#15 - Taking Up Space
Edition #15 of the Lighthouse miniLetter!
You'll always get:
Three examples of great screenwriting
Two quotes about storytelling
One thing to think about
Plus some fun links at the bottom.
Three examples of great screenwriting
A Scanner Darkly
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, Adapted from the novel by Philip K. Dick
There’s something about the casual prose that really works here for me. Kaufman guides us through almost like someone simply describing the film instead of overly machinated dictation through colons and caps and bolds and italics. He describes the voice-over performance. He tells you a montage is about to happen. A fine way to write.
Inventing Anna (Pilot)
Written by Shonda Rhimes
The rhythm here is just chef’s kiss. We feel. each. blink.
And starting off with an ellipsis? Fantastic stuff.
Also, I bet you didn’t even notice that 3/5 of this is explicitly not visual.
Dreamers
Written by David K. Kessler, Based on the book “John Lennon vs The USA” by Leon Wildes
There’s a real breeziness to Kessler’s style here that I like. Clear prose guides us through character mood, setting (including temperature), a wardrobe change, props, diegetic audio, specific location and the copy & image on a poster. Truly great writing, and this whole script is fantastic.
Two quotes about screenwriting
“If I wait for the genius to come, it just doesn’t arrive.”
“We write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection.”
One thing to think about
Are your characters taking up too much space?
Don’t let a long name take up unnecessary space.
If you name a character THEODORE and everyone calls them TED, it might be worth putting TED over his dialogue instead of THEODORE. You won’t get any lines back, but that white space will look nice.
A character introduced as MAXIMUS DECIMUS MERIDIUS doesn’t have to be written out every time. It might not have to be written out the first time, but only when it’s spoken.
The difference between SARAH and SARA is just a single H. But if that’s your main character, you’d be amazed at how that can affect line length and page count.
Obviously, there are higher priority creative decisions to be made when it comes to naming, but practicality has its place.
Are your characters taking up too much space?
Have a great draft,
David Wappel
PS Don’t Miss
Do you write early in the morning or late at night? This might help with your sleep schedule
Too many thoughts at once? 60 seconds can help clear your brain.