Archive for the ‘screenwriting’ tag

Act Two – How To Fix Common Problems

Most problems in Act Two result from:

1. Lack of Focus
The story lacks clarity or wanders off course causing the reader to become confused about what is going on and why.

2. Insufficient Momentum
There’s not enough energy – the story drags and stalls out instead of moving forward.

TIPS FOR FIXING ACT II PROBLEMS:

1. Develop a Solid Structure & Present a Clear Set Up In Act One
A solid foundation (including all the necessary components, turning points, crisis, and so on) and a clear, focused direction keep the story on track allowing the reader or audience to easily follow along as Act Two unfolds.

2. Create a Strong First Turning Point
A strong first turning point will go a long way to help push the movement forward as the story enters the second act.

3. Use Action
It goes-without-saying (but I’ll say it anyway), you want to keep your characters acting instead of talking – use complications, obstacles, and reversals to infuse Act II with energy.

4. Keep Your Three Storylines Progressing
The A (external problem), B (internal conflict), and C (relationship issue) storylines should continue to develop – but not be resolved until Act III.

5. Use Cause-and-Effect Scenes
Cause-and-effect scenes – A happens and causes B to result, which then causes C, and on and on – create conflict and action, and give the story direction and momentum.

6. Design Scene Sequences for Clarity and Movement
A sequence is a series of scenes (usually two to five) that are linked together and build toward a common goal. Linking related scenes that rise in tension creates momentum and keeps the second act moving forward.

YOUR TURN: Are there areas in Act II where you can substitute action points for dialogue? Are you using scene sequences to add energy to the second act? Is the story focused or does it wander? Does the first turning point pull the reader into the second act and create momentum? Are the A, B, and C storylines progressing throughout Act II?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process. Want to learn how to write your first script or adapt a book into a screenplay? I’m committed to helping you achieve your writing goals. My online writing classes provide a focused structure and assignments that produce tangible results.

Creating A Strong Goal For Your Main Character

I often read screenplays in which the main character lacks a clear, understandable, and compelling goal that drives the conflict, forces transformation, and pushes the hero toward the climax – which leads to a story that wanders and an audience or reader who quickly becomes bored or confused. The main character needs to have an objective to pursue.

A STRONG GOAL….

IS DRIVEN BY CLEAR & FOCUSED MOTIVATION
The protagonist must be motivated to act to achieve a goal. This motivation can be psychological, physical, or situational, but the audience must clearly understand the motivation. If a reader wonders, “Why is he doing that?” then the character’s motivation has not been established. Frequently, the motivating factor is defined in the inciting incident, when the protagonist is at a crisis point and his entire world is about to change. Something happens that compels the hero to develop a goal and a plan to achieve it.

IS CLEARLY PRESENTED & EASY TO UNDERSTAND
The audience needs to know early in the story (some time in the First Act) what the protagonist’s goal is so they can follow him on his journey. Something may happen later in the story (often around the MidPoint) that forces him to change his goal to what he truly wants or need. For example, in The Verdict, written by David Mamet, the main character’s initial (external) goal is to win the civil case for his client, ultimately the goal shifts and becomes his (internal) need to regain his dignity.

IS COMPELLING
Something must be at stake in the story that is essential to the protagonist’s well being. The audience must be convinced that if the protagonist does not achieve his goal something will be lost (the girl, life on Earth, justice, redemption…)

REQUIRES ACTION TO ACHIEVE
The main character must have a plan and take specific actions to achieve his goal. If he or she doesn’t take action then the audience won’t believe the goal is important to the character and will lose interest. By the MidPoint (at the latest) the hero needs to be acting on the story, instead of his “world” acting on him.

BRINGS THE HERO INTO CONFLICT WITH THE ANTANGONIST
The protagonist’s goals are in direct opposition to the antagonist’s, which creates conflict. A worthy opponent strengthens the hero.

