The Craft of Scene Writing by Jim Mercurio.
I am not writing a movie. It would be a dream come true if I did. I have some ideas…
Writing something good is a lot of work. I can hear you in the future as you read this muttering at your screen, “If you know that and are willing to do the work, wouldn’t your blog posts be good?” Hopefully, I am getting a little better each time and sooner than later I will be good enough to tackle one of my ideas.
Below are my notes on the 14 principles checklist that is included in the Appendix. I am recording it so I remember to reference this anytime I am trying to tell a story. I think the advice is great regardless of genre. What project are you working on? Please share in the comments and as a group we will push through and reach our goals.
- 1. Brainstorm a new concept
- Is there a new approach to the scene? Could you eliminate all the dialog and replace it with only visuals? Would a change in location have an overwhelming impact on the scene? Is there a gimmick or premise with the concept that could drive the entire scene? Create the concept logline – a list of the major conceits or premises that together comprise a comprehensive description of the overall concept.
- 2. Find the story of the scene
- If a scene starts to go astray, write a paragraph without reference to dialog that summarizes the action and tells the scene’s story. Don’t be afraid to rewrite or restructure the outline for a scene to tell the story better.
- 3. Eliminate redundancy and ensure escalation
- Make sure the story of the scene constantly moves forward towards a climax that is a reversal. Label the individual beats so you can get a big picture perspective. Push flat beats further. (Asking becomes begging or selling your soul). Dig deeper into the characters’ dilemma and backstories to find deep seeded motives. Determine the source of the surprise. If you can’t find the turn for the character, consider cutting the scene.
- 4. Find and accentuate the climax
- Once you identify the climax, make sure it is the scene’s biggest twist. Move it as close to the end as possible. Establish what should happen, hint a surprise could happen, then focus on the zig before the final zag. In the split second before the climax and reversal, push as far as you can in the opposite direction. Make the climax feel the climax. Protect your climax by removing clutter that distracts from it. Plant and finesse setups so the audience understands the surprise.
- 5. Push character perspectives further
- Each character’s dilemma translates directly to conflict at the scene level. Use a clear understanding of one character to clarify another. Go though it line by line and ask, can I push each character a bit further? Can the character’s perspectives get clearer? Can the characters come harder at each other? Brainstorm to come up with the most extreme statement a character could make and then use that understanding to bring that character’s perspective out into the scene and the rest of the story.
- 6. Eliminate on the nose dialogue and create audacious subtext
- Eliminate two lines back to back that convey the same message. One is text the other is subtext. The issue is often the setup. If the audience knows that the next line will be a ‘dig’, then it will perceive any line as such. When your beats and structure are clear, it gives your dialog great freedom.
- 7. Be specific
- The way you break clichés is with specificity. Research or your individual voice makes it unique. Be quirky. Make it weirdly you.
- 8. Visuals, use props, blocking, wardrobe and location
- Props – look for dialog that can be replaced with a prop or blocking. Make one to one swaps.
- Wardrobe- extension of character
- Location – Draw from specific details in a location to make a point
- 9. Eliminate exposition
- Wait as long as possible to share information with the audience. Then reveal it as conflict, mystery, humor, surprise, tension, intrigue. Let it impact the characters. Get rid of useless information
- 10. Find the opposite
- The distance between the zig and zag before a reversal is what gives it power. Create as much difference between text and subtext. The moments that embrace opposites are the moments that capture real life. If we look at conflict and obstacles in a scene as the NO, then we must perpetually strive to find the yes.
- 11. Finesse thematic touches
- Polish your opening and closing image. Make one balance the other with the theme line. Do your character names mean something? Is your title cohesive?
- 12. Listen to your dialog, stage a table read
- Opens a new dimension on evaluating your dialog. Listen carefully and take notes.
- 13. Think like an editor
- I need to learn what a film editor does so I can speak their language. Ellipsis, match cuts, match dissolves are all things I don’t know what they mean. Get into a scene as late as possible and get out as late as possible.
- 14. Embrace brevity
- Brevity is the soul of wit.