September is Scene-Writing Month: Day 3
As noted in this post, September is Scene-Writing Month here at Go Into The Story. Every Monday-Friday at noon Eastern / 9AM Pacific, I will upload a post with a prompt for writing a script scene. Each day, write a scene per those guidelines. If you really want to get in the spirit of things, upload your scene here in the comments section of the original post. That way you can critique others’ pages and receive feedback on your scene as well.
Why scene-writing? Think about it: If the average scene is 1 1/2 to 2 pages long and a script is 100–120 pages, then a screenwriter writes between 50–80 scenes per screenplay. Thus in a very real way, screenwriting is scene-writing. The better we get at writing scenes, it stands to reason the better we get as a screenwriter.
Plus there’s this: If you are thinking about using the Go On Your Own Quest schedule to pound out a first draft of an original screenplay, FADE IN is fast approaching — October 21 to be precise. What better way to get your writing muscles moving than a series of scene-writing exercises.
A couple of logistical notes:
* Limit your scenes to 2 pages. First, most scenes are 2 pages or less in length. Second, out of fairness to everyone participating in the public scene-writing workshop, let’s not abuse anyone’s patience or time with really long scenes.
* I’m sure someone will post a way for you to write scenes and upload them so they maintain proper script format, but that isn’t a big deal to me. Rather the content and execution are the important thing. So as a default mode, do this: (1) Don’t worry about right-hand margins on scene description or dialogue, just keep typing until it manually shifts each line. (2) Don’t worry about character name position, rather do this:
SCARLETT: Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?RHETT: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
Today’s prompt: Write an establishing scene.
What is an establishing scene? Any time you introduce a world, city, or primary locale, whether the very first scene as the narration begins in a specific site or the action shifts from one location to another, that is an establishing scene.
Why are they important? The most obvious thing is to ground the reader in that place, help them to transition from their own head into your story universe or move from this location to that within the overall domain of your story. This is important because you cannot expect a reader to jump straight into something if they don’t know the broader context [unless, for example, your point is to thrust the reader blind into some sort of action scene].
One sign of a poorly executed establishing scene: The writer only provides a litany of physical description.
One sign of a well-written establishing scene: The writer provides not only a physical sense of place, but also a psychological feel for it — tone, atmosphere, mood.
Here is a good example from the script for Avatar, written by James Cameron, when the crew of the transport ship — and we — are introduced to the planet of Pandora:
EXT. RAINFOREST - TWILIGHTFLYING OVER A LANDSCAPE of massive cliffs and towering mesas
carpeted in rainforest. Great scarves of cloud swirl around
the mesa tops. A primeval landscape, vast and forbidding.The trees are alien, the color too cyan. There are
waterfalls, rivers, and distant flocks of WINGED CREATURES.Suddenly the carpet of virgin rainforest gives way to --AN OPEN-PIT MINE. A lifeless crater -- as if a giant cookie-
cutter took a chunk out of the world. Down among the
terraces are EXCAVATORS and TRUCKS the size of three story
buildings.And beyond the mine is the HUMAN COLONY --EXT. HELL'S GATE - TWILIGHTHELL'S GATE is a cluster of squat concrete and steel
structures surrounded by chain-link FENCE 10 meters high,
topped with razor wire.At the corners are towers with automated SENTRY GUNS
swiveling on servo mounts.Visible beyond the gun towers, the VALKYRIE SHUTTLE roars in
across the treetops. VECTORING NOZZLES change angle,
bringing the ship to a SLOW HOVER.
Notice how along with the physical description, there is this: “A primeval landscape, vast and forbidding… A lifeless crater — as if a giant cookie- cutter took a chunk out of the world.” Those images evoke emotion because they create a feeling of the place’s atmosphere, engaging the reader psychologically.
Finally establishing scenes put a premium on your ability to write visually, so your cinematic sensibilities are critical here.
So write a scene in which you introduce the reader to an environment, large or small, a new world or a familiar place, a good establishing scene.
Post your scene in comments for feedback.
If you don’t feel comfortable uploading your scenes, that’s okay. I encourage you to do the exercise privately. Let’s face it: Any writing is better than no writing.
To learn more about Go On Your Own Quest, go here.
Also The Black Board is joining in with National Sketch Writing Month, so if you’re a comedy writer and want to check that out, you can go here.
Tomorrow: Come back for another scene-writing prompt.
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