Everyone is a Screenwriter

Where writing and real life intersect

I’ve been working on a new screenplay and thinking about the odd task of writing.

I’m a plotter (not a pantser, which will make sense to my fellow writers). I’ve got a color coded, plot question system that I’ve developed and tweaked for years. I know the twists and turns of every story I write before I ever drop in the first scene-setting word.

The job is always the same: write the next scene.

In fact, that’s the profession. Write the next scene. Spike Lee, in his masterclass, says, “when I’ve got 40 scenes, I’ve got a movie.” Every story is a series of scenes. If you want to write, learn to write scenes. That’s the minimum job requirement.

Poems are a series stanzas. Arguments are a series of premises. Stories are a series of scenes.

It doesn’t matter how well crafted a plot is. It doesn’t matter if the tale is hurtling headlong where I want it too, the job is still to write the next scene.

If that’s the job, then the skill is, “he can write the next scene.” I’ve read book upon book about plotting. I’ve devoured volumes on character arcs and world building and dialogue. But you can only learn to write scenes by writing and editing and rewriting again.

The role that each scene plays is to advance the character away from the lie that he is telling himself and towards the truth so that he can become the man that he needs to be to overcome the obstacle in the plot’s path.

If you can do that consistently, consistently write scenes that puts pressure on the lies the character is telling himself, then you are ready to be a screenwriter.

But this is how everyone is a screenwriter. If you want to write a love story between you and your spouse, if you want to write a story of heroic fatherhood with your children, if you want to write a story of overcoming all odds and finding success, you can only write that story one scene at a time.

You know where you want the story to go? Write the scene in front of you in that direction. You want to be the third act hero that defeats the big baddies for your wife and kids? Then control yourself in the scene you’re in now. Love them in act one with the strength you have at your disposal. You want to lay down for the love scene later in the play? Then lay down your life now in service and kindness.

We often go to the finale in our imaginations, setting up expectations and anticipations, but we only have the scene we’re in. We can only write the scene in front of us. We should know where we want the story to go, but the job is write the scene you’re in.

Write your character’s scene towards who you want to become. You want to have self-control? Have more of it in this scene than the last. You want to be brave? Have more courage in this scene than the last. You want a better relationship with your kids? Be a better parent in this scene than the last.

You only will ever have the scene you are in.

Reflect on the ways your past failure scenes put pressure on the lies that you tell yourself. Confess those lies as lies. Begin confessing the truth. Character growth in movies resonates because it can happen in real life too.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the enormity of a writing a whole screenplay, but the job is always “write the next scene.” So, get good at that. It’s the part in your control.