Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Create an argument
Let’s say you’re stuck writing a flat scene. No matter how you’ve approached it, the scene just lays there.
No energy.
No zip.
No nothing.
Do what producer Larry Gordon told me: Create an argument.
Get your characters screaming at each other. That ought to put some heat into the scene.
For example, you’ve got a scene with a lot of exposition in it. Exposition scenes are notorious for being hard to handle because…
Well, you’ve got a lot of exposition to deal with.
Since exposition is largely facts and information… and facts and information are largely devoid of anything resembling excitement…
You’re pretty much looking at the cause of a flat scene. Like this:
Okay, the scene did get out some exposition: Sandra’s father’s 70th birthday is coming up. There’s going to be a party. Her family will be there. And Brad doesn’t want to go. But it’s not terribly entertaining, indeed, it’s basically a flat scene. Now what if we created an argument?
All right, not the greatest scene ever written. And why the idea that Sandra’s father propositioned Brad popped into my head, I don’t know — perhaps I’d better start up with therapy again! But see how different the second scene feels? In fact, you could even throw in more exposition if you wanted:
So the next time you’ve got a flat scene, especially one with a lot of exposition, try creating an argument between the characters. Give them something to shout about.
As Larry Gordon put it, “No one will care if it’s exposition if the characters are screaming at each other.”
This has been another edition of Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work.
For other Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work articles, go here.
