Screenwriting as Poetry: Mark's Resource Roundup

In a previous post, I talked about loglines as haikus. The same analogy can apply to the full screenplay as well. We must endeavor to use as few words as possible to create a visual document. Now I know, a screenplay is a blueprint for a movie, but I believe it doesn’t have to be dull.

It's been said a poem should remind a person of what they forgot they knew. This applies to all good writing. Novels, screenplays, whatever. True we shouldn’t weigh down our screenplays with purple prose but, we can take some creative license if it helps paint a picture in the reader's mind. This applies equally to our scene and character descriptions, as well as our dialogue.

Recently, I’ve received compliments from readers and execs on these character descriptions: “…a pit bull in a cheap suit.”, all buzz cut and spit polish”, or “A smile would break her face.” Always think about painting a picture. I heard a poet once describe the term ‘buffalo grass’ as “a single blade behind which a whole herd waits.” This is what we need to aspire to with our screenplays. A single, taut document behind which a whole” herd” waits.

Keep on writing,

Mark

Resource Links:

Poem as Screenplay: Six Video Collaborations

A Writer's Voice: Birdman - Writing a Screenplay is Like Writing a Poem

Scene Description as Poetry

Bonus link:

Birdman Script

Parting Thought:

“Always be a poet, even in prose.” ― Charles Baudelaire

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