In a post on the Stage 32 blog, Shannon Valenzuela offers tips for writing tighter scripts. “A story should be exactly as long as it needs to be, and no longer (or shorter),” she says.
But why shouldn’t you write long? Is there really a big difference between a 300-page novel and a 320-page novel or a 110-page script and a 120-page script? “Overwriting actually defeats the purpose,” Valenzuela writes. “Rather than making things clearER, or more impactful, it actually does the opposite. When we overwrite, we end up obscuring what’s really important, and this runs counter to our objective: to deliver a story that is clear and powerful.” Valenzuela suggests ways you can tell if you are violating this guideline and how to fix it.
- Plan to write short. Most first drafts tend to be overwritten, but then we fix this in the editing process. Having a strong idea of your story, theme, tentpole scenes, and character arcs before you start will help you identify scenes that are redundant or unnecessary.
- Use the Iceberg Theory. About 1/8 of an iceberg is visible above water, and writers should strive to write description and dialogue that presents key information without diving into what lies beneath the surface. Trust the reader to fill in any missing pieces, Valenzuela advises.
- Find the Heart of the Scene. Like your full manuscript, individual scenes have an inciting incident, rising action, climax, and denouement. Valenzuela recommends writing scenes with the climax in mind. “Once you’ve identified the moment of highest impact in the scene, pare down everything else around it,” she writes.
- Cut Extra Words. At the line level, be ready to cut extra words. “I think we sometimes forget that when we overwrite a description, it’s not a help to the reader, but a burden,” Valenzuela says. “It slows the pace and bogs us down. Cutting the extra words sharpens the focus and keeps the pace moving.”
