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The Craft of Scene Writing: Beat by Beat to a Better Script
A professional screenwriter's master class in writing the most critical and challenging script element—the individual scene.
No one comes out of a movie talking about structure. What audiences love and remember about a movie are great scenes. Marlon Brando in the back seat in On the Waterfront giving his "I could'a been a contender" speech. Meg Ryan's fake orgasm in Katz's Deli in When Harry Met Sally with the climactic punch "I'll have what she's having." In Superbad , Jonah Hill professing "I love you" to his friend Michael Cera by touching his nose with a "boop."
Great scenes will elevate your script from ho-hum to extraordinary—and from the slush pile to sellable. In The Craft of Scene Writing , accomplished screenwriter and master writing teacher Jim Mercurio analyzes and systematizes the beats, conflicts, character moments, action, dialogue, and structure that create powerful scenes. Citing examples from scripts old and new, The Craft of Scene Writing breaks down how great scenes reveal character, advance the story, and emotionally connect with audiences, plus demonstrates how to use these techniques in your own scripts. This incredibly detailed exploration of screenwriting technique will help beginning writers to write great scripts and experienced writers to gain a more complete mastery of their craft.
No one comes out of a movie talking about structure. What audiences love and remember about a movie are great scenes. Marlon Brando in the back seat in On the Waterfront giving his "I could'a been a contender" speech. Meg Ryan's fake orgasm in Katz's Deli in When Harry Met Sally with the climactic punch "I'll have what she's having." In Superbad , Jonah Hill professing "I love you" to his friend Michael Cera by touching his nose with a "boop."
Great scenes will elevate your script from ho-hum to extraordinary—and from the slush pile to sellable. In The Craft of Scene Writing , accomplished screenwriter and master writing teacher Jim Mercurio analyzes and systematizes the beats, conflicts, character moments, action, dialogue, and structure that create powerful scenes. Citing examples from scripts old and new, The Craft of Scene Writing breaks down how great scenes reveal character, advance the story, and emotionally connect with audiences, plus demonstrates how to use these techniques in your own scripts. This incredibly detailed exploration of screenwriting technique will help beginning writers to write great scripts and experienced writers to gain a more complete mastery of their craft.
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First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 20, 2019
This was great! Jim's examples were strong and easy to follow - loved how he would take the reader through a progression when showing how to tighten up a scene.
The whole focus on scenes is a great lens to use when evaluating your screenplay as well as others. Keeping that focus and then doing different reviews of the scene (dialogue, rising & falling action, reversals, etc) - so good.
The one bummer thing I have to say about this book, and this isn't really Jim's fault, is that it really highlights how dude-oriented the whole movie business is. 90% of the examples are dude movies - good movies - but dude movies. I was pleased to see that he included some great examples from My Best Friend's Wedding and The Hunger Games - but everything else was dude.
The whole focus on scenes is a great lens to use when evaluating your screenplay as well as others. Keeping that focus and then doing different reviews of the scene (dialogue, rising & falling action, reversals, etc) - so good.
The one bummer thing I have to say about this book, and this isn't really Jim's fault, is that it really highlights how dude-oriented the whole movie business is. 90% of the examples are dude movies - good movies - but dude movies. I was pleased to see that he included some great examples from My Best Friend's Wedding and The Hunger Games - but everything else was dude.
February 5, 2024
Good book for screenwriters. Mercurio gives lots of examples of great scenes and gives tips and advice on how to make your scenes even better.
May 5, 2021
I really enjoyed this craft book. It's technically for screenwriters but I would say 95% of the content and advice applies to fiction writing and storytelling in general.
This book will appeal to more intermediate and advanced writers who already have a good grasp on the parts of a story (character, structure, theme) but want to work on weaving those elements together to create a more cohesive and satisfying draft.
Honestly, this is going on my (very) short list of craft titles I recommend to other writers. It is full of extremely useful concepts and ideas to keep in mind when going through the phases of drafting, revising, and polishing a work.
This book will appeal to more intermediate and advanced writers who already have a good grasp on the parts of a story (character, structure, theme) but want to work on weaving those elements together to create a more cohesive and satisfying draft.
Honestly, this is going on my (very) short list of craft titles I recommend to other writers. It is full of extremely useful concepts and ideas to keep in mind when going through the phases of drafting, revising, and polishing a work.
