What is the best way to write descriptive action? What is the best way to describe a character? I hear so many conflicting points of view that I want to hear even more on this comment board. Some people say less is more and some say to inject as much as possible. I would like to hear what everyone has to say, but I've been going with the less is more but now I'm going to try the alternative approach.
Screenwriting : Very Important question by Jade Cameron Sharp
Very Important question
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Some people say less is more and some say to inject as much as possible. Both. The answer to almost any "this or that" in screenwriting will always be both. First: there is no such thing as "description" in screenwriting, that element is called "action". So focus on what is moving. When it comes to characters (hopefully they are moving) and give us the most information in the fewest possible words. That means word choice (and the writer's vocabulary) is critical. Think of the action element as poetry, where you are looking for words that evoke a larger picture with more details. This article of mine gets linked online often: http://www.scriptsecrets.net/articles/descrptn.htm
I feel that action should describe a character more than anything, but I'm new to this so I want to gather as many opinions as possible.
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William is right about this less-is-more business. The screenwriter as narrator -- writing as though the screenplay is the outline of a novel -- is a dead end. The same holds for dialogue where there's often a tendency with early-stage screenwriters to let characters blather on instead of letting subtext do its job.
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Have you ever seen a film with audio description for the blind ? That's kind of what descriptive action should be like. Just enough to give a picture of what's happening!
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Like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF3a8-GMpHA
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I've found I've needed to focus less on what I specifically see in my mind's eye and more about what's actually happening in the story. I can't believe how much time and energy I have wasted writing what is effectively purple prose at the expense of putting more effort into writing something that's truly cinematic.
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Except that for most of us there are readers. PLENTY of readers, before our scripts ever see the bright lights. And those readers are the ones who pass it to their bosses, and their bosses... So this does matter. A lot. Otherwise a screenplay would never be described as "purple." Read Bill's article. It's a great start. "Haiku" and "twitter" and "poetry" are good ways to think about it -- you can be brief but evocative at the same time. This is the area where your writer's voice really penetrates the page.
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It's never a waste of time but rather self-educating, fine-tuning and honing one's craft. :)
screenplay description is not only REALLY important for letting film biz types know if a script is ACTUALLY a movie. It gives the reader a break from the ENDLESS PAGES of repetitive dialogue. And when done well, can be the quickest way to show that you are a SERIOUS WRITER who should be taken SERIOUSLY. try to write that when read it's like you're watching
Description must allow your reader to EXPERIENCE the movie you intended; it must clarify, set tone, set place and set mood. Be brief and evocative.