Play-writing vs. General Writing

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  • #16921
    Jess
    @jess
      • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
      • Total Posts: 575

      I wasn’t sure where to put this, but does anyone have any tips for writing scenes to be acted out? I have been asked to write a script for a five minute scene (I already know what about,) and am wondering if there might be any more experienced people out there. 🙂 Are there any major differences? Must haves? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

      #16924
      Christine Eaton
      @christi-eaton
        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
        • Total Posts: 306

        @jess, I have not written anything as far as scripts go, but I do act, so my best advice is to write natural dialogue, just like when you are writing regular storybook characters, allow the personality and humor to come through the lines, that way the actor can easily get a feel for their character and portray them naturally, if that makes any sense. 🙂

        Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.

        #16925
        Hope Ann
        @hope
          • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
          • Total Posts: 1092

          I’ve written some scripts for my siblings and I. With dialogue, try to picture someone saying it. Preferably the people who are going to be acting the part. Some lines sound cool in writing, but when it came time for them to be spoken, it just wouldn’t work. And it depends on the quality of the actors. There were some things I knew my siblings simply wouldn’t be able to say right, so I wrote the lines around what they were able to do.

          INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

          #16931
          Greta
          @gretald
            • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
            • Total Posts: 450

            @Jess
            I’ve never written a script before, but I act. My advice is to create natural dialogue because that’s all you can write. Script writing in some ways is harder than writing a story because you can’t use any descriptions besides stage directions, though, on the other hand, writing dialogue is the easiest thing to write, at least for me…
            Oh, and use lots of stage directions since you can’t write any descriptions. That’s the only way you can communicate what the stage and set should look like and where the actors should be on stage and what they should be doing.
            Just out of curiosity, what are you writing a script for? 😉

            #16934
            Jess
            @jess
              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
              • Total Posts: 575

              Thanks @gretald, @hope, @christi-eaton. I’m writing the script for a home-school dinner theater production that we are putting on. Someone asked if I could write the scene (from a tv show) and I am happy to do so. 🙂

              #16937
              Greta
              @gretald
                • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                • Total Posts: 450

                @Jess
                Cool! That sounds really fun. 🙂 Let me know how it goes!

                #16938
                Christine Eaton
                @christi-eaton
                  • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                  • Total Posts: 306

                  Good luck! @Jess 🙂

                  Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.

                  #17087
                  Rolena Hatfield
                  @rolena-hatfield
                    • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                    • Total Posts: 405

                    @Jess You might have already written the script if so how’d it go?

                    For any future script writing tips reading it out loud is the best help! Then you’ll hear how it sounds and if anything feels unnatural. 🙂

                    https://rolenahatfield.com/

                    #17415
                    Jess
                    @jess
                      • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                      • Total Posts: 575

                      The person I was doing the script for loved it. 🙂 Thanks for the tips! @rolena-hatfield, @christi-eaton, @gretald, @hope

                      #17464
                      Greta
                      @gretald
                        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                        • Total Posts: 450

                        @Jess Awesome! So glad they liked it. 🙂

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