Screenwriting : Writing style by Allen R. Nelson

Allen, what I've been doing is making the scene heading, ex. INT. MARA'S BEDROOM - DAY then making action line underneath, Mara sits on her bed writing in her journal. Now I could be wrong, and if I am, please someone correct me, but this what I gathered from reading the screenwriters bible. Hope this helps a bit with your dilemma, maybe someone with more experience could guide us.

That's the way I write and the most regular way that everyone uses to write a script I believe. But I wanna know if I have to for example: ETX. NEW YORK CITY-44 GREENE STREET-CHASING-DAY or EXT. NEW YORK CITY-CHASING-DAY. I wanna know if I should point the scene right in the direction or not.

What I have been doing is something like. EXT. NEW YORK CITY - DAY The man stands at a corner on 44 Greene street and watches the traffic. The action can let the reader know where the scene is, and scripts that I have read like this seem to have a better flow. That's just my opinion.

Jack, that's what I've done. I've been writing the descriptive in the line after the scene heading. It shows what the character is doing, where the scene needs to be directed what the focus point is without being too directional in the heading. Allen, maybe not put the actual street in the heading, but the line afterwards as Jack explained.

Yes. That seems to be better. Thank you, Izzibella and Jack!

@Allen. FYI, I learned the same way....

Scene headings are actual locations such as a CAR WASH, an OFFICE BUILDING, or YANKEE STADIUM. Examples: INT. WASHROOM - DAY EXT. A GRASSY FIELD - NIGHT INT. MIKE’S BEDROOM - DAY EXT. MOUNT EVEREST - DAY

Hi Allen. I assume we're talking about a spec script? Therefore, do refrain from giving direction. Just tell the story. Yes, your slug line (scene heading) should be succinct and never contain action. Slug lines consist of three parts: camera location (EXT. or INT.), scene location, and time (DAY, NIGHT, etc.). There are different types of slug lines; master, secondary and special headings for flashbacks, montages, etc. The scene location should only be the primary location of that scene (the place where everything is happening) and in as few words as possible. Now, with your chase scene, if you have clearly established location prior to this scene, that we are in New York City (perhaps the entire story is set in NYC) and it's vital information for the story to give a specific street, you could simply write: EXT. 44 GREENE STREET - DAY. It all depends on how you construct your scene or series of scenes. It could even be a secondary slug: 44 GREENE STREET. Then as your chase scene progresses, you could continue to utilize secondary headings to keep the action terse and exciting. Allen, I highly recommend the book "The Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier. It's a great reference book that you will refer to again and again for any formatting questions. Also seek out professional scripts that contain chase scenes and see how they were constructed on the page for comparison. :) I hope that helps!

If you are doing a car chase you would use a series of shot. The first line of "Series of Shots" is a Shot and not a scene heading. The other lines are Action elements. SERIES OF SHOTS A) Police swarm the Federal Building. B) Ambulances swerve into the driveway. C) SWAT teams aim their guns. It's optional whether you, at the end of a Series of Shots, add an Action line that says: END SERIES OF SHOTS If it's obvious when it ends I would avoid the ending indicators.

Series of shots works very well. Succinct. That's a great example, Dan. :) It also depends on the scene: what's at play; what you're trying to create; if there's more going on; if it's extended; if it has dialogue, etc. I've seen car chases, action chases, good guys chasing bad guys on foot, shooting, fighting, etc., formatted in different ways. Personally, I think the most visceral way to create excitement is to break up action with secondary headers. You build up tension as you go down the page. Lol! :)

Thank you, Dan and Beth! That was helpful. But it's kinda complicated or maybe I didn't quite get it. As I got, a series of shots is almost like a flashback scene. BEGIN FLASHBACK SEQUENCE, the action during the flashback, END OF FLASHBACK SEQUENCE. The same goes for the series of shots. For example if the car chase is switching between the drivers and scenes extended with dialogues, should I put it as, example: SERIES OF SHOTS A) Drive A crosses the red light B) Driver B hardly makes it through DRIVER B Get the hell out of my way! C) Driver B opens fire on Driver A D) Driver A tries to avoid getting shot DRIVER A God dammit.

Allen, if I could say it as well, it'd be Beth's reply. And I'd also recommend the book "The Hollywood Standard". Yes, you should refrain from too many details in direction. Just as much as casting information or location scouting. There is a lot of subtext that is necessary for the reader to dive in your script. Too much information does not necessary help your script and forces the reader into something that is maybe less appropriate than his own imagination. As for direction, there is -always- a way to novelise your shots. If you start describing the details of someone's hand, how the finger moves or whatever, you've just made an insert shot. Same for your series of shot. If you write it in the way that has been shown above and then gather up all the sentences, you will have a description paragraph with good timing and a very cut scene. In the reader's imagination, it will appear as a series of shots. Likewise, make shorter sentences and you will give rhythm to your scene, etc. So, as much as you can refrain from giving shot direction; some directors absolutely loath that. Direction through description is not only a show of finesse but a great exercise in writing.

Yes Beth. If there is stuff going on then you can't use the series of shot. I thought of that after I posted what I said. A friend worked on the Hollywood Homicide movie and Gateway which are filled with car chases so if they used series of shots the scripts would probably have been four pages long. LOL.

