The above image is a screen capture is cited from the film "The Last Dragon." He catches a bullet with his teeth.
Bite The Bullet Point!
How does a screenwriter write a scene? There are books. There’s Youtube. There’s podcasts. Well, I’m going to share with you how you can put a scene of a screenplay together. There is a myriad of ways to do it. I will give you a short, clean, and functional method. We have to ask quality questions! Tony Robbins likes to say “Ask a better quality question, and get a better quality answer.” I completely agree with him. If you write novels. This may not pertain to you; however, have a listen as it may apply someday should you decide to switch gears over to screenwriting.
Before we begin, I must preface the work with this… You must have Three things. What your story is about! Who the characters are, and a functional finish line for your story. If you do not. Then go back and start writing the above, or you may proverbially write yourself into a corner. If not then you are increasing the difficulty for no reason. Translation: A story that you may not be able to connect and flow all of the ideas.
Let’s begin on this magic carpet ride shall we? We are breaking down a series of scenes in a rough way. Don’t try to over think it. Avoid telling the whole story in its entirety. It takes days and even weeks to write a script. If you have random out of sync sequences in your head. This exercise may be useful. Write them down, and you can connect them later on if need be. A scene list is the spinal structure of your 110 page film. It is the skeleton, not the flesh of your story. You will probably revise it dozens of times. Nothing more than a list. Not the scene itself, yet what is occuring in that scene. A basic idea.
Your goal should you choose to accept it should be to write a bullet point list. Aim for 100 or so bullet points. This should help you. You can sequence them after; however, if you are so inclined I would sequence them now, and they will save you a lot of time and effort. Each bullet point could translate to 1 and a half pages. Give or take. On with the show:
Scene 1 - Bill walks into a Saloon.
Scene 2 - Bill strolls over to the bar and grabs some whiskey.
Scene 3 - Two Cowboys notice Bill talking to one of their girls.
Scene 4 - The Cowboy strolls over to Bill to argue, and a gun fight ensues.
Ok, this is simple and straight forward. Now let’s march over to the questions you should ask yourself when putting a "single" scene together!
Questions to ask when actually forming a scene:
Does the scene move the story forward?
Who are the characters?
Is the scene dramatic?
Is it emotional?
Does it make you think or feel?
Can you set a mood?
Is there weather, and does it serve a purpose?
Is there conflict?
Can you pace the action? Rapid to slow. Slow to fast? Slow to slow.
Can you open the scene with something Impactful or visual?
Can you end on something impactful or visual?
Can I use visuals and sound more efficiently?
Does the dialogue reveal too much? Too little?
Does a prop serve a purpose to move the story?
That is pretty much it. Each bullet point becomes 1 nice big paragraph or five. Each scene is linked to the next. Creating a sequence. Next blogpost will be converting your novel to a script.