June 30, 2022
When it comes to storytelling, I found this to be one of the finest books on the craft.
A scene is a small unit of story, unified by time and space, which encapsulates a single action and culminates in a change. The change should involve both the story and the character.
14 Steps to a better scene
1. Brainstorm a new concept.
2. Find the story of the scene.
3. Eliminate redundancy and ensure escalation.
4. Find and accentuate the climax.
5. Push character perspectives further.
6. Eliminate on-the-nose dialogue and create audacious subtext.
7. Be specific.
8. Visuals: use props, blocking, wardrobe, and location.
9. Eliminate exposition.
10. Find the opoosite.
11. Finesse thematic touches.
12. Listen to your dialogue: stage a table read.
13. Think like an editor.
14. Embrace brevity.
A scene is a small unit of story, unified by time and space, which encapsulates a single action and culminates in a change. The change should involve both the story and the character.
14 Steps to a better scene
1. Brainstorm a new concept.
2. Find the story of the scene.
3. Eliminate redundancy and ensure escalation.
4. Find and accentuate the climax.
5. Push character perspectives further.
6. Eliminate on-the-nose dialogue and create audacious subtext.
7. Be specific.
8. Visuals: use props, blocking, wardrobe, and location.
9. Eliminate exposition.
10. Find the opoosite.
11. Finesse thematic touches.
12. Listen to your dialogue: stage a table read.
13. Think like an editor.
14. Embrace brevity.
November 24, 2024
Dialogue: don’t let your character mean what he says. Text is expectation and subtext is surprise. Identify the intent first, then find a line to capture the intent/subtext accurately, NOT on the nose, cool and surprising, in the character’s voice, incorporate the setting and details of the world
Constantly look for ways to cut dialogue and replace with visuals and actions. One way to track the emotional state of your character is to describe their entrances and exits into a scene with specificity. Jog your brain toward an unlimited number of creative ways to allow characters to annoy one another.
Incorporate the setting so it contributes to the scene. Give the character a prop - how would he use it? How does he feel about and behave in the particular location?
Light is often the most powerful tool to capture mood and tone
Making getting or conveying information difficult. There can be drama and surprise when information is revealed, and suspense before. Focus on the character most impacted by it - what’s the big difference it makes for him to know or not know this info. Withhold information, release it partially or slowly to create suspense and mystery.
You can create tension, suspense, and conflict by creating clear contrast and distinction among the attitudes of the characters. They may also have different access to information. Emphasize the variety in their perspectives, and push them to be more active in expressing them. Their unique perspectives not only create conflict, but also tell us about themselves and their relationships.
Your protagonist is usually the smartest character and his skill and growth carry the story. Make him walk into the scene knowing more than what reader expect to know, or make him figure things out by making impressive logical or intuitive leaps. I.e. impressive reader with his resourcefulness or wit. Don’t hand information to him, that’s passive and dull.
In great stories, even the most complex dramas, the essence of a character’s nature simply boils down to one single, difficult choice. This is a dilemma. The dilemma spans the entire story and unifies the conflict. Your ability to delay the character’s ultimate choice creates tension. Delay it for as long as possible with ever increasing stake.
Early scenes (especially the opening scene) should foreshadow the protagonist’s dilemma. Every scene should be about the dilemma. A character can also blurt it out in a low-key way.
For the most part, each character can be reduced to one simple choice. He must choose between a selfish action and a more difficult and selfless one. By choosing the latter he sheds his defense mechanism. There can be foil characters who mirror main characters but show how they could become as the result of their choice. (Good choice leads to obi wan while bad choice leads to gollum)
The challenge with love stories is to find something powerful enough to compete with love as a choice
Have a clearly defined concept and then use every scene to explore it. Its all about execution. Take generic situations and make them unique by filtering them through the *specifics* of the concept.
Think of scenes that best manifest the concept. Think of the concept as a piece of clay, and utilize its elasticity to create the most interesting shapes, without breaking it. This is the process of discovering all of the situations, scenes, conflicts, and complications that organically ensue from your unique setup and then choosing the best ones.
When we deliver the theme, we are trying to make a case. Don’t preach and present direct evidence, but present circumstantial evidence, which is fuzzier and open to interpretation, thus making it more realistic and interesting. Then drop hints and breadcrumbs in the scenes to lead audience to arrive at the theme themselves. This is how people learn lessons in life. Not through lecture but through often confusing real events.
