Reader Question: Should I use “is” construction verbs or not?

Via Twitter, a question from Stuart Foreman (@Foremyster):

Screenwriting question. Should it be “Tom cuts the lawn” or “Tom is cutting the lawn”? Thanks

This seems like a simple question. It actually opens the door to a much larger consideration. First off, how about some grammar!

“Tom is cutting the lawn” is an example of what is known as the present progressive verb tense, indicating continuing action, something going on now. Thus if we envision a scene whereby we start with Tom in the act of cutting the lawn, our instinct may be to use the present progressive construction.

The problem this verb tense with regard to screenwriting is two-fold:

* Whenever we can, we want to use the most active verb form possible. So “Tom cuts the lawn” is more active than “Tom is cutting the lawn.” It’s actually more notable with a more powerful verb: Tom blasts his gun vs. Tom is blasting his gun.

* The present tense in a screenplay indicates action that is happening here and now, so we rarely need to use the present perfect. If you enter a scene with “Tom cuts the lawn,” we assume he has been doing it and continues to do it, so we get the idea of continuing action while receiving the benefit of a more active feel with the verb.

Okay, grammar lesson over and my advice is use the simple present tense, not the present progressive.

However the door this question opens is a screenplay’s sense of time. This is a subject I have gone into at great length in my Core VIII: Time class.

Screenplays are written in the present tense. Most other fiction is written in the past tense. This distinction has a significant ramification.

Unlike traditional fiction where the writer recounts events that are already bygone, a screenwriter describes the narrative as it unfolds in the here and now, thus creating a sense of immediacy. This can have the effect of pulling the script reader or movie viewer more fully and intensely into the story universe.

Scenes happen in the present, in the now, in the moment. In fact one way of looking at a screenplay is that it is a series of moments strung together, one after the other, each leading to the next. In combination they create a narrative whole.

Therefore as we write a screenplay, we should approach each scene as happening right now, unfolding before our very eyes, occurring in its own moment.

This may seem completely obvious. Why make it a point of emphasis? The value of each scene being in the moment is what it does to a reader psychologically: It sucks them into the story.

That’s just one aspect of screenplay time with numerous other dynamics associated with it. We’ll actually get into this next week as we delve into Time in the Go On Your Own Quest posts.

But for now, just be happy we revisited the idea of present progressive verb tense. Feel free to toss it out to your friends over drinks or at a party. Sure to impress everyone… or not.

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