Using the "pause" and "silence" in scriptwriting...

Probably the most important nonverbal element in scriptwriting, especially playwriting, is the pause, or silence in the middle of a line or between lines of dialogue.  Often the most potent moment in a scene is during the silence that ensues after a poignant line, that moment when a profound decision or realization is made.  The audience witnesses this happening during the silence.

These moments are very much part of the writing.  You are creating a script that includes both verbal and nonverbal elements, and it's how the two interplay with each other that determines the shape and rhythm of each scene.  All nonverbal physical actions influence how your characters relate to each other and what they say and think.  And this is especially true for silences.

Screenwriting resources: scripts and competitions

There are numerous channels open for writers regarding getting your hands on actual screenplays of produced films at no cost--something every writer should be checking out on a regular basis.  One of the most helpful sources for this can be found at the New Hampshire Institute of Art library where you can find a list of links to the best places you can download scripts for free.  It's a great resource to have at your fingertips without having to plow through pages of Google entries.

And when it comes to a good and accurate list of screenplay competitions, you can quickly get buried in various lists and advice when you start to Google the topic.  There are hundreds of contests for features, shorts, tv pilots, you name it.

The plot treatment--an exercise in story structure

My wife recently shared with me a wonderful piece from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.  It illustrates the degree to which any good piece of fiction writing, whether novel, play, screenplay, or teleplay, needs to have a structural framework if it's going to lift off and soar.

Another script writing secret: keeping it to yourself...

It's about that time in the current term of our MFA program when students are pushing through their first drafts.  I'm currently mentoring two student writers and I ask them to send me pages as they begin to accumulate just to keep them on schedule or at least close to their own predetermined timeline.  However, I find myself also having to point out an often overlooked truth when it comes to a writer sharing his or her work others and when it's best to do so--a point I've made before in this blog, but is worth repeating.

A scriptwriting secret: taking it one step at a time...

I'm currently working with a script client who is agonizing over his strong sense that he's missing something critical in his plot outline for a screenplay--something that will be a key to his story lifting off and really hitting the bull's-eye.  In fact, it's been stalling progress on his project and has pretty much left him walking in circles around his writing room with little forward movement at all.  He wants to have as complete a road map as possible before plunging into draft (and rightly so), but is stuck as to how to make that happen.

A scriptwriting challenge: fighting the negative voice

So you're finally plunging into your first draft and all is going nicely for several pages when all of a sudden a little devil appears on your shoulder and whispers in your ear "this is stalling out...the characters aren't coming to life...who do you think you're kidding?...this is a disaster..." and suddenly you're frozen and everything grinds to a halt.

A scriptwriting tool for plot invention

My last blog post centered on the process of plot invention and a practical approach to accomplishing that end--namely using index cards (or the equivalent) and building your story one heart beat at a time.

To add to this, I recommend you take a look at a very interesting and well-written book by Daniel J. Levitin called The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload.  Among many other things, Levitin breaks down the index card technique and advances the reasons that successful creative people use this method of organizing their lives or, for our purposes, how writers come up with their stories.  What he presents reads like a textbook for how to invent the plot for your story idea.