Is screenplay writing a hard trade to learn? Can it easily be taught or are you

Question:

Is screenplay writing a hard trade to learn? Can it easily be taught or are you mostly born with the talent?

I've been thinking about becoming an author ar a screenplay writer when I grow up and I want to know.. my chances, I suppose, haha. I'm a very good writer, I'm creative and I'm in advanced language arts (a.k.a. English class) and I would like to know more about screenplay writing. Thanks.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Screenplay writing is like chess, easy to learn but takes a lifetime to master. Unless you are born with the talent.

Writing screenplays is harder than writing novels because in a novel you can just write, "he was lying" - In a screenplay you have to show he is lying - visually, ie; describe it as you will see it on the screen.

If you wrote in a novel that the secret agent walked slowly to his stolen car, it is understood.

If you wrote the exact same line into a screenplay (the secret agent walked slowly to his stolen car) a movie exec will throw it in the trash.
Here is why, that scene can not be filmed. On screen we would see a man walk slowly to a car. Unless he has a post-it note stuck to his head saying "Secret agent" we don't know who he is, and as for the stolen car unless it is written in big letters on the side of it we have no clue it's stolen. So your screenplay ends up in the trash, along with all the other wannabee writers.

For every 1000 screenplays written I might find one that is mediocre and with some revisions could become average.

For every 10,000, we might find a winner!

The reason for this is because people think, Hey! - I have an Idea, I have a word processor and I can spell!!!!!!!

This is why the industry hires readers - who get paid to look for a good script. They get paid between $15 and $30 per screenplay, depending on their level. So if there is a mistake the are allowed to "pass" on it.

I once got a vampire script, actually I have had many (it's actually the most popular genre) - popular for novice screenwriters that is.
Anyhow, it started by saying, " Enter Jeremy, he is gay and has the body of a weekend scuba diver"

This would translate (onscreen) to "a man enters"