#17 - Ahead Of Your Characters
Edition #17 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
Fleabag (201)
Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Not only do the parentheticals clarify what could be easily misconstrued dialogue, but the repetition also gives the sense of the tension between them getting volleyed back and forth, with neither giving an inch. Lovely writing.
The Northman
Written by Sjón & Robert Eggers
A lot of screenplays would use an action line, and there’s just something so clean about a line of dialogue with a question mark. Helps keep the rhythm clear.
Atticus
Written by Jeremiah Lewis
We get two lines of dialogue that really show the main character’s relationship with the world. Two lines, three words each. Crystal clear.
But what I really really like here, and want to call out, is the simple inclusion of “too much” in regards to the luggage.
It’s a judgement, and since it’s in an action line it’s not explicitly from the main character, but brings us into his worldview. Wonderfully subtle and clever work here from Lewis.
Two quotes about screenwriting
“One of the big things you have to learn is who to listen to and when; and you can’t listen to everybody.”
“Good dialogue illuminates what people are not saying.”
One thing to think about
Who’s ahead and who’s behind?
In any story, the audience and the characters do not necessarily have the same access to all the information.
Sometimes the audience is ahead, like when we know a killer is lurking in the bushes but the character doesn’t.
Sometimes the character is ahead, like when the detective knows who the killer is, but isn’t sharing it until the end of their summation.
Sometimes we know exactly what the character knows.
If a sequence or scene or moment is in someway lacking, you can always look at what happens if you give or take away certain information from the character or audience or both.
Who’s ahead and who’s behind?
Have a great draft,
David Wappel
PS Don’t Miss
A detailed insight into a rewrite, using Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Some great insights on writing the score for a Mission: Impossible film (and in my opinion, the best score of all the films)