gwenyn28

[gwenyn28]

Scriptwriting 101

Since there are a few people who really seem to think that a tv show is “just” a tv show I had the urge to explain a few things, especially concerning the writing process and what is seen on the screen.

I am not a screen-/scriptwriter myself but it is quite easy to dig into the world of writing and find the important points when it comes to tv shows and/or media in general.

Therefore, I decided to sum this all up in one post you can pull up whenever somebody tells you that “the curtain is just blue because it’s blue”.

First of all, the writers are writing for the screen. If you write a line about an internal monologue or thought you have to think about what it would look like on screen. Why? Well, that’s quite simple. Because the viewer isn’t able to look into the character’s head to see his thoughts. Therefore, you have to show it. To visualize it, using different narrative devices to do so.

If a character thinks “I don’t like him” but doesn’t want anybody to know, how would you portray this on screen? Maybe with a disgusted face. Maybe with a disgruntled noise. Maybe with a quip. You have to show the viewers this thought. this dislike. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get the message across.

Therefore, one of the most important rules for screenwriting is “Show, don’t tell”.

Usually, you don’t have a narrator who explains everything a character does. Ideally, the audience should be able to pick up on the context from the dialog and action.

For example: It’s not needed to be said that a character grew up as a person. It can be shown in a montage of his past. Or with a well-placed sentence to show this growth.

By experiencing a show, the only kind of information the audience absorbs is what can be seen and heard on screen. And that’s it.

Now people could say “yeah, isn’t this about the curtain then? If it is shown blue, then it is blue, right?”

Well, no. Yes, the curtain is blue. And that is what the audience can see. But the bigger point is to question WHY is the curtain blue. Okay, not everything is really that thought through, at least not the color of a random curtain. But other things might have a deeper meaning and subtext because the writers could not convey their idea/story otherwise.

They have to show some things so that the audience can figure it out what they wanted to tell with what they have shown.

Be it with words that are said or actions like giving a certain character a scene where they act like another character to show how similar they are.

And there comes the next big point. The “Show, don’t tell” rule is very often in correlation with the limited time the writers have for their story/episode. Usually, on tv you have a limited number of minutes for each and every episode. So, every second counts.

If you decide to write a certain part and to keep it in the episode, it has to be important. To show something without explicitly telling it.

So, some scenes might seem random and not important. But believe me, they usually are. Why would you keep something that blocks a time slot in your episode if it was not important for the plot, character growth or characterization in general?

Imagine. You want to write an episode of a show. And you have a general idea about the topic for this episode. You start to line it out, work around it, put life into it. And in the end, you notice that you have written a lot more than what would fit into the episode. What would you cut off? Right. Stuff that does not help the general storyline or the characters.

For example: You have written about a beautiful sunset. The birds are chirping, there’s a slight breeze. You can see a car passing by a park. What would you do? Keep it or cut it off?

Keep it if it is needed to show one of your characters walking around that park to pan in on him with the camera to set the tone for the next scene.

Cut if off if it is just a filler and in no relation with any story or character.

Many scenes are therefore intentional to show with actions or dialog what the writer wanted to convey in that scene. A tv show hasn’t the advantage like a book where every thought, every emotion can be described in detail. It is limited and has to use other methods to keep a storyline up and working.

Coming back to the aforementioned narrative devices. These are writing techniques used in writing in general, not only in media. They are important everywhere.

But let’s look at them from a tv show perspective. I have already explained why it is important to show stuff, mostly using dialog and visuals, so that the audience gets it and the possible subtext/context. Let’s look at how a writer would do it.

Foreshadowing:

This is a way to provide hints on what will happen in a later episode. You could show for example that somebody waits for a call, not being able to reach another person just to find out that said person wasn’t available due to an accident that will be shown at the end of an episode. The audience will then realize “Wow, that makes sense. Because the person couldn’t be reached before.”

Language:

It is always important what kind of language you use. Which words are said and which aren’t, mostly in combination what kind of tone they use. Calling somebody by their dead name and/or mispronouncing them get the point across that this person is a transphobe, for example. There’s no need to tell the viewer that this person is an asshole anymore because the audience already knows. So, the words that are used and how they are used is a vital point for the “show, don’t tell” because it can give a clue about the character or the situation they are in.

Plot devices:

It’s a technique used to move the plot forward. Plot devices can be objects or characters to show a certain character trait or support a storyline. For example, if you have a show and all of a sudden somebody from the past appears, a long-lost sibling maybe, it could be to show the difficult family situation. That sibling might be not important in the long run and could be gone a few episodes later. But it started another storyline and gave some insight to one of the main characters. Or the audience finds out that one of the characters has a relative with mental health issues who just appears in one episode which could be just to explain why a main character acted the way they did when faced with mental health issues in their current situation.

These are just a few storytelling tools that are often used in writing. And they all circle back to the “show, don’t tell” rule. Because if you look at each one of them and the examples I gave? Imagine how the situations would be without showing what I just described.

Would there be the “gasp” moment when you find out about the car accident without these little scenes before or would it be just “oh, car accident, whatever”?

Would it be believable if you have somebody call out another person as a transphobe without words used to show that the person really is?

Would it be understandable to start a new storyline without the long-lost sibling who started it?

No, usually, it wouldn’t.

Now, people could ask again about the “show, don’t tell”. Because why use these narrative devices when the rule is just to show stuff? Easy as that. Because otherwise a story would be boring.

It’s quite essential for a writer to put some tension into a story, to create a plot that hooks the audience (these are narrative devices as well, by the way). So, yeah. Show stuff. But make it exciting. Otherwise, nobody would tune in for the next episode.

This leads me to the next and probably last point.

Tuning in again. You might tune in again because a story is exciting. Yes. That’s one reason. Another one is or at least could be that the audience can relate to the characters. Writers usually give characters certain traits or flaws that the audience would get the feeling that this could be them. And that these characters might be fictional but still human somehow.

Characters don’t need to be perfect. They need to be relatable.

Connecting this with the main rule means that a character and his actions are just shown to give the audience a better feeling for them and who they are. So that they can relate. It’s usually important because if something happens off screen, the understanding might not be there. The audience needs to see things to understand what and why it happened. For example, a break-up offscreen always leaves the question about how and why they really broke up and that could dampen further scenes.

So, in conclusion. If something isn’t on screen it leaves the audience without something to relate to. Some might say that it probably wasn’t something important then and yes, I would agree. But there is also the possibility that something is left off screen on purpose to make the audience wary of a situation of a character because they haven’t seen things with their own eyes.

To sum this all up then:

A tv show doesn’t do stuff just because they can. The writing is intentional because they have limited means to convey their story to keep it exciting and relatable. Otherwise, the audience wouldn’t continue to watch. So, maybe the next time you talk to somebody about a show, think about the possibility that there has been some subtext to it. And not just that the curtain is blue.

#scriptwriting #screenwriting #tv shows #media #media literacy