With enough attention to *details*, you can corroborate your case and give the audience the coherent understanding that you want them to take away. Use dialogue and visuals to reframe your actions and coax the audience toward a deeper experience. A line of dialogue might give us a surprising context to understand an action. A “charged” item might provide us with an understanding of what’s really going on.
Surprise comes from setup.
Stumble/coincidence/chance-happening can push characters onto their destiny journey that they would not have been ready for, or give them courage to say or do something they would have refrained from. Stumbles do not rely on logic but instead reflect (possibly suppressed) subconscious. It could be when the conscious mind is muted (by alcohol, drug, tension, time pressure, overwhelming emotion, sleep etc). It must align with a character’s shadow side, the specific repressed or denied aspect related to his dilemma and potential character arc. It should happen early, near inciting points. Example: Katniss volunteering for her sister, came directly from the heart not the mind.
Picking the right verb makes description more visceral. Adverbs are inefficient- instead of “run fast” say “dart”
Given my character’s flaw of ____, what unique and organically motivated action would he take next?
Love interest/best friend show character’s dilemma and both sides of their personality. They are the only ones who see character’s unrealized potential. Conflict between them comes from character’s flaw, affinity comes from potential. I can’t stand ___ about you, but I put up with you because of ___.
To cultivate your voice, start by mining each draft to unearth seeds that can blossom into new and inspired surprises. An essential tool for this process is specificity. The more specific you are with setups, the more opportunities you have to create payoffs. Vagueness gives you precious little to cling to and few options to build upon. Specificity breeds specificity.
Make your character quirky, risk-taking, with specific habit/fantasy/dream. The details should feel embarrassing and personal.
Visuals: prop, blocking, wardrobe, and location. Look for dialogue that can be replaced or meaning that can be created by using a prop or blocking. Preferably an image that moves.
Constantly look for ways to cut dialogue and replace with visuals and actions. One way to track the emotional state of your character is to describe their entrances and exits into a scene with specificity. Jog your brain toward an unlimited number of creative ways to allow characters to annoy one another.
Incorporate the setting so it contributes to the scene. Give the character a prop - how would he use it? How does he feel about and behave in the particular location?
Light is often the most powerful tool to capture mood and tone
Making getting or conveying information difficult. There can be drama and surprise when information is revealed, and suspense before. Focus on the character most impacted by it - what’s the big difference it makes for him to know or not know this info. Withhold information, release it partially or slowly to create suspense and mystery.
You can create tension, suspense, and conflict by creating clear contrast and distinction among the attitudes of the characters. They may also have different access to information. Emphasize the variety in their perspectives, and push them to be more active in expressing them. Their unique perspectives not only create conflict, but also tell us about themselves and their relationships.
Your protagonist is usually the smartest character and his skill and growth carry the story. Make him walk into the scene knowing more than what reader expect to know, or make him figure things out by making impressive logical or intuitive leaps. I.e. impressive reader with his resourcefulness or wit. Don’t hand information to him, that’s passive and dull.
In great stories, even the most complex dramas, the essence of a character’s nature simply boils down to one single, difficult choice. This is a dilemma. The dilemma spans the entire story and unifies the conflict. Your ability to delay the character’s ultimate choice creates tension. Delay it for as long as possible with ever increasing stake.
Early scenes (especially the opening scene) should foreshadow the protagonist’s dilemma. Every scene should be about the dilemma. A character can also blurt it out in a low-key way.
For the most part, each character can be reduced to one simple choice. He must choose between a selfish action and a more difficult and selfless one. By choosing the latter he sheds his defense mechanism. There can be foil characters who mirror main characters but show how they could become as the result of their choice. (Good choice leads to obi wan while bad choice leads to gollum)
The challenge with love stories is to find something powerful enough to compete with love as a choice
Have a clearly defined concept and then use every scene to explore it. Its all about execution. Take generic situations and make them unique by filtering them through the *specifics* of the concept.
Think of scenes that best manifest the concept. Think of the concept as a piece of clay, and utilize its elasticity to create the most interesting shapes, without breaking it. This is the process of discovering all of the situations, scenes, conflicts, and complications that organically ensue from your unique setup and then choosing the best ones.
