how to write your novel like a movie director
see it as a movie in your mind. see the little details. play it out like you’re in a theater
New writers struggle to see their novel. Not knowing what to write down. Is there a secret to being a better writer? What can be done for a new writer to capture great detail in their novel to entertain the reader?
In this blog, we will look at how to write your novel like a movie director..
HOW TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL LIKE A MOVIE DIRECTOR
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Ask any up-and-coming writer and they’ll tell you one of the hardest things to do is capture in words what they see in their mind. They have a rough idea of a scene, but can’t quite see it in full detail. What ends up happening is they create a scene with “talking heads.” Where two people talk to each other but the reader has no idea where the scene is taking place. They don’t know if the scene is outdoors or indoors, day or night.
However, there’s a tip new writers can follow that will help. As a writer, one of the best things you can do when writing a scene is to “see it in your mind” as though you’re a movie director. “Storyboard” it in your mind. Before writing let the scene play out from start to finish as though you’re in a movie theater watching the screen. See what’s happening in the background. Traffic, people, sounds, weather. Is it cloudy, raining, or sunny? It’s the little things you add to a scene that makes it real.
USE YOUR 5 SENSES WHEN CREATING A SCENE
If the scene is happening outside on a busy street picture people walking by. How do they look, are they moving fast, slow, talking on a phone? By adding little details you bring the scene to life.
Use your 5 senses when picturing a scene in your mind. What sounds do you hear in the background? Are their birds in the sky? airplanes? What is the temperature? Are the characters cold or wet? What smells are there? Maybe a hotdog vendor at the corner? These are the little things new writers don’t picture. A new writer will only see two people talking and write it down. But leave out the little things. Imagine what’s that like for someone to read. They have no idea, what’s happening.
LET THE READER KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING IN DETAIL
Movie scriptwriters are great at seeing events happening around the actors. They know what they’re writing will appear on the screen. So they have to be aware of what’s happening around them.
Whereas new writers are great at explaining what’s happening inside the character’s mind but might forget to explain what’s happening around the characters. But it’s important to combine the two. Let the reader know what the characters are thinking and feeling, but also let the reader know what’s happening within the scene as well.
IT’S AS IF YOU’RE WATCHING A MOVIE
When you watch a movie it starts off with a wide shot showing the area, this creates an establishing shot. Letting the audience know where the story is taking place. Then it moves into a medium shot of the actors talking. We can see cutaways and close up of objects in hand. As a writer, you want to see the same things. You don’t want two people in a white room talking. You want objects in the room the characters interact with.
Live in your world before writing about it. The more real you see it the faster you can write it down the more real it will be for the reader.
MAKE IT AS THOUGH IT IS REAL
You can practice writing a scene where someone walks into a room and without any words have them describe the room. Let the reader see it as though it’s real. You don’t have to write in first-person narrative using the word “I” over and over. You can use third-person narrative and still describe the objects in the room from the character’s eyes. What does the room smell like, what do they hear?
Make it feel as though a camera is moving around the room. Letting the people watching the movie see everything in the room. As a writer, you can do the same.
STORYBOARD YOUR NOVEL IN YOUR MIND
Great movies are “storyboarded.” Where a director will hand-draw the events. Showing where the actors will move and what’s happening in the background. As a writer, you can storyboard the events of your scene in your mind as though you’re a director of a movie. This way when you go to write the scene you can move much faster simply writing down what you’ve already seen in your mind.
Countless Stephen King‘s novels have been made into movies. It seems whatever he writes gets made into a movie. But this shouldn’t be a surprise. He writes in a way that you can’t help but see what’s happening in his novels. As though they’re really happening around you. Brain de Palma who directed “Carrie,” said it was easy to direct because Stephen King describes everything in such a way you can’t help but see it as though it were a movie.
WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU SEE HAPPENING
No surprise that Stephen King ended up directing a movie himself called “Maximum Overdrive.” He could see it playing out in his head as he does when he writes a novel. Stephen King says when he writes he sees the events playing out like a movie. He simply lets the scenes in his mind play out and he writes down what’s happening.
As a new writer, it’s something you can learn to do. See it as a movie and simply write down what’s happening.
WHAT ARE THE LITTLE DETAILS YOU CAN ADD
Picture a hard-boiled detective story where the lead character walks into a bar. Don’t start the scene with the bar, but start it describing the outside leading up to the bar, in the “hard-boiled detective style. See it as a movie on TV late at night.
Describe the city with the little details of neon lights and the night sky. What the people are like walking past? What about the traffic. The atmosphere within the city. Then after the detective enters the bar see the layout of the bar in your mind as though you’re a director and describe it in words using the 5 senses. Let the reader see the events as though it were a movie.
DO NOT STARE AT A COMPUTER SCREEN
One of the worst things you can do as a writer is stare at a blank screen trying to come up with something. You want to step away from the screen and let your imagination take over. Some of the most famous writers like going for walks where they play out the scenes in their mind and take note of what they see.
In time they can see the entire novel from start to finish as a three-act structure. They can see the actors moving about within the scene. They can see events happening in and around the characters. Like clouds covering up the sun, rain, wind, people walking by talking on phones, cars. They’ll add the little details to the scene. When you read the book you see it playing out like a movie in your mind.
SEE YOUR STORY AS A THREE-ACT STRUCTURE
By thinking three-act structure you can have your novel play out without confusion. You’ll see it as a straight line, each scene leading into the next, completing the story. With a beginning, middle and end. What you don’t want happening is events happening with the reader being confused. They can’t tell what’s happening. Can’t see the events in their mind. Leaving them confused. This will cause them to stop reading.
As a writer, even if your protagonist is unlikable the reader will still read on as long as they understand the protagonist’s motivations. But what will cause the reader to stop is when they have no idea what’s going on. The reader should not have to ask who, what, where, when. These things should be laid out as they are in a movie.
SEE THE CLOSE-UPS MEDIUMS AND WIDE SHOTS
You want to see yourself as the director of your novel. Don’t stare at a blank computer screen all day. See the scenes playing out. Cut to close-ups in your mind. See what characters are holding and write it down. Picture medium shots, where are the characters standing. See wide shots in your mind, what’s happening around everyone. Just like how a movie starts off with a wide shot, then movies into a medium, then a close-up. See it happening in your mind as though you’re in a movie theatre and write it down.
Remember how a move’s editing gets faster as the movie goes on. As a writer you want your story to do the same. You have to be aware of the pace like a movie. you don’t want the story slowing down or stopping halfway through or near the end. Also take note of how main characters are introduced in the first act of a movie, not near the end. Study the three-act structure and apply it to your story.
YOU’RE NOT WRITING A BOOK
Remember, you’re not “writing a book”, you’re creating a movie. So let it play in your head. How would you shoot it if you were a director? What would the cinematography look like? What would the soundtrack sound like? Sink into a dream and watch your story unfold in front of you. Write it so others can see it play out as well.
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