IS DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE & FORCES THE HERO TO CHANGE
As the character acts to achieve his goal he will face increasingly difficult obstacles, conflicts, and complications that demand the character to confront and overcome his fatal flaw. In most films, the goal cannot be achieved without the hero changing or transforming in some way.

YOUR TURN: What is your main character’s initial goal and does it change later in the story? What is the motivation that compels your protagonist to develop a goal? Are the stakes high enough to sustain the goal throughout the story? What actions does the hero take to achieve the goal? What fatal flaw prevents him from reaching his goal and how is he forced to confront and overcome that obstacle?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process. Want to learn how to write your first script or adapt a book into a screenplay? I’m committed to helping you achieve your writing goals. My online writing classes provide a focused structure and assignments that produce tangible results.

Understanding What Motivates Your Characters’ Actions

In real life, people act with a reason. And screenplay characters need to do the same. Every character action requires motivation and intention. To create a logical story with strong, identifiable, and understandable characters, a writer needs to be aware of what drives his or her characters’ actions, and create behavior that is consistent with the characters he/she has developed.

So, what motivates your characters to do, say, react, and think as they do?

1. Previous Incidents or Backstory
Past events can influence a character’s actions. In Aliens, the character of Ripley distrusts the “synthetic person”, Bishop, because she previously had a bad experience with a robot (a really bad experience). Ripley’s driven to protect the young child Newt, because she lost the opportunity to mother her own child. How do past incidents or backstory influence your character’s behavior and choices?

2. The Unconscious Dark Side
No one is “all good” or always does the “right thing”. The unconscious dark side of a character can drive him to act in ways that go against his conscious self, whether it be as small as a little white-lie to avoid hurting a loved one’s feelings or as significant as bilking clients out of millions of dollars. What makes the police officer, devoted to justice and helping the vulnerable, take a bribe or look the other way at corruption within his department? The law-abiding, good, decent, and loving father in the film In The Bedroom is driven to kill his son’s murderer in an attempt to alleviate his wife’s suffering. What would make your character lie, cheat, steal, or even kill?

3. How A Character Gains and Processes Information
People experience life differently. Some gain information through direct experience, while some derive information through others’ experiences (note that in films your main characters will most often experience life directly). Some people process information emotionally and base their decisions on feelings, while others process information intellectually and base their decisions on principles and facts. How does your character gain and process information and how does that affect his actions?

4. Personality Disorders or Quirks
Woody Allen’s characters often suffer from neuroses that motivate their behaviors and attitudes. In Lethal Weapon, Martin Riggs’s depression influences his actions – including his willingness to take chances and his flirtations with suicide – and causes conflict with other characters, such as his partner, Murtaugh, who questions Riggs’s sanity (Riggs’s depression is a personality disorder triggered by a past event – his wife’s death). What personality disorders or quirks would explain your characters’ behaviors and choices?

Knowing what drives and motivates your characters’ actions will help you create fully developed, plausible characters, and a solid, logical storyline.

YOUR TURN: What techniques do you use to develop and support your characters’ behaviors and actions?

Already completed your first draft? Looking for professional guidance to ensure a productive rewrite? I offer comprehensive script evaluation, including an analysis and diagnosis of a script’s weaknesses, detailed development notes to solve underlying problems and enhance the script’s natural strengths, and a story map to guide you effectively and efficiently through the revision process. Want to learn how to write your first script or adapt a book into a screenplay? I’m committed to helping you achieve your writing goals. My online writing classes provide a focused structure and assignments that produce tangible results.

6 Ways To Ensure All Your Scenes “Play”

Great scenes ‘play’ – they seem to be effortlessly compelling, engaging the reader and involving him on the journey. So what’s the difference between a scene that plays and one that feels flat?

Scenes that are designed to purely reveal exposition or character, or that consist of ‘on-the-nose’ dialogue are often dull. Scenes that evoke emotion, contain conflict and stakes, change the dynamic, allow audiences to gain insight, and push the story forward are the scenes that make a story work.

