Less is more. Screenwriters have been reading and hearing that phrase for years. But what does it really mean? It’s about being concise, especially when dealing with screenwriting action lines.
Less is more is the philosophy that restraint often has greater impact than excess. If you cut away the noise and clutter, what remains feels so much sharper, stronger, and more resonant. It helps maximize the impact of the information.
In screenwriting and, more specifically, while writing scene descriptions in your script’s action lines, “less is more” has a much deeper meaning. When you maximize your impact with more concise action lines and scene description, you’re trusting the script reader. It’s about trimming overly-descriptive action lines so the fewer words you use to communicate a cinematic moment actually makes that moment even more cinematic.
A screenplay isn’t about spelling everything out - it’s about sparking images in the reader’s mind and leaving space for the script readers, actors, directors, and crew to engage their own imagination to visualize the intent of each line of action you write. Using the tools outlined here, we’ll teach you how to write better action lines in your script.
Here we’ll delve into how to write great action lines in a screenplay using Final Draft Screenwriting software.
What Is an Action Line?
An action line in a screenplay is the block of text within a screenplay where you describe what the audience sees and hears (also known as scene description). This includes:
- Character movements
- The setting
- The unfolding visuals of the story
Example:
EXT. FOREST - DAY
Nothing but endless green grass below, and bright green leaves above. It’s tranquil until…
The sounds of the chirping birds within the forest STOP. Silence. No movement or sound of any kind until a FIGURE appears from within the brush, holding a massive sword.
This is KANE, a warrior. Massive. Skilled. A force to be reckoned with.
Here, the setting is described. The unfolding visuals and sounds of the story begin. And you can also utilize action lines to introduce characters as well, with the age-old practice of capitalizing character names the first time they appear within the script.
Final Draft software differentiates between action lines, scene location lines, and dialogue lines. Within the click of the return button after you move onto a new line within your script, you’ll be prompted to choose between various screenplay elements:
- Scene Heading
- Action
- Character Name
- Parenthetical
- Dialogue
- Transition
When you’re writing scene description, you’ll choose Action. Don’t worry. It quickly becomes a fluid process.
Always Embrace the “Less Is More” Approach to Writing Action Lines
You’re not writing a novel. You don’t need to go into too much detail. Instead, all you need is just enough to get the intended visual across to the script reader so they can process it, imagine it, and move onto the next line of action.
It can be tempting for beginning screenwriters to wax poetic, trying to paint an impressive visual style to their screenplays in an attempt to impress the powers that be. There’s no time for that.
In screenplays, you have a limited amount of pages to tell your story. Novels can be anywhere from three hundred pages to a thousand, allowing novelists the time and real estate on the page to describe in detail what a reader should be envisioning. That’s because literary storytelling stops at the reader. It’s a novelist’s job to paint the whole picture.
However, with screenwriting, screenwriters are tasked with teeing up the visuals to be handed over to producers, directors, cinematographers, and crews to bring those visuals to life on the screen for an audience to see.
Screenplays are blueprints for eventual movies, allowing filmmakers to be the builders of those visuals while screenwriters act as visionaries and conceptual architects of cinematic stories.
Less is more. You can make more of an immediate impact by being concise with your scene descriptions, choosing words, fragments, and brief sentences to convey the visuals necessary only for the story to keep moving forward. The rest of the details will be taken care of by set designers, wardrobe, prop masters, etc.
Overwritten Scene Description Example:
INT. PRISON CELL - NIGHT
The dark hallway, made entirely of stone, stretches into a black void. The dripping of water is heard as condensation escapes from in between the stones and into muddy puddles of water on the wet floor.
The only light source comes from the cell block window, the beams of the moon sneaking in between the rusty bars that keep prisoners from their dreams of freedom.
The overwritten example showcases a bit too much detail. Remember, it’s about communicating the visual as quickly as possible and trusting the script reader to fill in the rest of the details when needed.
Concise Action Line Example:
INT. PRISON CELL - NIGHT
Dark. Wet. Shadows overcome any source of light.
The same visual and intention is delivered with far fewer words and sentences.
Using CAPS to Bring Attention to Important Details
You can use caps within your action lines to showcase key sound effects, props, actions, and other details. But the key thing is to only utilize them when something is partial to the story, or the action you’re trying to convey.
It’s common for beginning screenwriters to overuse the idea of using caps in scene description.
Overuse Example:
Kane MOVES towards the dense treeline, HOLDING his sword tight and ready. He HEARS something within the woods. He quickly KNEELS DOWN and LISTENS.
When you put so much in caps, it can be a distraction for the script reader and slow down the read of your script. You always need to be intentional with the use of caps.
Here’s a better example:
Kane moves towards the dense treeline, holding his sword tight and ready. He HEARS something within the woods. He quickly kneels down and listens.
If you compare the two, the description is far less busy and easier to read because the eyes aren’t drawn to so many words in caps.
When you don’t put every action and sound in caps, you can also accentuate what you do want to stand out.
Kane moves towards the dense treeline, holding his sword tight and ready. He SUDDENLY HEARS SOMETHING WITHIN THE WOODS. He quickly kneels down and listens.
The character goes from walking to an immediate alert position by using caps to make that cinematic moment stand out to the reader.
