Screenwriting Tips
Expert screenwriting tips by working screenwriters
If you have not already, please read the Nicholl Fellowship introductory article.
The How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship is a series of articles:
In a recent interview, Matt Dy, the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition Director, said this about verbose descriptions:
MATT DY: ...Also, a lot of first-time screenwriters will direct too much in their scripts and include long blocks of scene descriptions. Screenplays are considered the blueprint for a film but it still needs to leave room for the director’s vision.
The Academy's Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting has a wealth of excellent screenwriting advice on its website and Facebook page including:
...A different problem arises for some otherwise entirely capable writers in English - they overwrite their description and dialogue. Poetic and literary language has a place, but it's not typically in screenplays. Readers and judges often react negatively to florid, overwritten description that serves to slow the story rather than to propel it forward.
Reel Authors has written various articles that advise on this topic including:
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