And Then Came Love is a character-driven romantic comedy about a high-powered Manhattan single mom who opens Pandora's box when she seeks out the anonymous sperm donor father of her young son.
- Write a Synopsis: Begin by expanding the logline into a three-act story. Start with the end of your story and work backwards. This will help you keep on track.
Once the synopsis is written, the preparation is complete and the screenwriter can take the synopsis and expand it into a treatment by correcting structure and adding detail. Now write your treatment following this sample movie treatment:
