Focus on the Little Pieces

This past week, I decided to focus on the little pieces of a script. I often look at a finished, produced screenplay and think about it's greatness. Before I know it, I'm overwhelmed.

Instead of staying overwhelmed this week, I decided to study the element of "writing description." Here's what I relearned:

• All action and description must reveal character or move the story forward.
• The more vivid the description, the more the character and scene come to life.
• Description should also foreshadow what's to come in the story.
• Description focuses on three elements of 1) action, 2) setting and characters, and 3) sounds.
• Keep paragraphs to four lines or under.
• Be sparse with physical description of locations and characters.
• Describe what the audience can actually see on the movie screen and hear on the soundtrack.
• Use specific, concrete verbs and nouns to describe character vs. general ones.  Think about "how" someone is doing the action. (Entertain vs. inform.) 
• Avoid redundancies in narrative description. 
• FINALLY - Practice writing great description every day!

I've taken this lesson seriously! Now onward and upward!

What did I do this past week to advance my screenwriting?

1.  Read "Breaking Bad" pilot script
2.  Worked with Anne Jordan, scriptwriter, on my TV pilot script
3.   Reread sections in books - Anne Jordan's The Big Secret,  Blake Snyder's Save the Cat and Dave Trottier's Screenwriter's Bible - on "narrative description" 
4.  Attended Northern California's Screenwriters group