Screenplays are guides. You can't expect to visualize a finished building just by glancing at the blueprints. Screenplays are plans for making a movie and consequently can't be read just like any other written story material.

There are common reasons why readers don't respond to screenplays and ways to circumvent these problems.

They Don't See The Visuals As You See Them

A screenplay is full of barebones descriptions of people, places and things that the director will create. Nothing is fully realized because the emphasis is on actions and not so much on detail. Scripts are full of placeholders for stuff that will be made vivid in production but whose descriptions need be lean at this time.

Connections As They Would Be On-Screen

Sometimes we don't understand subtle things on paper as we would on-screen. When reading words on paper we can easily fall into the trap of expecting traditional prose storytelling. A screen play is all things you hear and see. There are no revelations elucidated, they come from seeing the visuals. Nothing is explained because it's supposed to be experienced.

They Judge It Like Other Prose Works

Falling into expecting a screenplay to function like other prose works like a novel or short story can also effect readers in others ways. Many will be put off by the sparse dialogue, emphasis on action and lack of artful description. They will wrongly think because it isn't written as well as a good novel that it will also make a bad movie.

Characters Don't Come Alive Since They Can't See Them

Space is limited in a screenplay and words are reserved for what is seen and heard. Characters will have short descriptions that might not immediately bring to mind who the person is. Characters aren't seen and they can't be fully described, so many readers will have trouble seeing them in their mind's eye. They may be seeing a stick figure carrying out all the actions in the story and will devalue the story since they don't know better.

• They Need Imagination And Trust To Properly Assess

Your readers need to be told how to read a screenplay. They need to understand what you will give them and what they need to bring to the experience. You aren't going to elaborate on everything in the story and they need to be able to trust you a little in parts that are unclear. Having them read a screenplay of a film they haven't seen and then seeing the movie might give them an idea of what you need from them in the way of feedback.

• More Prose May Be Necessary To Capture On-Screen Essence

You can only train a friend so far in the art of how to read your screenplays. Many won't be able to be taught anyway. A tactic you can take is to add novelistic techniques judiciously in an attempt to approximate the essence of the finished movie. Add a few more lines of description that might not be germane to the story or even translatable to film but will go far in helping them comprehend what it is you're trying to say.

Within these solutions also lies danger. To get the screenplay to be a compelling read you often have to turn it into something that is not a screenplay. It will be neither a true screenplay nor the movie it needs to become. If you start writing your screenplay in this fashion you may write a great short story that makes a lousy movie. As the writer you need to keep firmly in mind the visuals and audio that will make up the movie even while you have to alter it to aid comprehension by readers.