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SCREENWRITING TECHNIQUES
for
NON-SCREENWRITING WRITERS
- Jo Sparkes
Screenwriting – be it short video scripts, television ads, or feature films – is my favorite type of writing. It’s writing with handcuffs – telling a story within very confined limits. For me it’s like solving a puzzle.
Those techniques spill over into other writing projects.
For example, the ‘one page a minute’ rule states that a page of a script equals a minute of film. If you consider your favorite two hour movie, imagine writing the entire story in less than 120 pages. With today’s scripts getting shorter, that two hour movie is down to 102 pages.
That’s characters defined, all dialogue, all action, the dramatic conclusion – everything — in 102 pages.
Screenwriting teaches brevity.
Naturally, a screenplay is only what an audience will see and hear. In a book you can wander through the character’s mind, understand his feelings, remember the past. Mourn for someone, wish for something.
A character can do all those things in a script as well. But the writer has to be clever in doing so, and concise in how it’s done. The hero can stroke a photograph of a smiling young girl, or pass a funeral urn on a mantle. He might watch two boys in a park arguing – and the audience glimpses a feeling.
It doesn’t tell you exactly what’s going on in his head – but then, aren’t you more intrigued? Don’t you want to know what’s going on? Exposition should be treated like a heavy spice. Sprinkle it carefully over the entire soup – don’t shove it down the throat at first bite.
A great film must engage the audience in the opening scene. It’s an amusement park ride, with emotion being the roller coaster cart. You want everyone on board, strapped in their seats. You can’t spend three chapters just setting up your story.
Dialogue is crucial. Every word counts.
Script dialogue is more like real speech, in that people don’t actually speak in full, grammatically correct sentences. And in real speech people ramble, take their time getting to the point. If they even have a point.
You don’t do that in film, because something is always happening. It may not be in the dialogue, but something is happening. Two people may converse calmly over dinner, but the camera reveals each aiming a gun beneath the table.
The key to dialogue is understanding that it is a strong part of character. Word choice, tone, meaning all define who uttered them. If the character stubs a toe, what does she say? Does her jaw squench shut, forcing her to keep it inside? Does a young priest drop the F word, and then hastily look to see if anyone heard?
How much does the choice of curse words tell you about the character?
In film, characters change. Actually, it makes perfect sense for any good story. After all, if the journey was strong enough, important enough, shattering enough, frighting, thrilling, soul-searching enough, it MUST effect the person involved. If not, why should it effect anyone else?
And yes, there are exceptions to this rule. A person may fear to change, may refuse to change. But the audience must still recognize the choice. They must be effected. Think of Frodo and the hobbits returning to the Shire at the end of The Lord of the Rings. They’re safe, home and happy – yet there is that pause in the pub, where they realize they are not the same. They have been greatly changed by the experience. In Frodo, it’s a great weariness, a loss of innocence. In Sam it’s the courage to finally ask Rosie to dance.
Any event worth writing about has to have some effect on the reader.
Screenwriting certainly is a different animal – and relatively new to the old art of writing. But if you want a faster pace, a quicker punchline, or just some new trade tools to ply, give it a look.
About the Author: 
A well-known Century City Producer once said that Jo Sparkes “writes some of the best dialogue I’ve read.” Not only are those words a compliment to Jo’s skills as a writer,but a true reflection of her commitment to her work.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington College, a small liberal arts college famous for its creative writing program. Years later, Jo renounced life in the corporate world to pursue her passion for writing.
Taking every class she could find, she had the good fortune to study with Robert Powell; a student of renowned writers and teachers Lew Hunter, and Richard Walter, head and heart of UCLA’s Screenwriting Program.
The culmination of those years was the short-film “The Image”, which she wrote and produced single-handedly. And in so doing, she became fascinated with the dynamics of collaboration on a project.
Since then, Jo hasn’t looked back. Her body of work includes scripts for children’s live-action and animated television programs, a direct to video children’s DVD, television commercials and corporate videos. She’s been a feature writer on ReZoom.com and a contributing writer for the Arizona Sports Fans Network– where she was called their most popular writer, known for her humorous articles, player interviews and game coverage. Jo was unofficially the first to interview Emmitt Smith when he arrived in Arizona to play for the Cardinals.
She has adjunct taught at the Film School at Scottsdale Community College, has teamed with a producer on a low budget thriller, and a director on a new dramedy. She went in front of the camera for a video, “Stepping Above Criticism”, capturing a popular talk with her students.
Her new book, FEEDBACK HOW TO GIVE IT HOW TO GET IT, shares her lessons learned with writers, and indeed everyone dealing with life’s criticism.
When not diligently perfecting her craft, Jo can be found exploring her new home of Portland, Oregon, along with her husband Ian and their dog Oscar.
Find the author online at:
http://www.feedbackthebook.com
http://josparkes.com/
Feedback … a kinder word for criticism, is an organic component to life.
When a toddler learns to walk, he falls. He screams, cries – and persists. What would happen to the human race if he gave up after a few bumps?
Before we could read self-help books, before we could understand a language and sit in a classroom, we learned by trial and error. “Feedback” is the natural teaching process. It’s how the creator set it up. It’s how the world actually works.
Here, at last, is a simple process for getting the most from all the feedback the world offers us.
