Creative Script Writing Techniques

Considering Coppola's methodology in the Louis restaurant scene in The Godfather, here are 10 Ways to Deepen Your Scenes 1. Identify the "Core": Every scene must have a single emotional objective. If you can't name it in one word, the scene is probably extraneous. 2. Anticipate Pitfalls: Before writing a scene, list three ways it could become a cliché. Then, write it to avoid those three things. 3. The Historical "Times": Research a specific law or custom from your setting. Use it as a minor conflict in a scene to add texture and realism. 4. Sensory Sound Design: Don't just write dialogue. Write the "screech of the train" or the "clink of the glasses" to build atmospheric tension. 5. Body Language over Dialogue: Test your scene by removing all words. Can the audience still understand the relationship through gestures? 6. The "Stylized" Opening: Don't be afraid of a "bizarre" introduction. If it captures the character's ethos, it's worth the risk. 7. Revisionist Dialogue: If you're writing in an established genre, try using a contemporary voice for your characters to make them feel fresh. 8. The "Unreliable" POV: Use a first-person viewpoint to hide information from the reader, creating a deeper sense of mystery. 9. Contained Tension: If your high-concept script is getting too big, try moving a scene to a singular, claustrophobic location. 10. Analog Labor: Get away from the screen. Print your script, mount it in a binder, and write your notes by hand. The physical connection to the page often sparks better ideas.

SCREENWRITING TIP FOR NEW OR ASPIRING WRITERS: "The Iceberg Technique" 10/26/24 Imagine, for a second, a large ICEBERG floating in the middle of the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean BUT... 90% of it is below the surface. The last 10% of the tip represents everything your character says or does on your script page. The unseen parts of the frozen ice behemoth represents EMOTIONS, MOTIVES, TENSION, etc... that's purposely left unsaid. With that, now imagine this scene: A character just received devastating news. Your character responds with a simple, “I’m fine." Two small words, right? But what’s really beneath those words? I'm fine could mean a dozen things: -- Maybe they’re covering up anger, hurt, or even betrayal. -- Perhaps they’re trying to be strong when they’re actually scared. -- Or maybe they’re testing if the other character cares enough to see through the lie. New or amateurish screenwriter's tend to spell out these emotions directly and it irks many producers and readers. If you truly have a desire to keep the reader's attention, you need to pack action lines, gestures, or pauses with depth. If you do it right, it WILL leave your audience/reader/producer with the thrill of discovering what’s truly at play. IN REAL LIFE... People often avoid saying what they mean, especially when emotions run high. Their instinct is to protect, hide, or test others... (Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about if you've ever been in a serious relationship that went awry) ...Harsh, real relationship dialogue often dances around the truth, and as a screenwriter, your job is to echo that realness of every day life into your screenplay(s). Here are just a few tips for you young, aspiring bucks: --Instead of having a character say they’re hurt, maybe they should avoid eye contact, or their hands shake a bit. Example: Judy's last breath leaves her body. Daniel doesn't dare look at her body as she stares back with a blank expression. Daniel's shaky hands smudge blood on his face as he wipes his tears away. He looks around the rubble for an exit when the building CRUNCHES down some more. The jagged rod penetrates Daniel's leg even deeper. -- Instead of a character saying the standard run of mill, “I’m angry,” "I'm pissed." "I'm mad" crap dialogue, You might have your character say something calm but with an edge. MARIE (calm but cold) Of course... I don’t fucking mind at all. The audience will sense the tension because the dialogue suggests there’s much more underneath the iceberg. -- Short, clipped lines or pauses can hint at hesitation, inner conflict, or unspoken emotions. A character who pauses, then quietly says, “I see,” might be feeling deep sadness or disappointment without ever spelling it out. --Sometimes, silence itself is the rest of the iceberg. A character choosing not to answer a question can be as powerful, or more so, than any line you can think of.

You might know your character's strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities. But do you know where these came from and how they manifest outwardly in different ways? Conduct an interview with your character by asking them probing questions.  When you need to do more character work, I call this exercise, "taking your character to therapy." Write this down in a journal as a back-and-forth dialogue. Don’t let them off the hook if they try to give you a shallow answer or avoid the question. Keep asking them “why?” until you hit emotional bedrock.  Here are some jumping off point questions to get you started: 1. What is your character’s flawed worldview? 2. What do they think would make them happy? 3. What do they think is wrong with the world? 4. What is their defining childhood memory? 5. How do they view each of their parents? Their siblings? How do they think each of these people feels about them in return? 6. What is their greatest fear? 7. What is their biggest insecurity? 8. How has this insecurity manifested as overcompensation? 9. What are they good at? What are they so good at that they’ve come to rely on this skill as a fallback? 10. What do they look for in a friend? 11. What is their worst nightmare? You don’t have to include any of this in your script. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. It could be information overload for your audience. But you need to know it.  Why? Because having a strong sense of who your character is beyond your script will make them feel like a real person. It will allow interesting quirks and personality traits to bubble up to the surface. It will inspire jokes, off-handed comments, and interesting lore. If you never include any of this information in the pages of your story, it will still be there, simmering under the surface. But if you skip this exercise, your audience will be able to tell. The character will feel flat, and they won’t believe that they are a real person with thoughts, feelings, and emotions of their own.  They’ll simply feel like a prop. 

