SOMETIMES A SCENIC PAUSE IS ALL YOU NEED
While working on my new screenplay, I found myself writing a scene that was working but it wasn’t quite… there. It was interesting but it was missing something. Ironically, that also happens to be the same criticism that makes screenwriters cringe.
“It’s missing… Something… I don’t know what it is but… I don’t know just… Something.”
It’s easy to probe the reader for more on what might be missing but when you feel that way it’s tough. You have to discover the answers on your own. I found my answer looking out the windows next to my desk.
I’m fortunate enough to live in an apartment with a fairly fantastic view. It’s not spectacular by any means but it’s gorgeous compared to the garbage cans I stared in my previous home. The main living area has wall to wall windows that overlook a highway that winds over and around a huge park.
I wheeled my chair over to the window and stared, thinking about the scene and the missing piece that eluded me… Staring out the windows was peaceful and calm. As time passed, I just worked it out in my head.
I found the answer in the way the scene began or more specifically, the transition between my new scene and the previous sequence. I came up with a better way to make the transition more seamless. It forced me to start the new scene later. (Which is almost always a good thing.) It made the scene more exciting and within an instant, everything clicked. It felt write. Finding the missing piece simply required a perfect mixture of calmness, creativity and a good view.
There are always pauses when you’re writing a screenplay. Whether you are trying to come up with the perfect line of dialogue or a describing a difficult action sequence, there are always ponder moments. Moments when you challenge your imagination to come up with that something that’s missing. Something that clicks. Something better.
Some days, the answers come easy. For the days they don’t, I’m happy I have my window. The answers are usually out there somewhere.


























