… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1232: What Should Be in Every Scene You Write?

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Drama occurs from conflict. Spike Lee says the best drama is when both sides are right.

This article, written by Jason Hellerman, first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is a summary.

Scenes: they’re the backbone of every story, whether it be TV, film, or even on the stage. Scenes build on one another and create a world, a vision, and take people on a journey. But, what should be in every scene?

At the end of the day, every scene needs to have one thing: drama. Does your character have a goal in the scene? What’s standing in their way? That’s it. That’s the center of every scene.

Drama is the perils that your characters face in order to achieve their goal. Those perils can make us laugh, they can be thrilling, they can be emotional. But without drama, you’re not building a story. You’re just boring us.

The biggest pratfall I see from younger writers are scenes that have no conflict. People come in and out of doors and espouse facts, then go on their way. We need to see what stands in their way both tangibly and intangibly if we want to really be a part of the story.

This article includes a video on how to write a scene, along with more details.