6 Screenwriting Tips to Improve Your Novel

George Bernard Shaw said that Britain and the United States are two nations separated by a common language. The same can be said of screenwriting and prose; they are two forms of storytelling that share the same tools, and they are as different as night and day.

(The Differences in Writing Novels vs. Scripts.)

Prose has the advantage of the inner monologue and as much description as you care to write down, while in a screenplay you can only write down two things: what you see, and what you hear. Still, there are screenwriting tools that I believe can be invaluable to a novelist.

Here are six things I always do before I deliver a script which can help your book. 

One of the most easily avoidable mistakes in a movie is when a minor character seems like a plot device rather than a human being. It’s an easy trap to fall into, so in order to fight it I take the time to look at the story from every character’s perspective, no matter how small.

The doctor whose only function is to deliver the main character’s diagnosis has a life of their own, too. Where were they before they walked into the office? Did they just have a fight with their wife, or lose a patient? How do they feel about delivering this news; have they built an impenetrable shell, or is it still difficult for them? And more importantly, why?

In the end this might not be noticeable to anyone but you, but by taking the time to walk through the scene in their shoes you will create a human being rather than a fount of exposition. I do this with every role, down to the concierge or the delivery person, but it is even more important with supporting characters who may have six or seven scenes in the movie.

Tell that seven-scene story as well as you can; make sure the character has their own motivations and needs, and an arc if possible. A supporting character who only exists to serve the lead’s story, or to provide comic relief, is not interesting, while a single-scene taxi driver who has a life of their own brings depth to your film.

Movies change many times after you write them, but nowhere as much as in the editing suite; I have heard the editing process referred to as the final rewrite. One tool I find invaluable is to imagine the following scenario: I am in the editing suite, the movie is running long, and I have to make cuts. There is no way around it, something has to go.

I look at each scene individually and ask myself a few questions: First, does this scene move the story forward, and conversely, if I cut this scene, does it hurt the story? Also, is there vital information in this scene that I can put somewhere else, and if I do move it, is this scene still necessary?

However much you may love a scene, if it can go, it should go. Granted there is more room for self-indulgence in a novel, but do you really want a chapter in there that slows your story down or causes your reader’s mind to wander? Cut that sucker, because if you don’t cut it someone else will later on. 

I am sent a lot of scripts by producers looking for rewrites, and often their comment is, “We love the story and we love the characters, we just can’t figure out why it isn’t working.” Nearly every time, the answer is the same; the lead character is not driving the story. They are passive and reactive, being buffeted about by other people’s choices.

Your lead must enter every scene with an objective and a plan, even if that plan goes terribly wrong or the objective changes. When James Bond is tied to a giant saw and expected to die, he isn’t a passive prisoner; the second the chains go on he is plotting a way to get them off (plan) so that he can get to the death ray and stop it (objective).

In other words, he seems like a victim, but he is still the one driving the action. Don’t be boring should be your mantra; don’t be passive should be your character’s. 

Sometimes there isn’t; clichés are clichés because they are true (that’s a cliché in itself). But it can’t hurt to skim through your pages one more time to look for lines or actions that are tired or overused and challenge yourself to find a more creative way to do the same thing. I cringe every time I watch a character try to download something, but it’s taking too long, and the bad guys are coming and it’s only at 67%. I swear I have seen that three times in the last week. It’s lazy writing. Don’t be lazy. Challenge yourself to find a better way. 

In films, you don’t want your characters to explain things, you want to find a creative way to impart the information visually. The novel is a little more forgiving of exposition than a screenplay is, but I believe the principle holds. Avoid explaining things in dialogue wherever possible, and find a way to get the same thing across in a dynamic way.

Nearly every horror movie eventually has the scene where they find the expert who has spent their life studying this exact type of possession and is the only one who knows how to kill the haunted doll and who, luckily, is on a college campus only 20 minutes away. What if your character is able to figure all of that out without an expert? Because they are smart and active and creative (like you). And finally: 

Don’t make notes. Don’t set it down. And do not stop. Even if you see a typo, keep going, you will find it again later. Read it for rhythm and flow, make sure each scene leads seamlessly into the next, and look for (unintentionally) jarring transitions.

Are scenes in the right order? Does any one scene or chapter grind everything to a halt? Or does the end of each scene make you want to turn the page and start the next one? Is your lead off screen (or out of your story) for too long at any point? Simply put, does the damned thing work?

Only by reading it straight through from beginning to end will you know if it is the cohesive whole that you intended. And of course it works, because you took the time to get it there. Have fun!

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