Contact the writer, agent or other applicable spokesperson for the writer of the story. It is important to obtain film rights prior to making a story into a movie. If the story is your own work and it has been published, contact your publishing company to determine what rights you have to turn your story into a movie.
Identify the target audience of the story or book. Consider if the film will have a large appeal or will be focused narrowly on one type of audience.
Reread the story and determine if it is driven by the plot or the character. A storyline is normally character driven or plot driven, though some try to strike a balance between the two. It is important to identify how the story unfolds and how to write it.
Identify the conflict of the story. A book can be much longer than a screenplay, so it is important to establish the central conflict of the story.
Identify the main characters of the story, especially the antagonist and protagonist. Consider the point of view of the story, as it is important to discover what is at stake, the risks, and the payoff of the story.
Outline the story to include all major and some of the minor scenes. The script should include a first act, second act, and third act. It is important that the key plot points of the movie and the characters remain the same as in the story or book.
Scale back the screenplay by eliminating some of the points that do not add to the story. It is important to remember that feature movies generally have a running time of no longer than two hours. The screenplay should be approximately 90 to 120 pages long. Normally, 1 page of script equals about 1 minute of screen time. Write the script so that the plot of the story or book can be pieced back together and remains cohesive.
Purchase a screenwriting program, like Final Draft, and follow the formatting rules. It is important to follow the formatting rules already set in place.
Start writing your screenplay and begin the script in the right place. It is important to begin with an incident to hook the audience from the beginning. The opening should be strong and set everything in motion.
Edit your screenplay and have someone else review the script to make sure that it is free of typing, grammatical, and spelling errors.