Here are six ways to ensure all your scenes ‘play’:

1. Know Thy Conflict
Scenes revolve around conflict – two (or more) conflicting desires at direct odds with one another. If the forces are tangential the conflict is diluted. A well-written scene presents clearly opposed forces. It is the back-and-forth dynamic, the push-and-pull, the action-reaction component, of the scene that makes it compelling – as the conflict steadily increases and ultimately reaches a crescendo. Note (1) who is driving the scene, (2) what does that character want, (3) who or what is opposing that character’s desire, (4) what does that opposing force want, and (5) track the action/reaction conflict throughout the scene to ensure it is developing – and not static.

2. Evoke Emotion
If the audience feels nothing (or worse, feels boredom) at the end of a scene – then the scene didn’t deliver. Remember, character emotions don’t equate with the audiences’ emotions. A character in a scene may collapse to the floor and cry when her lover leaves her, but the audience doesn’t necessarily feel what the character feels (sadness and loss) – depending how the screenwriter designed the story, the audience may feel relief (good thing that bastard is out of her life), justice (she got what she deserved), or fear (what will happen now that she’s left alone with that serial killer on the loose.) A helpful exercise is to note what emotion each scene evokes – whether it is anxiety, curiosity, laughter, joy, fear, sadness – and determine if it is delivering the intended emotional punch.

3. Allow The Audience To Discover The Meaning
If the scene is too on-the-nose it deprives the audience of the joy of gaining their own insight and discovering what lies beneath the surface – the real meaning of the scene. Well-crafted scenes don’t spoon-feed information to the audience, they unfold with layers of subtext.

4. Come In Late, Get Out Early
Keep your scenes lean, tight, and focused by cutting extraneous, unnecessary material. Enter the scene at the latest possible moment and end it immediately upon (or before) resolution.

5. Make a Change
If the scene concludes on the same note as it started, nothing has happened. There should be a clear change – it could be a change in stakes, or direction, or knowledge, or any element that affects the story.

6. The Ending Is Only The Beginning
Good scenes drive the story forward. They open up new questions, create complications, and establish problems that need to be resolved. Successful scenes create a level of suspense (regardless of genre) that inspires the reader to turn the page to find out what will happen. The ending of a well-crafted scene leads directly into the next scene – such as this classic scene from The Silence of the Lambs:

CRAWFORD
We’re trying to interview all of the serial killers now in custody, for a psycho behavioral profile.
Could be a big help in unsolved cases. Do you spook easily, Starling?

CLARICE
Not yet.

CRAWFORD
You see, the one we want most refuses to cooperate. I want you to go after him again today, in the asylum.

CLARICE
Who’s the subject?

CRAWFORD
The psychiatrist – Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

CLARICE
The cannibal…

CRAWFORD
I don’t expect him to talk to you, but I have to be able to say we tried… Lecter was a brilliant psychiatrist, and he knows all the dodges.
(hands her the manila envelope)
Dossier on him, copy of our questionnaire, special ID for you… If he won’t talk, then I want straight reporting. How’s he look, how’s his cell look, what’s he writing… Now. I want your full attention, Starling. Are you listening to me?

CLARICE
Yes sir.

CRAWFORD
Be very careful with Hannibal. Dr. Chilton at the asylum will go over the physical procedures used with him. Do not deviate from them, for any reason. You tell him nothing personal, Starling. Believe me, you don’t want Hannibal Lecter inside your head… Just do your job, but never forget what he is.

CLARICE
And what is that, sir?

This scene works on every level… opening up more questions, creating complications and problems, evoking emotion in the audience (curiosity, apprehension), creating conflict (though subtle) with dynamic action/reaction, increasing the stakes as the scene progresses (ending with the crescendo warning from Crawford), entering late and getting out early (before Clarice’s question is even answered – it is Dr. Chilton who answers her question as the next scene opens), and compelling the reader to turn the page to find out what happens next…..

YOUR TURN: How do you ensure a scene ‘plays’?