Write hot, edit cold. Why your best ideas die before they're born... I used to be the guy who couldn't finish anything. Every idea got murdered by my inner critic before it hit the page. Then I discovered the faucet principle. 1. Just thinking = ideas disappearing into nothing 2. Writing without judgment = ideas actually captured 3. Editing while creating = creative paralysis Year 1: Overthinking every ad. Dozens of concepts and ideas because nothing felt "ready." My brain was a faucet spraying ad ideas everywhere with no bucket underneath. Year 2: Tried the "craft better ads" approach. Still editing as I went. Still stuck. Different strategy, same problem. Year 3 (now): Write hot in the morning - dump 100 hooks, ideas and angles with zero judgment. Edit cold in the afternoon - refine the raw material. The breakthrough? Your brain can't generate winning angles and judge them simultaneously. When you try, both processes fail. Most creative strategists I know waste their best ad concepts because they critique before they capture. The real magic happens when you stop trying to create perfect scripts on the first pass and start filling the bucket with raw material. My lessons? Separate the modes. Generate angles without criticism. Refine scripts without generating new ones.

I’ve gained over 250,000 followers on Instagram this year — mostly from storytelling videos. But none of them started with a hook. They started in my Notes app. Here’s one method I use to turn real life into viral posts — I call it the STORY Method. It’s how I wrote pieces like “I Wish I Was White” and “Being a Woman Is So Simple.” (https://lnkd.in/eSbY-nqg & https://lnkd.in/epxsi9Bf) S - Scrapbook the week. Keep a diary in your phone. Write down random thoughts, overheard lines, friend conversations, emotional moments. This becomes your raw material. T - Turn a moment into a theme. Pick one note that has emotional or social weight. Ask: What bigger idea does this represent? (e.g. hair → identity, loneliness → independence, house move → womanhood.) O - Organise your one-liners Write a bunch of lines around that theme — funny, poetic, painful, whatever. Then rearrange them like puzzle pieces until a storyline forms. R - Refine the narrative Polish it so every line either moves the story forward or adds personality. Cut repetition. Read it out loud. Once the arc feels tight, then write the hook at the end. Y - Yield the best hook Test 2–3 opening lines. Drop them into AI (or ask a friend) to predict which will stop a scroll. Pick the strongest to start your story with. The best stories aren’t invented. They’re lived and observed. If you’re posting this week, don’t overthink the algorithm. Just start with what actually happened. That’s where every good story begins.

One simple trick to improve your writing — The Rule of 3. Fill in the blanks: Veni. Vidi. __. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of __. Tall, dark, and __. Your brain is a pattern-completion machine. And the number three is the smallest number of elements needed to create a pattern. *** The Rule of Three is a storytelling principle that says people better understand concepts, situations, and ideas in groups of three. They’re right. The most common storytelling structures are split into threes: • 3 Act Structure • Promise, Progress, and Payoff • The Hero’s Journey – Separation, Initiation, and Return But why’s it so effective? Threes let you shape your story. Any less, there’s no pattern. Connect two points, you have a line. Connect three points, you might have a line. Or a squiggle. Or a triangle. It depends on how you connect them. *** 3 techniques to use The Rule of Three today: 1. Tricolon The repetition of similar words or phrases three times to create a parallel pattern. Example: “On the one hand, the objective reality of rivers, trees and lions; and on the other hand, the imagined reality of gods, nations and corporations.” – Yuval Noah Harari in Sapiens 2. Three-part structure James Clear calls his newsletter "3-2-1." He organizes his writing into three sections, and it's become a popular way to format newsletters. 3. Hendiatris A hugely popular technique in speeches and advertising, hendiatris means using three individual words together to convey one idea: • “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” • “Friends, Romans, Countrymen.” • “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” The Rule of Three may be the most practical rule in all of writing. Proven by science, effective in practice, and simple to implement. Pay attention to good writing and you see threes everywhere.