You're welcome, Allen. :) However, a series of shots is more like a montage and neither includes dialogue (to the best of my knowledge). And there is a difference between the two: A MONTAGE tells a story through a series of visuals around some central theme; and a SERIES OF SHOTS conveys a passage of time through one shot after another. To further confuse... Flashbacks can certainly be done as a montage or as a series of shots. Now, what you are describing seems to be straightforward action which may be better written by constructing a scene sequence using slug lines, description and dialogue. Of course, without any context of what you are trying to do, it's hard to say. Perhaps do some research to better determine which option would best serve your creative intent. Perhaps get yourself a copy of "The Screenwriter's Bible." Again, it's a great resource. :)

HaHa! Yeah, that makes perfect sense, Dan. :)

Some really great comments/input from some really awesome screenwriters! Love how you all share your insights, knowledge and expertise here to give advice, pointers and guidance to newbie writers. Beth, you are some mean girl when it comes to screenwriting. It's obvious you've really studied and mastered the craft - well done. Thanks for sharing.

Allen, think Casablanca, INT Ricks cafe, is the main scene, then there are five scenes with in The Cafe, all driven by Characters, {Following them through their eyes to their location}. Piano, Bar, Interior, Entrance, then Back to Where Rick is sitting with Peter Lori. However each scene is a scene within, with it's own Heading. So My guess is one can do a Montage, a Series of Steps, or separate Headings. Another is a small narrative, a simple line expressing to follow the eyes. --Example -- Rick hears Sam playing a song, hesitantly he stares at Sam, enraged he dodges patrons and confront Sam.

Thanks a lot everyone for your recommendations! That helped so much. I enjoyed writing that part of my script using those suggestions. And I got Hollywood Standard and I think The Screenwriting's Bible will help as well too.

Good luck!!!!

I'm quoting my colleague and friend Stephan A Carter - screenwriter and published novelist - on the the struggles of being a writer. He' s just self-published his novel, " Germ Line: Revolution." This is what Stephan has to say: "Writing is hard. Anyone who says differently is a fking liar. In my experience, (of course this may be different for others,) you have to be somewhat selfish and more than a little self-absorbed, and you live your life perpetually distracted by some thought or another. You have to be willing to sit alone in a room for hours on end plugging away at a keyboard. You have to realize that some of the best writing is really done during the rewriting process. And you must be okay with the fact that no one other than you may ever read your material. Most of all, you must write. Relationships will suffer along with your self-esteem, health and well being. For much of your life, you live in your mind. People who don't write don't understand you, your obsession and often your humor. In the middle of writing you have to force yourself to eat, shower, answer the phone, interact and ultimately step away from the computer. (In spite of the 'struggle' ) I would tell everyone to pursue their dreams. That there is an artist inside all of us. That it just may take some time, searching and false starts to discover what type of artist you truly are.” Check out: http://stephenacarter.com/germ-line-the-blog/in-the-beginning Thanks Stephan, for reminding us. It's fking hard. But. Montage, series of shots ---whatever--- Let's just keep WRITING! (-: Find that artist within!

Ms Lowe, Stephen is so right. Selfish and self centered, self absorbed, Living in my head is a comfortable nightmare of insanity. Thank you for the reminder

Catalina: Great post. Thanks. I will add, writing is not the hardest, living through our characters journey, especially if they mirror flashbacks and bits and pieces of our own lives, it's very painful. But, for me is the only way I know how to write compelling characters that I care about, in order for my readers to have a chance of caring as well. Thanks again for the link. Powerful.

Very nice and thank you for sharing! I agree a hundred percent that it's hard, it's really hard. It sometimes take me hours to write a one minute scene because I need to think of the best thing possible. For sure a writer is whom writing for him is harder than others. I'm not sure if I quoted it well but that's what I remember.

Catalina. Thanks for sharing that. Personally I don't think of screenwriting as hard because I enjoy it. However, it takes years and years of hard enjoyment to make it. LOL!

Yes, thanks for sharing, Catalina. :) Screenwriting is difficult, no doubt, but I certainly don't share the same "tortured" outlook about the craft, art and life as Mr. Carter. No suffering is needed, just lots of hard work and enjoyment. Sorry, personally, I find it bizarre for an artist to tell someone else "how" or "what it is" to be an artist. Seems presumptuous to me. That may be his experience, but it's certainly not the same for everyone. Anyway, one of my favorite quotes is from Thomas Edison, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ...As Dan said, it takes years and years. Lol! :)

So right Dan and Beth --- years and years of HARD enjoyment.! I think what Stephan is saying is it's "hard" in the sense that writing - whether for screen/stage of novel - is lonely and isolated because "people who don't write" don't understand your "obsession." For me personally, I can vouch for that. Living with - feeling and hearing'" my characters - in a "transcended universe" and then--- PLONK - thrown back into reality - bombarded with the daily "noise" of getting on with life--- that's hard. Perhaps, that's our "saving grace" - a touch of "reality "every so often - so not as to become too tortured! LOL Main thing; just tell your story. From the heart. The rest will come late, right?

Yes! Can't argue with that, Catalina. Well said. Everyone has an opinion here, but the important thing, we are all in the same journey. Some of us have a bit more mileage, others are just starting out and trying to find our way, but the destination is the same.

Now Beth, why would you decide to become a voice of reason. Here i was thinking I had it all figured out.