So don’t forget that screenwriting is screen + writing, and just like in the word, screen comes first.
14/14

We don’t want too many nudges. After all, those nudges won’t exist on screen. At least not explicitly.

But they can suggest a certain type of shot or camera movement or cut or some other filmmaking tool that communicates tone and vibe.
13/14

It’s giving that tiny extra bit of info to help the reader not only picture what they’re seeing, but the slightest nudge of how to think about how to picture it.
12/14

Yeah, the last bit is non-visual and some screenwriting books would say it’s a big no-no, but in my opinion if you’ve taken care of the reader’s imagination, these things are okay in moderation to help establish tone and theme and characterization.
11/14

So with some tweaks:

We’re in the kitchen of a total slob. It’s absolutely filthy.

Becomes

Dirty pans piled in the overflowing sink. Open bags of chips on the sticky counter. Ahh, the bachelor life.

10/14

And if you don't need the explicit context, then there’s an opportunity to clarify tone/theme/characterization.

Dirty pans piled in the overflowing sink. Open bags of chips on the sticky counter. Ahh, the bachelor life.
9/14

And more often than not, if the images are clear, you won’t even need the context, like below:

Dirty pans piled in the overflowing sink. Open bags of chips on the sticky counter.

Clear images.
8/14

A few more words for sure, but easier to immediately picture for the reader. And the context fills in the gaps in the reader’s mind.

And more often than not, if the images are clear, you won’t even need the context, like below:
7/14

We’re in the kitchen of a total slob. It’s absolutely filthy.

Isn’t as effective as:

Dirty pans piled in the overflowing sink. Open bags of chips on the sticky counter. The kitchen of a total slob.
6/14

Hopefully, what I’ve done is I’ve first beamed an image into someone’s brain (ripped jeans and ball cap), and then helped them clarify the way to interpret that image (tomboy).

Some more examples:
5/14

Ok, now I know what to picture.

But I'm still waiting to finish the description to get the image.

Flip 'em.

CLAIRE (late 20s) wears ripped jean overalls and a ballcap. She’s a big tomboy and doesn’t take any crap from anybody.
4/14

I don’t need every detail, but I need help picturing something. Even just a few items of wardrobe would be great.

CLAIRE (late 20s) is a big tomboy that doesn’t take any crap from anybody. She wears ripped jean overalls and a ballcap.

3/14

The act of reading a script should be fairly close to the act of WATCHING the same story on screen.

So your descriptions shouldn't be:

CLAIRE (late 20s) is a big tomboy that doesn’t take any crap from anybody.

Good character, but I don’t know what she looks like.
2/14

Specific = Actionable
3/3

"They don't like my lead" isn't helpful.

"They get turned off on page 5 when she's short with her mother" is helpful.
2/3

Binary choices and non-choices have their place and use, but give your characters real dilemmas, and real consequences that are borne out of those dilemmas.
22/22

And of course we’re ecstatic when he manages to do both through amazing feats of spider-ness!

Every now and then, show us a way that a character maneuvers their way OUT of a dilemma and we’ll love it.
21/22