Here are eight key points to help you write a scene that jumps off the page and captivates readers.
Writing a scene—especially a big scene that’s a major plot point—often means adding these eight key principles Move the story forward and keep readers engaged.
To illustrate these eight key principles, we will use the following scenario sideways Miles and Jack have a drink with Maya for the first time at the bar, and Miles says they’re just going back to rest.
We chose this scene to study because it is fairly dialogue-heavy and does not rely on a lot of action or drama, but still demonstrates all eight principles well.
Re-read the scene from the play, or re-watch it so you can better understand the eight drama principles described. So let’s get started.
Key Principle #1 of Writing Scenarios:
Reveal a new key piece of information.
When you write a scene, remember that it should only reveal one new key message.
Sure, your scene can reveal some nuances about your character or theme, but there should be only one overall key message—the message you want the audience to take away from the scene.
This information is Overall gist of the scene— a line you write in your step outline to describe what happens in it — everything should revolve around this revelation.
in outline sidewaysyou could write about this particular scene like this: “Later, they meet Maya again at the bar. After some small talk, she asks Miles what he’s doing tonight, but Miles says they need to go crash, which ends up messing up .
One of the key messages shown in the scripted scene is that Miles is nowhere near ready to take any action against Maya. Or any woman.
Key Principle #2 of Writing Scenarios:
Give the scene only one goal.
When writing a scenario, include goals related to the scenario The overall goal of the protagonist.
Here, Miles’ goal in the scene is to stay friendly but not get too close to Maya. He did ask her if she wanted to come over and have a drink with them, but that was more out of politeness and from that point on, he let Jack take over the conversation.
Myers’ goals for the scene are related to his overall goal, which is also to stay away from female contact. While on the road, all he wants to do is play golf, relax, and drink some wine. He had no intention of flirting with Maya.
Key Principle #3 of Writing Scenarios:
Give the scene a three-act structure.
Like the entire movie itself, writing a scene means giving it a three act structure.
It should include setting, complexity, and solution. This is especially true for the most important scenes in your story, i.e. calls to action, big events, mid-points, etc.
This scene is in sideways The classic structure is followed as it represents the intermission. Here are the main beats of the scene:
• settings. Miles and Jack are having a drink at the bar.
• Call to action. Maya comes in and Miles calls her over.
• Turning point in Act 1. Maya asked Jack if he was an actor and they started flirting.
• Midpoint. Maya asks what they’re going to do tonight, and Miles says they might “crash.”
• Orgasm. Maya leaves.
• ending. On the way home, Jack scolds Miles for messing up.
Note that this scene structure is very similar to the traditional three-act structure. All it lacks is a second-act turning point, and like all great scenes, once the point of the scene is completed after the midpoint, it’s best to exit as soon as possible.
Key Principle #4 of Writing Scenarios:
Not every scene requires conflict, but it does require stakes.
It should be assumed that every scene should contain some kind of conflict and/or bet.
exist sideways For example, Miles is the protagonist and Jack is the villain. Miles’ goal in the scene is just to be polite and make small talk with Maya. The goal of Jake’s scene was to kick things up a notch by having some flirty dialogue with Maya.
Notice how their two goals relate to the goals of the overall scene. The clash of these two goals brings conflict to the scene as we see both Miles and Jack react to the other’s tactics.
However, don’t fall into the trap of listening to so-called screenwriting gurus who say that “every scene must contain conflict.” Every scene in the script should be viewed as a battle between the protagonist who wants something and the antagonist who wants the opposite, and the idea is Just fake.
When writing a scene, it’s best to think of it as something you want to show your audience, rather than a head-on conflict between two or more characters. Here’s a helpful article on how to write scenes that discusses this in more detail.
Key Principle #5 of Writing Scenarios:
Include some kind of visual action.
When writing a scene, remember to include something visual action. A scene is a combination of actions and dialogue, and finding the right balance between these two elements is crucial to creating a successful scene.
exist sideways Scene, we start with Miles and Jack at a bar. It is static. But then the Mayans arrive—one move—and join them—one move—and then leave—another move.
This scene could have started and ended with all three of them sitting at the bar, but adding Maya’s entrance and then adding shots of Miles and Jack at the bar and then their walk home gave this dialogue-filled scene something to work with. required visual effects.
How to Write a Scenario Principle #6:
Give the character a real choice.
Every scripted scene should include a real choice, and by that we mean a moral choice between two good or two evils.
Dustin Hoffman commented that only if his character has at least 40 choice points. A scene can contain many small choices, but like the reveal in Principle 1, it must contain one key choice that moves the story forward. This usually happens at the climax of the scene.
The main choice Miles makes in this situation is of course when he says they’re going to go back to the hotel and crash. This decision comes at the climax of the scene and is his big decision near the end of the first act, prompting Jack to declare in the next scene that he won’t let Miles’ “negativity” stop him from succeeding.
Writing Scene Principle #7: Make sure values ​​are reversed.
Writing a scenario means incorporating some kind of change or reversal of values. In other words, if a scene starts with positive charge it should end with negative charge vice versa. By the end of the scene, the protagonist must understand this change.
So, in our case, the scene starts off with a lot of positivity when Miles calls Maya to join them at the bar. Notice how Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor had Miles call her over instead of Jack.
This is because if Miles does this, it will have more positive consequences than if Jack does it. That said, we think Miles might not be that nervous.
The scene ends on a negative note when Miles ruins his chance to hang out with Maya that night, and Jack’s protests make him fully aware of this change and mistake.
How to Write a Scenario Principle #8:
Advance the story, characters, and themes.
Ideally, every scene in the script should advance conspiracy, Features, and theme content of the entire story.
In this scene, Jack drives the plot forward by telling the lie that they are celebrating the publication of Miles’ book, a lie that will later have serious repercussions. We also now know that Maya is single and available.
Both Miles and Jack’s characters advance as we get a better understanding of their mindsets: Miles wants to remain aloof, Jack wants to party and is prepared to lie to make his friends look successful.
Through exposition we learn that Jack’s acting career has not gone well and he now relies mainly on voiceover work.
this Theme of the video Emotional maturity is necessary for a truly happy relationship. Maya represents emotional maturity, but both Miles and Jack express the other side of emotional immaturity.
All three characters exhibit these traits in this scene.
Maya is emotionally mature and ready to meet new people – people like Miles. However, Miles’ inability to shake off his small talk with Maya shows his emotional immaturity.
Meanwhile, Jack shows his emotional immaturity by lying to Maya about Miles’ book and flirting with her during their engagement.
in conclusion.
We recommend that you do not use this checklist as a starting point before writing your scenario; instead, you write the scenario first Then refer back to that list to tighten it up.
Once you have a draft of your scene, you can use this eight-point checklist and then go back to make sure the scene protagonist makes the right choices, is there a reversal of values, something at stake, etc.
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Do you think we’re missing any screenplay principles? How do you write a scene? Let us know in the comments section below.
Like this article? Read more about how to write a scene…
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8 out of 10 writers are told how to write scenes the wrong way
How to Write a Screenplay: Secrets to Beyond the Ordinary
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