The Silent Film Exercise

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” -Anton Chekov

For the screenwriter…

A useful exercise after completing your first draft is to go back and see how much dialogue you can eliminate. Challenge yourself to convey each scene’s intent and purpose without the characters uttering a single line of dialogue. Can it be done with simply a look or a gesture? Maybe you’ll realize the scene isn’t necessary at all. (Don’t fret about losing any gold here. It’s just an exercise. You can put every single word back later if you choose to.)

This exercise does two things. One, it aligns your script more closely with what films should be. Compelling images over words. Remember it’s “show, don’t tell.” Two, the dialogue you do keep–including any verbal arias–will now have that much more potency. Your characters will have a more urgent need to speak, and in turn, your script will have that more staying power.

P.S. – Two good articles on “show, don’t tell” are this one and this one.