Eight out of 10 writers are told how to write scenes the wrong way…
The most common advice on how to write a scene is to approach it from the perspective of an escalating conflict between the protagonist and antagonist.
Aspiring writers should ask themselves when writing a scene:
• What is the protagonist’s goal?
• Who is stopping them from achieving this goal?
• What is the growing conflict?
This advice may be correct in many cases, but it is ultimately misleading. this means every scene fall neatly Conflict Paradigm between Protagonist and Antagonistand apparently they didn’t.
Common scenario examples suggest how to write scenarios mislands.
Here are some examples of scenarios that don’t really fit the traditional “protagonist and antagonist” advice.
The Shining.
Consider the scene in between The Shining,in Jack tells Wendy that he just had a terrible dream He killed her and Danny. Then Danny comes with bruises on his neck and Wendy freaks out.
Yes, there is some conflict between the protagonist and the villain, but it comes at the end of the scene. And there is still no so-called “increased conflict” between Jack and Wendy. besides, what is her goal?
Bridesmaids.
Or filming a scene in a cafe near the beginning of the movie bridesmaid. Lillian discusses her relationship with her fiancé and scolds Annie for her sexual relationship with Ted.
As most screenwriting “gurus” state when discussing how to write scenes, there is no real conflict between them. No real protagonist has a goal. It was just a simple conversation between two friends.
The truth is, writing a scene purely through the lens of a confrontation between a protagonist and an antagonist puts oneself at a huge disadvantage.
So the question is, if that’s not the best way to write a scene, what is?
How to Write a Scene Step 1: Decide what you need to show your audience.
The best way to learn how to write a scene is to step back from your character’s thoughts and what they want and focus instead on what you think.
In other words, your ideas shouldn’t be dictated by your protagonist’s goals in the scene, but by how best to reveal a scene. a message to the audience.
If you think of each scene as a small piece of information that the audience needs to know what’s going on, then your approach to writing your scenes should be:
What’s the best way to present this character to an audience? Or, “What’s the best approach? show to audience How is the plot going here?
Ideally, you want to end up with an outline that includes: scene tag next to each scene.
Here are some examples from popular movies:
(500) Summer days.
In the second half of the movie, the writers wanted to show Tom having a hard time meeting new people after breaking up with Summer.
Here’s the scenario they came up with:
Tom goes for a walk with his date, telling her in advance that nothing will happen. In a restaurant, he complains about summer to her and then sings some angry karaoke. His date left.
The road to destruction.
At the beginning of the film, the writers wanted to show the audience that Michael Sullivan Jr. was obsessed with his father’s profession – gun-toting.
Here’s the scenario he came up with:
Michael Sullivan Jr.’s mother asked him to pick up his father. He stopped at the end of the corridor and watched from a distance as his father emptied his pockets… including a gun. Michael stepped forward and said, “Dinner is ready.” His father acknowledged this without looking.
The Blair Witch Project.
Near the end of the movie, screenwriters Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez wanted to show that Josh might be dead, while also making Heather and Mike aware of it.
Here’s the scenario they came up with:
Heather and Mike woke up to find a bundle of sticks in front of their tent. Heather initially threw it away, but then went back to take a look… and found a bag inside containing bloody human teeth.
Overall, the best way to learn how to write scenes is to exercise What aspect of the characters or plot do you want to reveal? to the audience. Then engineer (or rewrite) the scene to clearly demonstrate it.
How to Write a Scene Step 2: Cut, cut, cut.
The key to learning how to write scenes is knowing how to keep action Tense and short scenes. However, most of the spec scripts we received contained scenes that lasted too long. Often three, four or five pages can be written on just one page.
It’s not a matter of cutting a scene if it doesn’t make sense (although that might be true too.) It’s more of a case of cutting a scene if you can’t figure out exactly what you want to do . exhibit audience.
When you first write a scene it’s good to think about what will happen, but ultimately you need to know why it happens.
if you are not real show The scene might have been cut due to the audience’s attitude towards the homeless, or if he simply blew up a chance to join the football team.
How to Write a Scene Step 3: Give each scene a label.
To make sure each scene serves a specific purpose and shows the audience something, go back to your outline (if you have one) or some of the scenes you wrote. Then, give each person a scene label.
What are scene tags?
What we mean is to mark each one by what it should show to the audience. Not what happens in the scene; Why It’s happening.
If your synopsis says, “Kate talks to a cute guy but doesn’t ask him out,” the scene tag could say, “Kate is shy around boys,” if that’s the scene’s practical purpose.
If you find it difficult to think of scene tags for a scene in your outline, then it’s likely that it doesn’t fulfill a specific scene function and may need to be redesigned or cut.
Of course, ideally you’d like to end up with an outline that has a scene label next to each scene.
We hope this article has helped demystify some advice on how to write a scene. It’s taken in part from our online screenwriting course, Script Hackr, which dispels a lot of misleading theory and improves screenwriters’ writing skills through practical, hands-on exercises.
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How did you learn how to write scenes? What do you think of our approach? Let us know in the comments section below!
Like this article? Read more about how to write scenes and scripts in general…
Writing Scenes: Epic Techniques Most Aspiring Writers Don’t Use
8 Keys to Writing Scenes That Are Compelling and Engaging Readers
How to Write a Screenplay: Secrets to Beyond the Ordinary
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