Storytelling should be a required course for every student and professional. Because it’s the only way to truly change minds. When I first began writing, I realized that without a story, my words only reached the intellect. To truly resonate, writing must touch both the head and the heart. As I began teaching writing, I realized few people truly were taught how to weave story into their writing — especially when writing articles, posts, or books. Here are seven techniques I teach to help weave storytelling into anything you write: 1. Start with a Hook: Your opening lines are your first, and sometimes only, chance to grab your reader's attention. Use an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a vivid scene to draw them in. 2. Show, Don't Tell: Rather than stating facts or feelings, show them through actions, dialogue, and sensory details. This technique helps readers experience the story rather than just reading it. 3. Create Relatable Characters: Real people are actually characters to those of us who don’t know them. Treat them that way to your readers, and describe them in ways that bring them to life, whether your spouse, boss, or colleague is a character in your story. 4. Build a Compelling Plot: Stories need something to happen —- action. Use conflict and tension to create suspense and propel your story forward. 5. Use Vivid Descriptions: Paint a picture with your words. Descriptions should be vivid but relevant, enhancing the story without overshadowing it. 6. Include Dialogue: Dialogue brings life to your writing. It's a powerful tool for revealing character traits, advancing the plot, and adding realism. 7. Create a Satisfying Conclusion: Your ending should tie up loose ends and leave the reader with something to think about. A great conclusion makes the journey worthwhile. From Theory to Practice In my own journey, whether writing 'Super Mentors' or 'Pennymores', I've learned that storytelling is not just about entertaining. It's a tool for conveying ideas, sharing experiences, and connecting deeply with your audience. Remember, the most effective writing doesn’t just speak to the mind; it speaks to the heart. By mastering storytelling, you’re not just a writer; you become a storyteller, leaving a lasting impact on your readers. Now, it's your turn. Take these principles and weave them into your next piece. Watch as your words gain power and your stories leave imprints on the hearts of your readers. #StorytellingInWriting #NarrativeTechniques #EngagingContent #HeartfeltWriting 📖💡

I shared a scriptwriting secret with one of my B2B clients and now ALL their writers are using it. Here it is. Let's just keep this between us: When you're establishing tone of voice for a new client, take it to the big screen. (Or the little one.) Instead of bathing yourself in meaningless tone words, think *character.* I've now had reports back from writers who have wowed their clients by (secretly) writing for them in the voices of Jim from The Office, Liz Lemon from 30 Rock, Christian Bale in The Big Short, Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Even Stefan from SNL. Instead of struggling over semantics they're infusing content with humor, complexity and HUMANness, pretty darn effortlessly. It's a huge hack for nailing tone. But please, god, don't feed these as prompts into one of the -GPTs. Using fictional characters as inspiration for real people takes a writer's steady hand so that it ends up feeling authentic rather than formulaic. But if you can do it, like the A-plus talent-washed group of writers I'm working with: clients LOVE the results. The writing feels 3-dimensional, funny and layered... just like the characters, shows and movies that inspired it. Our little secret, k? ** ✨ I'm Lia. I write about the creative process, what a transformation of creative confidence looks like, and the rollercoaster of working motherhood. Hit the 🔔 to follow along.

I've faced it. You've faced it. The frightening blank page. Just staring back at you, passive aggressive. It doesn't do anything. It just locks your stare, and refuses to go away. You need to write an ad. A story. A post for social media. A blog. Script out a film. But there no words on the screen. Just that annoying blinking line telling you that time is ticking, and you're not going to finish if you can't start. Buuuuut, navigating this isn't as hard as you may think it is. All you need is about 10-15 minutes or so. Here's what I do. It should help you, and if it doesn't, try something that suits you. 1. I don't write what I'm supposed to write I write a LinkedIn post instead (like this one for example). By writing something inconsequential, I force my muscle memory to make friends with the keyboard again, dancing away on the letters. And in the sentences I write, I'll have a germ of an idea - a first line, something to begin the first sentence of what it is I have to write. 2. I think of prompt words. Purely to activate my imaginative neurons. Words like 'Once', 'Presenting', 'Imagine', 'Here'. I then take a prompt word and write out a sentence, while staying true to the brief. For example, if I am to be writing a film about a chocolate brand, I would potentially write 'Once there was a girl with chocolate stained teeth'. See? That's not an idea, yet. But it's a visual. An interesting visual. That visual will give me another visual, and then another, till I start forming the outline of an idea. 3. Stream of consciousness writing It's a form of writing where you just write without thinking. Your fingers don't leave the keyboard. Here is an example (I will write this without thinking) The geatest of writers ever born are the ones who can think of pain and think of happiness in the same jar covered by a muslin cloth and left out to dry on a sunny terrace that overlooks a mango tree with a swing hanging from its branch. The grass is green and the brick is red and someone plays hopscotch. Simple times and simple lines make writers. (See? Spelling errors. Not fully grammatical. But at least it gets the blood flowing. Once you write something like that, writing what you set out to write becomes much easier.) I wish I had more techniques, but I don't. Do you? I'd love to hear them. #writing #block #words #consciousness #psychology #copywriting