Screenplay First Draft of Novel

[Omniforce he/him]

I'm trying to write a novel, but I'm having a lot of problems when it comes to descriptions and such. I got the idea to try and just write the first draft like a screenplay and mostly focus on dialogue, but inserting basic descriptions of scenes that I can elaborate on when I feel like I've got the story sorted out. Anyone else do it this way, or have any feedback on the idea.

[Yezrien]

It seems like you're focusing on plot and character, which is exactly what a first draft ought to do. Get the bones of the story working right, and everything else can be fixed later. Revising for description isn't necessary until you've finalized the events/places/people you need to describe.

However, if you're not really writing a prose novel, you can't really call it a draft. It's more like a very detailed outline. Which is completely fine, of course.

Just one warning, though. If you're having trouble with description, the best way to improve is to practice. If your goal is to write a novel, you'll have to write prose eventually.

Either way, if you're interested in screenplay format, there's software that makes it easy. Final Draft is expensive, but it's an industry standard, so the free trial is worth checking out. Trelby is a little less fancy, but it's free.