When you use caps in your action lines, you can pinpoint key actions, reactions, sounds, movement, and props partial to the forward momentum and evolution of the story.
Create Rhythmic Visual Beats Using White Space on Your Script Pages
We’ve discussed the “less is more” mantra when it comes to how you write your words of description. Now let’s talk about how you can utilize white space to create the rhythmic visual beat of your script.
Think of scene description this way - you’re throwing visuals at the reader. And they need to catch, process, and visualize those images as soon as possible, like frames of film rolling through a projector to create moving images.
White space can be used as a beat in screenplays. Compare and contrast between these two examples.
No White Space Description Example:
This is what I want you to see. Now you see this. Now this happens.
Now let’s break that down into rhythm.
Rhythmic Version of the No White Space Description:
Boobadaboombadaboom.
Both examples are difficult to gauge any sort of beats to the scene description. Everything is muddled together. There’s no sense of timing.
However, when you utilize white space, you create a more rhythmic beat to your scene description, making your action lines that much more concise.
This is what I want you to see.
Now you see this.
Now this happens.
And the rhythmic variation?
Boom Bada.
Boom Bada.
Boom.
When you cram scene description sentences into long blocks of scene description, the script reader’s brain interprets the content differently, despite you using the same words to describe the scene.
Use white space to break those visuals up. When you do that, you’ll give the script reader a better visual beat sheet to follow as they read, process, and visualize what you’re trying to convey.
Some guidelines to follow:
- Never use more than three sentences in one block of scene description.
- One sentence is usually enough to convey a cinematic moment.
- Fragments are your friends. Use them and single words to convey visuals and action.
Get Rid of Camera Directions in Your Action Lines
We get it. Screenwriters are tasked with writing cinematically. You see the movie in your head and you want to translate it as cinematically as possible. But the mistake most beginning screenwriters make is directing the script using camera angles, camera movement, and overall camera direction. That’s not your job.
It’s an easy mistake to make, especially when you’ve read screenplays written by auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, whose scripts often include camera direction. Those are present only because they are directing their own movies.
Spec scripts (scripts written under speculation that they’ll be sold and produced) don’t serve that purpose. The scripts you write as a screenwriter (not the intended director) are meant to be interpreted by a director and their crew. They’ll decide where the camera goes, how the camera moves, and what angles should be featured.
Directing the Camera Example:
EXT. BATTLEFIELD - DAY
CU of a BLOODSHOT EYE.
The camera ZOOMS OUT SLOWLY revealing GRIFFIN, a terrified warrior whose sword looks heavier than him.
The camera ZOOMS OUT even further, revealing that he’s lying in the mud amidst hundreds of dead warriors from both sides of the battle.
POV OF GRIFFIN
He cautiously turns his head, trying his best not to move enough to be noticed by anyone. He suddenly sees FLYING ARROWS COME OUT FROM WITHIN THE TREELINE TOWARDS HIM!
WHOOSH. WHOOSH. WHOOSH. Arrows fly past him, hitting their intended targets in the distance.
THE CAMERA PULLS BACK AWAY FROM GRIFFIN. We ZOOM OUT even further now, above the battlefield.
THE CAMERA PANS LEFT and down the line of the battlefield, revealing even more endless rows of dead bodies, fires, and dueling warriors scattered throughout the chaos.
For the reader, camera directions are very distracting. It shows a lack of trust in the reader. Instead of them visualizing the story themselves, they are tasked with trying to process the technical aspects of your scene descriptions, as far as camera movement, direction, and angles.
Instead, you should be focusing on the broadstrokes, offering only the most important visuals in a way that the script reader can visualize on their own from your visual cues.
EXT. BATTLEFIELD - DAY
A terrified young warrior, GRIFFIN, awakens. Covered in mud.
He’s surrounded by the horrors of war. Endless dead bodies from both sides of the battle. Fires. Scattered warriors dueling with violent sword clashes.
He suddenly sees FLYING ARROWS COME OUT FROM THE TREELINE TOWARDS HIM.
WHOOSH. WHOOSH. WHOOSH. Arrows fly past him, hitting their intended targets in the distance.
In that example, we can truly see and visualize the scene and action without the need for specific camera directions.
There are times when camera directions are called for within a screenplay. But only if such directions are partial to the story.
- A close up that reveals something partial to the story.
- The pan of the camera that reveals an important or shocking element.
But always use those few and far between. Trust the reader. Give them broad strokes of what they should visualize, and move onto the next visual quickly.
Concise Action Lines Make the Read of Your Script Better
You may wonder what this all has to do with writing better screenplays.
It’s all about the read.
A script that reads well means that the screenwriter gets to the point and is concise with their scene description and dialogue.
You can have an amazing concept, outstanding story, and well-structured plot, but if you spend too much time writing an overly-detailed and overly-written script that goes into too much detail and spends too much time directing the script within the action lines, all of that greatness and potential can and will be lost in translation.
On the other hand, if you have a tight script that doesn’t waste time and script real estate, it’s going to be an easier read for anyone trying to determine if your script is something they want to produce. It’s all about writing a script that jumps off the page and makes the script reader think with enthusiasm, “I can see this movie!”
Be concise with your action lines. Embrace the “less is more” mantra. And reap the benefits by writing a script that gains the reputation within the industry as being a great read.