3: Action Lines
- Page ID
- 358864
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Action Lines are where we see the action happening on screen. In a sense, it’s a blueprint of how a movie is going to be made. A general rule is to allow one paragraph per beat of action or image. Write the action as you see it play out on screen. A reader should clearly “see” and “hear” what you are describing. The following are examples that cannot appear on a movie screen and therefore, should not be included in the narrative description.
Jenny stares out the window, thinking about the time she and
Perry went skinny dipping in the lake.
If you were writing a novel, this would be fine but in a visual medium, we aren’t privy to certain information, such as inner thoughts. If we simply saw Jenny staring out the window in a movie, how would we know that she's thinking about going skinny dipping in the lake with Perry? This is why it's important to only write action lines that are visual or audible.