Quite a large field to cover if you ask me, but I think we can simplify both the art and craft of screenwriting into a few notes.

Art
noun
The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as a painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.

By setting out and actually writing words in screenplay format, or on the page alone for that matter, can and should be considered art. It’s something we do. It’s something that makes us feel alive. That being said, there are several notes to be taken seriously when creating your art.

Imagination
Everyone’s got one. What’s yours tell you? Identify this and you’ll identify your voice. While this process of discovery can take time – years even, – it’s imperative for the next note …

Emotion
Not only must you be able to create a story, but you must be able to identify the human emotion the story surrounds, and why your audience will care. Like an abstract painting, movies are displays of visual emotion, and must be interpreted by audiences in order to understand the meaning of the story, or visual display for example’s sake, which brings to the importance of being …

Visual
Like many artistic mediums, film is visually driven. The ability to articulate images into meaningful, yet concise, images for the screen is what separates the aspiring screenwriters from the professional screenwriters. Well, that and the understanding of what must exist in order for the art of a screenplay to live on the page or screen. This is craft, and it’s while it’s commonly used as an opposition to the art of screenwriting, it’s actually another form of art itself.

Art can’t be perfected; it can however be created, and when it is we simply can’t help ourselves from noticing. Even if we don’t understand it at first, like an abstract painting … or The Fountain, it moves us and we appreciate it. Apply ink to the page, share a story that moves us emotionally, and you’ve created art. However, art doesn’t stop there; it spills over into the technical guidelines the screenplay format demands.

Craft
noun
An activity involving skill in making things by hand.

Mastering the craft of screenwriting requires exercise, study, and experience. It consists of the manipulation of all screenplay components, such as structure, character work, dialogue, setting, sub-text, and more, and requires a skilled hand. Like painting, it’s the combination of all these components, or paint, that makes beautiful art; a tad too much green, and you’ve just created a brown lake; a tad too much exposition, and you’ve held the hand of your reader. With all art, the craft behind it requires a certain balance. The understanding of this balance comes with exercise, study, and experience. Write your screenplay, and learn something new from each one. Trial and error; Live and learn. A couple notes to keep in mind when exploring the craft of screenwriting:

Format
Don’t dwell on it. I guarantee that you’ll learn more on formatting from reading two scripts than you will from reading over-rated screenwriting formatting books. Invest in screenwriting software; formatting is important, but it’s not a science … don’t worry about it so much. Purchase Final Draft and get to work on discovering your voice, your passion, and your …

Style
This is where a lot of screenwriters fall victim to the OCFD (Obsessive Compulsive Formatting Disorder). Again, don’t stress about formatting; buy Final Draft and forget about it. Can’t afford it? Use an online screenwriting freeware. Popular topics to those suffering from OCFD include proper slug headings, capitalization issues, typeface issues, sounds, and more, but the fact is that all of these “issues” are actually style. It’s up to the screenwriter whether or not to cap all sounds; whether or not to include a few sentences of character description; whether or not to dedicate one line solely to a special beat, or conversely, create a block of description spanning half the page. It’s called style, and it’s what makes your writing individual to you. William Goldman is famous for including a plethora of “CUT TO” transitions throughout his work to inform what’s on screen; this is individual; this is where art marries craft. The length of your sentences, use of typeface, and other literary-screen devices inform your style. Discover it and let it grow beyond your control. Above all else though, let’s not forget the most important note to keep in mind while writing:

Story
Consider a screenplay a three-act, 110 page joke. It has a beginning, middle, and end just as a joke has a set-up, development, and pay-off. Learning the fundamentals of story isn’t that tough; it’s learning to manipulate all the components involved … which is why there’s a ton of screenwriting books on the shelf at Barnes and Noble just waiting to be read. This is where character, theme, setting, dialogue, sub-text, and action all come together to make one giant piece of art. Again, this aspect takes time and dedication in order to learn. Merely reading books about it from writers who prefer to write about screenwriting rather than write for the screen won’t do the trick. That being said, there are several non-writing screenwriting gurus that have developed a clear approach to the craft that you should check out, such as Syd Field for example – he’s the best. Learn to tell a story, and you’ll be creating art using the craft of screenwriting before you know it.

Overall, it seems while the art of screenwriting and the craft of screenwriting can be broken down, they seem to inform each other regardless of the dividers you place between them. Use this to your advantage by allowing yourself to create your art and explore your voice.