Writing Tip: Enter Late, Exit Early

“You always attack a movie scene as late as you possibly can. You always come into the scene at the last possible moment.”

Screenwriter William Goldman (1931–2018)

I cannot recall the first time I heard this screenwriting mantra — Enter Late, Exit Early — but it was soon after I broke into the business in the late 80s.

Something to remember every time you write a scene. What is the latest possible moment in the…