ACTIONS SPEAK
LOUDER THAN WORDS
Sorry to break it to you. Your parents were right all along. We’ll look beyond their moral guidance and see the wisdom within. Your dialogue has to be active. I cut my teeth learning how to write action.
Yes, dramatic action is where it’s at. It remains the central, most crucial tenet of any script. Action, and of course, story. It took me years to understand how they work, so I am fully prepared to get into the trenches with you and find the solutions you need to improve your script.
I’m a big fan of crafting stories in units of action. Mark each moment by the progress of your characters in their action toward a goal or in getting something from each other. Unless we’re in a comedy, we’ll look at heightening and getting characters into as much trouble as possible.
You don’t need a map
until you’re lost
People have an instinct for stories. You know the world you’re creating. You’ve sat hunched over a laptop or notepad, bringing these characters to the page. Or else they are drawn directly from your life. So you’ll likely plough ahead with great gusto until you reach a fork in the road. That’s when it can be good to have an additional person in there with you, figuring out what to do next. Sometimes you’ll be just plain lost in a forest of your own making, wood and trees completely indecipherable. I’m happy to join you there too.
Script notes may not accurately
describe how to improve your script, but they will almost
consistently point to
where the problems are.
~ Scriptwriting 101. I picked this gem of wisdom up at some point on my writing journey, and I love it. Why? Because you’re the boss when it comes to your work. I’m here to point to things and ask questions. It’s up to you to answer them. And I’ll be there to dive in with you every step of the way.