Three Ways To Ensure A Satisfying Ending

A satisfying ending is natural and inevitable. It should be synergistic with the theme and the main character’s development. It should never feel forced.

THE AMBIGUOUS OR UNRESOLVED ENDING
The Ambiguous or Unresolved Ending leaves the conclusion of the story open to the viewer’s interpretation. We may have a pretty good idea how the story ends based on the set-up, but we’re not absolutely sure what will happen. This type of ending is rarely used by screenwriters – it can be tricky to string an audience along for two hours and then fail to provide an ending – however there are films that successfully master this technique and still satisfy viewers. Unfaithful, No Country For Old Men, Blade Runner, The Wrestler, and almost any film by David Lynch are examples of the Ambiguous or Unresolved Ending.

THE HOPELESS ENDING
Some writers refer to the Hopeless Ending as the “downer ending” or “negative ending.” I don’t necessarily believe that audiences leave a theatre feeling “down” or “negative” after experiencing a Hopeless Ending. Hopeless Endings can be powerful, moving, and insightful. Think about the films Chinatown, Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, Blow Out, Planet of the Apes, Leaving Las Vegas, and Revolutionary Road – each a story with a Hopeless Ending.

THE HOPEFUL ENDING
Hopeful Endings are not necessarily “happy” endings. The final result may be sad, bittersweet, tragic, or ironic, the hero/heroine may lose the fight, the love interest, or even his life, but ultimately these stories convey a sense of hope; that the journey was worthwhile and noble, regardless of the outcome. Things don’t turn out so good for William Wallace at the end of the film Braveheart, yet the ending gives a sense of hope that the protagonist made a difference, that he lived his life on his terms, and that his cause will go on and triumph. Other films (especially rom-coms and comedies) are the upbeat, happily-ever-after, “feel-good” variety in which the heroes emerge from their conflicts and ordeals battered but stronger. Hopeful Endings are the most popular.

Sad-But-Hopeful Endings: Witness, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, American Beauty, The Perfect Storm, The Sixth Sense, Thelma & Louise, L.A. Confidential

Happily-Ever-After Endings: Working Girl, When Harry Met Sally, Sideways, Juno

THREE TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR ENDING IS SATISFYING

1. Determine what inevitable path the protagonist is on
Ben Sanderson’s self-loathing and downward spiral into alcohol in Leaving Las Vegas leads to his inevitable demise.

2. Be aware of the tone, style, and genre of your script
If you’re writing a breezy, fun rom-com your ending probably won’t include death, destruction, and hopelessness.

3. Pay off the theme
The Shawshank Redemption deftly interweaves the theme of “hope” throughout the film’s scenes of violence and loss – the inevitable and satisfying ending is one of hope. The theme of Chinatown is “the powerful always win” – the inevitable and satisfying ending pays off this theme.

YOUR TURN: What type of ending are you using for your story? Why is it the most satisfactory ending for your screenplay?

Genre: 15 Elements of Action-Adventure Scripts (Part II)

Here are two examples of classic action-adventure writing – from the films Alien a Sci-Fi Action-Adventure, and Lethal Weapon, an Action-Adventure Comedy. Each screenplay incorporates some of the 15 elements outlined in the previous post – note the snappy dialogue in Lethal Weapon and how both screenplays utilize active and vertical writing.

From ALIEN by Walter Hill and David Giler:

INT. MESS

The entire crew is seated.
Hungrily swallowing huge portions of artificial food.
The cat eats from a dish on the table.

KANE
First thing I’m going to do when we get back is eat some decent food.

PARKER
I’ve had worse than this, but I’ve had better too, if you know what I mean.

LAMBERT
Christ, you’re pounding down this stuff like there’s no tomorrow.

PARKER
I mean I like it.

KANE
No kidding.

PARKER
Yeah. It grows on you.

KANE
It should. You know what they make this stuff out of…

PARKER
I know what they make it out of. So what. It’s food now. You’re eating it.

Suddenly Kane grimaces.

RIPLEY
What’s wrong?

Kane’s voice strains.

LAMBERT
What’s the matter?

KANE
I don’t know… I’m getting cramps.

The others stare at him in alarm.
Suddenly he makes a loud groaning noise.
Clutches the edge of the table with his hands.
Knuckles whitening.

ASH
Breathe deeply.

Kane screams.

KANE
Oh God, it hurts so bad. It hurts. It hurts.

BRETT
What is it? What hurts?

Kane’s face screws into a mask of agony.
He falls back into his chair.

KANE
Ohmygooaaaahh.

A red stain.
Then a smear of blood blossoms on his chest.
The fabric of his shirt is ripped apart.
A small head the size of a man’s fist pushes out.
The crew shouts in panic.
Leap back from the table.
The cat spits, bolts away.

The tiny head lunges forward.
Comes spurting out of Kane’s chest trailing a thick body.
Splatters fluids and blood in its wake.
Lands in the middle of the dishes and food.
Wriggles away while the crew scatters.
Then the Alien being disappears from sight.

Kane lies slumped in his chair.
Very dead.
A huge hole in his chest.
The dishes are scattered.
Food covered with blood.

LAMBERT
No, no, no, no, no.

BRETT
What was that? What the Christ was that?

From LETHAL WEAPON by Shane Black

MURTAUGH’S POV – THROUGH THE WINDOW

Enough cocaine to service the third tier at Yankee Stadium.
A BLONDE, BIKINI-CLAD WONDER sits on the couch, happily snorting.
She sees Murtaugh and waves hilariously.
Makes come-hither gestures.
Murtaugh scowls, turns to Riggs.

RIGGS
I’m thinking probable cause.

MURTAUGH
Jesus. Maybe I should call for backup.

RIGGS
What am I, chopped liver?

Murtaugh looks at him. Sighs.

MURTAUGH
No killing.

RIGGS
No killing.

He grins cheesily. Riggs and Murtaugh approach the frosted glass door. They draw their guns.

MURTAUGH
Nice and easy.

RIGGS
Nice and easy.

Murtaugh takes a deep breath. Kicks open the door.

MURTAUGH
Police. Hold it right there.

INT. SOLARIUM

The rich guy does not hold it right there.
In fact, he has already snatched up the SHOTGUN.
He triggers a BLAST, BLOWS OUT GLASS next to Murtaugh.
Murtaugh dives, rolls, comes up in a combat crouch.
BAM — The rich guy takes it in the shoulder. Spins around.
The gun clatters to the ground.
Riggs and Murtaugh approach, guns drawn.
The rich guy writhes on the ground, clutching his shoulder.

MURTAUGH
See how easy that was? Boom. Still alive. Now we take the gun away …
(he does)
… And we question him. Know why we can question him? Because I got him in the shoulder. I didn’t blow him up or jump off a building with him.

RIGGS
No fair, the building guy lived.

MURTAUGH
Whatever. The point is, no killing.

RIGGS
No killing.

MURTAUGH
Right. Piece of cake. I’m very happy. Read the man his rights, I’ll be over here being happy.

10 Screenplay Formatting Rules To Help You Stay Out Of The Rejection Pile

Ensuring your screenplay is professionally formatted is essential if you expect to be understood in Hollywood and avoid the rejection pile. Here are 10 tips to help you format your ‘spec script’ correctly.

1. READ SCREENPLAYS
The best way to understand correct screenplay formatting is to read professional scripts. Check out: Script Fly, Script City, or Simply Scripts for screenplays.

2. PROOFREAD & EDIT
Typographical errors and poor grammar and punctuation are major no-no’s. Proofread and edit, then proofread and edit again.

3. THE TITLE PAGE
* Plain, no graphics, two brass brads or Chicago screws.
* Title should be in all caps, 1/3 of the way down the page followed by “By” or “original screenplay by”
* Contact information is inserted in the lower right hand corner of the page.

4. MARGINS & FONT SPECIFICATIONS
* The body of the script should be Courier 12, Single Sided, Plain paper
* Margin 1”, 1”, 1”, 1 ½” – leaving a “GUTTER” on the left.
* Page numbers are placed in the upper right corner. The Title Page is not numbered. Page numbers are ½” from top and 1” in from the right side.
* Scene headings and description (action) is left justified to the left margin.
* Left Margin (“Gutter”) approx. 1 ½” (to allow for three-hole binding)
* Top, right and bottom margins = approx. 1”
* Dialogue starts approx. 2 ½” to 3” from the left edge of the page and is always left justified.  A dialogue “block” does not exceed 3 1/2” in width.
* Parenthetical starts approx. 3” from left edge of page and does not exceed 2 1/4” in width before “wrapping.”
* Transitions start approx. 6 ¼” from left edge of the page, or just “outside” the dialogue block.
* Character names to indicate dialogue are not centered, they are about 4 inches from the left side of the page.

5. SCENE HEADER FORMAT
* Scene headers or Sluglines are capitalized.
* If you use the same header twice, it should be identical throughout the script.
* INT/ EXT. is only used for scenes in vehicles.
* Triple space between the end of a scene and the next slug line (scene heading)
* Do not widow a scene heading (do not break it at the bottom of a page.)

6. NARRATIVE FORMAT
Narrative (also referred to as action or description should be short paragraphs written in present tense. CHARACTER’S name is capitalized the first time he is introduced. SOUNDS are also capitalized.

7. DIALOGUE FORMAT
The use of “Cont’d” is optional when a character speaks over and over. If a page break interrupts Dialogue, use “CONTINUED” or “MORE”. In dialogue, spell out times (five-thirty), personal titles (except Mr., Mrs., and Ms.) and one and two digit numbers (three or more digits can be written numerically.

8. USE PARENTHETICALS SPARINGLY
Parentheticals (wrylys) are placed below the character’s name before the dialogue. They should only be used for clarity, to indicate another language or as a beat (On the phone).

9. AVOID CAMERA DIRECTIONS
Avoid technical terms and camera directions such as WIDE SHOT, CLOSE UP, ANGLE, INSERT. POV (P.O.V.) is acceptable. The use of “FADE IN:” on page one and “FADE OUT.” at the end of the script is still a standard convention.

10. EXTRA TIPS
*Don’t break a sentence from one page to the next.
* Don’t over-use ellipsis (three periods) to indicate pauses.
* Scene numbers aren’t required in reading drafts.
* Don’t cheat the page count by adding extra space to increase your page count, or cram more on the page to decrease the count.
* Avoid excessive use of bold, underscore,  & italics .

Open Thread: Does Understanding Archetypes Help You Write A Better Screenplay?

An archetype is a prototype or model from which something is based. In screenwriting, archetype refers to the role a character plays in the story and describes the character’s function (note that characters have the potential to serve more than one function, depending on the needs of the story).

Many screenwriters refer to archetypes when creating their characters and structuring their stories. Personally, I have never considered archetypes when writing a first draft.  However, during the rewriting process when I analyze each character’s role and purpose, I usually discover they each fit into one or more archetypes.

So, my question to you, fellow writers, is: Do you use archetypes as a tool for writing your screenplay? If so, how and why has it benefited your script?

COMMON ARCHETYPES IN SCREENPLAYS:

THE HERO – function is to serve and sacrifice
Primary purpose is to answer the challenge, complete the quest and restore order.  He is driven by universal needs.

MENTOR – function is to guide
Provides motivation, insights and training to guide the Hero on his journey.  Heroes of detective stories, film noirs, thrillers and westerns are often guided by an inner-mentor.

THRESHOLD GUARDIAN – function is to test
Presents obstacles the Hero must overcome to prove his commitment to the quest.

HERALD – function is to warn and challenge
Signify change, present the challenge and announce the call to action.

SHAPESHIFTER – function is to question and deceive
Misleads the Hero, hides his intentions and loyalties, causes the Hero to doubt.

SHADOW – function is to destroy
Usually represents the enemy, villain or antagonist.  It can also be the Hero’s inner demons and fears.

ALLY – function is to assist
The Hero’s friend or sidekick – often serves as a device for comic relief and someone for the Hero to talk to.

TRICKSTER – function is to disrupt
Mischievous and rebellious, attempts to force a change, uses laughter to break tension.

ARCHETYPES IN THE FILM DIE HARD:

HERO – John McClane

MENTOR – Frequent Flyer Passenger

THRESHOLD GUARDIAN – Takagi

HERALD – Hans Gruber, Al Powell

SHAPESHIFTER – Ellis, Richard Thornberg, Hans Gruber

SHADOW – Hans Gruber

ALLY – Al Powell, Argyle

TRICKSTER – John McClane

Transcribing Screenplays

This screenwriting tip comes courtesy of Scott Myers over at Go Into The Story who posted this on his blog last week.  I thought it worthy of sharing:

I assume we’ve all heard those stories about how a young Felix Mendelssohn transcribed note for note musical scores by Johann Sebastian Bach, just to get the feel of how Bach wrote music.

And stories about how F. Scott Fitzgerald transcribed the novels of writers he admired such as Charles Dickens to get the feel of their writing.

Well, why not do that with screenplays?

If you’re struggling with any of the following:

* How to handle scene description
* How to manage transitions between scenes
* How to balance action and dialogue within scenes
* How much scene description is too much / too little
* How to write realistic dialogue
* How to use primary sluglines and secondary sluglines
* How to write series of scenes, series of shots, and montages

Sure, you can read great screenplays.
But what about typing them – word for word?

If it worked for Mendelssohn and Fitzgerald…
Don’t you think it could work for you, too?

This has been another edition of Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work.

YOUR TURN: Have you ever transcribed screenplays as a tool to help your writing?

Constructing an Effective Scene Sequence

A sequence is a series of scenes (usually two to five) that are linked together and build toward a common goal.

* Each sequence has a focus.

* Each individual scene in the sequence is related to the focus of the overall sequence.

* Each sequence is built on rising tension – either the stakes are rising or the protagonist is confronting more obstacles making the goal appear unattainable.  As the scenes in the sequence progress, the stakes are heightened.

* Each sequence has a beginning, middle and end – with the final scene in the sequence presenting the highest stakes.

* Each sequence must be a critical component of the story – if the sequence has no purpose, it must be eliminated.

To ensure the scenes, story, and script remain focused, most professional screenwriters label each sequence with a title that conveys the conflict and purpose of that particular section.

The film Field of Dreams, written by Phil Alden Robinson, consists of 12 sequences and 48 scenes.  If we labeled each scene sequence in the script, it might look like this:

Sequence 1: Introduction to Ray’s Life  (1 scene/montage)

Sequence 2: The Message “If You Build It He Will Come” (8 scenes)

Sequence 3: Building the Baseball Field  (2 scenes with montage)

Sequence 4: Waiting for the Arrival of Shoeless Joe (4 scenes)

Sequence 5: Ray’s Conflict with his Brother-in-Law, Mark (2 scenes)

Sequence 6: Another Message “Ease His Pain” (9 scenes with montage)

Sequence 7: Searching for Terence Mann (1 scene/montage)

Sequence 8: Ray Meets Terence Mann and Tells Him His Story  (4 scenes)

Sequence 9: On The Road to Find Moonlight Graham (11 scenes with montage)

Sequence 10: Ray’s Troubled Relationship with His Father (3 scenes)

Sequence 11: Moonlight Graham Gets to Play Baseball with the Team (2 scenes)

Sequence 12: Climax/Resolution – Ray Plays Baseball with His Father (1 very long scene)

YOUR TURN: How do you construct scene sequences?

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