I would say write the story without worrying about it. Content first, then structure. Your first draft should be pure raw energy. You might find out afterwards that it actually follows most of the story "rules" because most of those rules are story-telling techniques that date back to the ancient greeks. In many cases they are instinct.

I mostly regard 'the rules' as a checklist, not a list of rules to follow. I write what I want, then go back and see how close to 'the rules I am.... if I'm a long way off then maybe I need to rethink parts of the script, or maybe 'the rules' are wrong.

For example, I've been writing a monster movie, and currently no-one gets their head bitten off until page 45, when 'the rules' would imply it should be more like page 30. But looking at other monster movies, that's not unusual: in 'Alien' for example, nothing much at all happens until about page 45, when the aliens first appear.

IMHO 'the basics' are more important than 'the rules': that is, have interesting and distinctive characters, don't have big plot holes (no matter how much you think you can hide them from the audience, it won't work), don't be afraid to treat sympathetic characters really badly (the last episode of 'Video Girl Ai', where the hero literally has to crawl over broken glass to save his girlfriend, is one of my favorite examples), have a good first ten minutes, and have a good ending.

Particularly as someone who watches a lot of low-budget 'horror' movies, I see a ton of movies which follow 'the rules', but ignore 'the basics'. Most of them have characters I don't care about, many of them have characters I can't tell apart without thinking about which is which, many start with a boring sequence that could have been cut, and most put their characters into dangerous situations where any sane person could think of a dozen ways to escape in a few minutes. No matter how good the rest of the movie is, and how well the events in the movie stick to 'the rules', with flaws like that you're doomed.

i think you should learn the rules first before breaking them... that way you can begin to play with conventions and mess with peoples expectations.

if you don't learn the structure first, you might end up with a spilled-milk script that's unreadable...

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As far as screenwriting is concerned, it is ALL structure. But what you should do first is get your ideas in order. Then, write a 4-5 pager about your story (plot, endings, characters) JUST THAT! Then write your screenplay and your story should fit well. Always remember, though, the first ten pages hook you and the 25-30th page is where your 1st plot point is. Viewers are going to want to watch your movie when something happens in about 25th minute (25th page). This may be as simple as a character moving to a different city.

I always subscribe to the "know the rules before breaking them" philosophy, but I've changed it to "know the rules, then ignore them." I've always had a problem with set ways of doing things. So I learned about structure, then I chose to ignore it. In the grand scheme of things, I'm actually following the rules without knowing it most of the time, but I'm content in thinking that I'm not following them.

Twisted logic, I know, but a happy writer is a good writer.

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Bruce Campbell - "So you want to get into show biz?"
Me - "Yeah, I'd really like to direct movies."
Bruce Campbell - "Cool. Just don't suck."

I've just wrote my first script, and it's in a draft stage right now, but I find that the best ideas and writings come when you are inspired. So, when you're really depressed, sad, angry, hurt, happy, blissful, it's easy to let the words flow out. I would say follow your instincts. Rules will most likely restrict your creativity because you're constantly thinking about how to reshape your ideas to be coherent. And also, who needs the rules? The point of art is to break rules, and if everybody followed the rules, there would be no evolution in art. Everybody is always looking for something fresh, something personal, magical, and something unique, so don't worry too much about the rules. Let the judges decide that.

However... if you're thinking about the basics of dialoque, and how ppl talk, how to move the story along, and if you don't trust your writing enough, it doesn't hurt to read the "rules." You can always take the advice or not. Really, it's up to you. But to everyone I think, always speak from the heart, and the grammar, semantics will hardly matter. 😉

If you are writing the script to shoot yourself then the rules aren?t important.

However, filmmaking is a collaborative process. The many people involved in bringing the script to screen use the proper format as short hand to do their jobs well.

Story structure is something agents, producers and prodCo?s look at when deciding on a writer to represent or a script to make. A well structured script is a great calling card. It shows an agent that the writer understands the ?rules? and can write a great script within these rules.

After you have made your first sale you can play with the structure more.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)