When we deliver the theme, we are trying to make a case. Don’t preach and present direct evidence, but present circumstantial evidence, which is fuzzier and open to interpretation, thus making it more realistic and interesting. Then drop hints and breadcrumbs in the scenes to lead audience to arrive at the theme themselves. This is how people learn lessons in life. Not through lecture but through often confusing real events.
With enough attention to *details*, you can corroborate your case and give the audience the coherent understanding that you want them to take away. Use dialogue and visuals to reframe your actions and coax the audience toward a deeper experience. A line of dialogue might give us a surprising context to understand an action. A “charged” item might provide us with an understanding of what’s really going on.
Surprise comes from setup.
Stumble/coincidence/chance-happening can push characters onto their destiny journey that they would not have been ready for, or give them courage to say or do something they would have refrained from. Stumbles do not rely on logic but instead reflect (possibly suppressed) subconscious. It could be when the conscious mind is muted (by alcohol, drug, tension, time pressure, overwhelming emotion, sleep etc). It must align with a character’s shadow side, the specific repressed or denied aspect related to his dilemma and potential character arc. It should happen early, near inciting points. Example: Katniss volunteering for her sister, came directly from the heart not the mind.
Picking the right verb makes description more visceral. Adverbs are inefficient- instead of “run fast” say “dart”
Given my character’s flaw of ____, what unique and organically motivated action would he take next?
Love interest/best friend show character’s dilemma and both sides of their personality. They are the only ones who see character’s unrealized potential. Conflict between them comes from character’s flaw, affinity comes from potential. I can’t stand ___ about you, but I put up with you because of ___.
To cultivate your voice, start by mining each draft to unearth seeds that can blossom into new and inspired surprises. An essential tool for this process is specificity. The more specific you are with setups, the more opportunities you have to create payoffs. Vagueness gives you precious little to cling to and few options to build upon. Specificity breeds specificity.
Make your character quirky, risk-taking, with specific habit/fantasy/dream. The details should feel embarrassing and personal.
Visuals: prop, blocking, wardrobe, and location. Look for dialogue that can be replaced or meaning that can be created by using a prop or blocking. Preferably an image that moves.
March 17, 2021
I really enjoyed this book and all of the illustrative examples! I am not planning to be a screne writer but i think it has views on story telling any writer will benefit from learning in the format of this inciteful advice.
August 27, 2021
Lots of advanced, useful techniques meant for the professional not the beginner. Deserves a re-read to absorb more.
December 28, 2021
This is the single greatest book on writing scenes I have read. I’ve taken copies numbers of notes from the text. The book’s ideas have greatly enhanced my writing. I highly recommend this book.
December 27, 2022
This is one of the best screenwriting books that I have ever read, and while I was able to read it for free through my local library, I actually went out to buy it afterwards so I can own it.
"The Craft of Scene Writing" delievers exactly on its title - how to write a scene. Mercurio focuses on, what I find to be, an extremely ignored part of screenwriting, which is putting pen-to-paper, fingers-to-keyboard, the actual *writing* of the scene. Mercurio goes in depth into dissecting the scene as a whole (e.g. every scene needs to have a climax, what Mercurio calls a "surprise" or a reversal of expectations that is set up) and analyzing the scene at the micro level (e.g. word choice, dialogue/subtext, writing visually).
I absolutely love this book. While, this isn't quite the book I would turn to for a macroscopic understanding of structure ("three acts!", "lowest point!", "midpoint!"), I think this is essential reading for any screenwriter.
"The Craft of Scene Writing" delievers exactly on its title - how to write a scene. Mercurio focuses on, what I find to be, an extremely ignored part of screenwriting, which is putting pen-to-paper, fingers-to-keyboard, the actual *writing* of the scene. Mercurio goes in depth into dissecting the scene as a whole (e.g. every scene needs to have a climax, what Mercurio calls a "surprise" or a reversal of expectations that is set up) and analyzing the scene at the micro level (e.g. word choice, dialogue/subtext, writing visually).
I absolutely love this book. While, this isn't quite the book I would turn to for a macroscopic understanding of structure ("three acts!", "lowest point!", "midpoint!"), I think this is essential reading for any screenwriter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2023
*Awesome book with some disturbingly painful examples*
I'm reading this book for a second time and find this the best guide I've ever read. Advice is thorough, well grounded and helpful. It also lets me know the high standards my writing should reach. I really admire Jim Mercurio for this achievement.
