Even if you love the printed word, there’s something magic about cinema. How it happens is somewhat of a mystery—even for those involved in the production process. What’s even more amazing is how a writer can create the likes of Tony Soprano, Walter White, and Holly Golightly from a few lines of dialogue and sparse stage directions. To be sure, credit must be given to the director and actors involved, but a good character and a good story begins with good writing.
Screenwriters are capable of penning a few lines of dialogue and a few notes about movement and turning it into a gorgeous, evocative scene. While their finished product will resemble something very, very different from the end product of a novelist, screenwriters should be emulated for their masterful scene creation.
Here are our three favorite screenwriting tips that novelists should practice always:
- Showing
Novelists are told all the time to “show, don’t tell.” It’s one of the hardest things a new writer will learn, and screenwriters have this on lock.
If you’re not familiar with this concept, here’s a quick rundown: Think of a photograph—it shows you exactly what is going on at the exact moment it is snapped. Now think of someone just trying to objectively describe what’s in the photograph; “There are three people. One is mad. One is laughing, and there’s a dog in the background.” This is telling.
A screenwriter can’t just write in a script that someone is angry. It’s too vague for a visual medium. Instead, they have to describe what it means for a particular character to be angry. Are they stalking around? Are they stiff and immobile? Are they scowling or scarily blank?
By covering not only what a character is feeling, but also how they’re acting outwardly, you more clearly paint a picture that a reader will become invested in. Plus, since your work will stay on the page, you can also include some internal physicality as well, like a racing heart. Bonus!
- Movement
Dialogue is important for any art. It’s when two people interact that exciting things happen. Both the printed word and the movie script are in danger of suffering from what I like to call the “talking head syndrome.” This is when any action is ignored in favor of allowing everything to happen through the use of vocal cords.
The problem with talking head syndrome is that as exciting as a conversation is, something else needs to be there to trick us into thinking that the plot is advancing, no matter the subject matter. If you’ve ever seen the movies Before Sunset or Before Sunrise, you’ll know what I mean. In these movies, two characters speak. They speak for hours, talking about everything and anything. But it keeps us from being bored because while they talk, they’re walking through the streets of a European city. They keep moving, so it sill feels like something is happening, even though nothing really does.
For writers, it may seem tempting to just plop your characters down and let them chat, but even readers are looking for that extra stimulation. Don’t break up the action and momentum of a story by taking a break to explain. Set a debrief in the middle of an escape! Or a secret rendezvous! Keep it moving!
- Checkov’s Gun
This tip is famous, and comes from before the time of film. Russian playwright Anton Chekov is famous for advising that everything you put in a work must be necessary to advance the action and pay off down the line. If there’s a gun in act I, then it needs to go off in act III.
Screenwriters of thrillers and mysteries know that they need to plant visual hints for the audience along the way. This is something all mystery writers know as well, but it’s an important thing to keep in mind for genres outside of the suspense camp as well. Even if your climax isn’t a big reveal, it’s still much more satisfying for a reader to get to the end of a book and know what every aspect of it was subtly leading them there.
Readers, do you have any other tips to add?
How directors and actors turn a few lines of dialogue and stage directions into an evocative scene
