I bet when you’ve written a scene you really love, when it comes down to the editing you’ve likely cringed at how long it was. Don’t worry. We’ve all been there as we’ve tried to get that dastardly idea of a scene out of your head and onto the page.
What I’ve learned recently on writing scenes is that so often we get so invested in making a scene work with all the ideas we throw at it that we lose the most important thing we need from a scene. Intension.
1. Intension
What we need to ask ourselves is what are we trying to get out of this scene? Does Betty have something to confess to Anna? Is Rob trying to wheedle information out of Sam that Sam doesn’t want to give? We need to know what each character wants out of the scene. If they’re in opposition to the other character/s in that scene, great! That’s going to bring the drama.
2. Characters’ Intension In The Scene
Next you’ll want to think about how exactly your character/s will go about getting what they want out of it. Will Rob be sly and persuasive? Will Sam be shut off and only give one word answers, refusing to engage with Rob? Keep it short but make it clear that one of the characters gets what they want. One of the characters must win the exchange so they can drive the story onward. If it’s Rob’s story and he doesn’t get the information he needs, this will force him look for it somewhere else. Another opportunity for a scene to crank up the intension.
3. Manage Your Scene Length
I say make them short because one thing that will definitely turn readers off is scenes that go on for multiple pages that has no intension behind them and ends up doing the one thing none of us want to do: infodumping. Infodumping is when we end up giving information the audience needs to know through a hoard of information we tell them. That’s why we have the whole “show not tell” phrase buzzing round our heads as writers. We want to SEE that information in an interesting way instead of being told via gigantic monologue pages long.
4. Taking Format Into Consideration
It does get a little more complicated depending on which format you’re writing in. Screenplays need to be short and to the point, so long monologues are a bit of a no-go. It’s still a struggle in radio plays, but they’re written differently as we have to describe some of the environment that the audience can’t see. Theatre plays have a bit more wriggle room, but having reams and reams of long monologues won’t help your audience if they get overwhelmed by how much information we’re throwing at them.
Novels are a whole different kettle of fish. Yes, you can write more into them so we get a stronger idea of the situation and be inside character’s heads. Caution is still a good idea so you don’t lose your readers along the way when giving them too much information when you’re trying to give the a nugget they’ll need to remember for later.
So, to recap: find the intension behind the scene, ask what each character wants and how will they go about getting it, remember to be creative in showing information we need to know instead of infodumping on your audience, remember to keep it short if possible to keep your reader and audience with you.
Remember all of that and it will help to keep your scenes sharp and intentional. If the scene isn’t working, go back to what the character/s want. Don’t be afraid to cut a scene out of your script if it’s not working. You need that intention to drive the story forward.
Best of luck and happy writing!