However, this book falls the same trap with some other current guides (see Robert McKee: Character). There are excellent examples in the book but some are macabre and vulgar and occasionally made me flinch with pain.
Why these writers do not provide any kind of warning about upcoming painful and disturbing examples is beyond me. Maybe there is some kind of powerful feeling in catching the reader unguarded.
For the occasional pain involved I can't give more than three stars, however awesome this book is in every level.
I'm reading this book for a second time and find this the best guide I've ever read. Advice is thorough, well grounded and helpful. It also lets me know the high standards my writing should reach. I really admire Jim Mercurio for this achievement.
However, this book falls the same trap with some other current guides (see Robert McKee: Character). There are excellent examples in the book but some are macabre and vulgar and occasionally made me flinch with pain.
Why these writers do not provide any kind of warning about upcoming painful and disturbing examples is beyond me. Maybe there is some kind of powerful feeling in catching the reader unguarded.
For the occasional pain involved I can't give more than three stars, however awesome this book is in every level.
February 15, 2024
Why is it every book I read lately is absolute fire? This one came highly recommended to me and I can see why. The breaking down of the scene elements are detailed and come from a place of authority and reference some of the greatest screenplays of all time. He shows how to engage in activities to build those skills to pay those bills. And also love how he demonstrates how to take mediocre drafts to amazing one little line at a time.
I'll definitely be relistening to this one a few more times as I feel like it's one of those ones that really is about honing your drafts and fine tuning them more than saving the cat beats. Not that he doesn't talk about broad strokes, but the focus here is excellence and elevation not box office standards. If that makes sense. Highly recommend.
I'll definitely be relistening to this one a few more times as I feel like it's one of those ones that really is about honing your drafts and fine tuning them more than saving the cat beats. Not that he doesn't talk about broad strokes, but the focus here is excellence and elevation not box office standards. If that makes sense. Highly recommend.
January 25, 2024
I write for webcomics and this book has a lot of useful advice to apply to my writing. I've shared some of the advice from this book with my friends who wanted input on their writing. Would recommend.
February 27, 2024
The only screenwriting book you’ll ever need. I’ve read this multiple times, purchased copies for friends, and my copy is covered in purple highlighter. Jim offers classes as well that I’ve taken and found incredibly helpful. Love this book. Read this book!
July 27, 2024
Excellent insight into both the craft of storytelling and screenwriting.
November 6, 2024
Very informative!
May 6, 2025
Excellent. Definitely a keeper.
September 8, 2025
I normally find writing books very same-y. This was phenomenal. Really good examples. Really good advice. Brilliant for everyone from script writers to short story authors!
July 26, 2021
Great hands-on advice. Especially the chapters about the hard to define 'beats' and dialogue. Some of the lists are a little long-winded to listen to, though I'm sure they're useful references in the print version. Easily digestible, yet teeming with nutricious nuggets of writing advice. The "case studies" are a perfect way to delve deeper into why something works and how to incorporate the lessons learned into one's own writing. Though it is of course easier to follow along if you have seen the movies or at least the scenes described.
December 14, 2023
En The Craft of the scene: beat by beat of the scene, Jim Mercurio ofrece un análisis detallado de la estructura de la escena. Mercurio argumenta que la escena es la unidad básica de la narración y que comprender su estructura es esencial para escribir escenas efectivas.
El libro se divide en tres partes. La primera parte trata sobre los elementos básicos de la escena. La segunda parte trata sobre los diferentes tipos de escenas. La tercera parte trata sobre cómo analizar escenas de películas y televisión.
El libro se divide en tres partes. La primera parte trata sobre los elementos básicos de la escena. La segunda parte trata sobre los diferentes tipos de escenas. La tercera parte trata sobre cómo analizar escenas de películas y televisión.
July 2, 2024
A very useful book I will revisit in my writing career.
There are so many screenplay books that focus on the work as a whole but refuse to focus on a singular scene. By focusing on a single scene I believe this book is more likely to make your writing punchier, cleaner, and deeper from page to page than your average screenwriting book.
There are so many screenplay books that focus on the work as a whole but refuse to focus on a singular scene. By focusing on a single scene I believe this book is more likely to make your writing punchier, cleaner, and deeper from page to page than your average screenwriting book.
December 22, 2021
Very helpful, it really helped me with the blocking I was struggling...
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews