Rio Vista and Foothills Week Three: Scenes

Set the Stage

This is the part of writing I liken most to working on stage or interior design. It is also the place where a writer can really get a God complex. It is time to build the world characters play in.

In terms of the interior design aspect, I like to think of my scenes as the studio set the actors need to interact with. I fully admit, my scenes are much better since script writing a few times. Making a list of required props and realizing how much space actors have to move helps add plausibility to a story.

What would you tell a set designer if he were to build your props? Be specific. It is not so much that all of this needs to be written into your descriptions but your final product will be much better received if you have considered all the props your actor/ character could interact with.

Lighting and sound is important too. To set the mood in movies or stage the light and sound technicians adjust volume, add effects, brighten or dim the lights, and sometimes change the filter color to be even more dramatic. Think of your Scene Outline as directions for the technicians at your disposal.

Be as wild as you want to be! Movies, television and stage are still more limited than the written word. A scene written on paper is limitless in financial budget, it is only a deficit of imagination that can slow production. While makeup, CGI programs, set construction, costumes, and fire codes create hurdles for the visual arts, writers put the imagination machine into motion and the possibilities are boundless.

Exercise for class or group:

Use Scene Outline worksheets to pick apart descriptions.  Do this to your own work or trade with others. 

Exercise for Lone Writers: 

Use worksheets to build a scene for your story or recall important moments in your life.  Decide if it is easier to use the sheet to create a scene or as follow up to writing one out.

*Worksheets can be helpful, but over analyzing, can cause hang-ups in creativity.  It’s all about balance.*