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Stop writing filler: 3 scene essentials to turn your screenplay into a page-turner

Have you ever written a scene, stepped back, and thought, Does this even matter?

It’s the worst.

You spend hours crafting dialogue, setting the stage, and imagining every little detail – only to realize the scene doesn’t move the story forward. It’s just… sitting there, taking up space.

Every scene has to earn its place in your screenplay. Otherwise, it’s filler that drags your story down and bores your audience. This is why it’s so important to understand what makes a scene worthwhile. When you know that, you can stop wasting time on filler and start writing scenes that truly matter.

Today, let’s talk about three key things every scene needs to have if it’s going to pull its weight in your screenplay.

99% of your scenes need these 3 things

There are a few different ways to think about how to define a scene, but from a storytelling standpoint, a scene is a single unit of dramatic action that contributes to the larger story. It’s one piece of your story puzzle.

And it’s difficult to define a scene much further without touching on the three elements on today's list – they’re that part and parcel. So let’s dive right in.

A compelling scene has:

1. A purpose
2. Conflict (or tension of some kind)
3. A surprise

Without a purpose, a scene simply doesn’t belong in the screenplay.

Without conflict or tension, a scene can’t go on for very long (closer to seconds than minutes) before it starts boring the reader.

And without surprise, a scene may still work – it may still be fine – but it won’t be as entertaining as it could be. Too many underwhelming scenes, and the movie as a whole will feel flat.

1. A scene must have a purpose

Each scene in a movie has a purpose. What happens in the scene must change something; otherwise, it has no purpose in the story. It needs to move the plot, alter relationships, contribute to the character arc, or – ideally – do all of the above.

This is the most obvious thing on our list, but it still gets overlooked.

When you're in the zone, turning out pages of snappy dialogue and hilarious or exciting or heartfelt moments, it's easy to lose sight of the scene's place in the big picture.

But any scene without a purpose can (and should) be cut from your screenplay.

One common, related mistake is including scenes with redundant purposes. If a scene simply repeats information we already have, it’s not pulling its weight. For instance, if two different scenes show us the protagonist’s heartbreak over a breakup, but neither one adds new layers to the story, one of them can go. Only one of those scenes has a vital purpose.

When revising, look for ways to combine information from multiple scenes into one and cut the redundant ones. A single, purposeful scene will always be more powerful than a cluster of weak ones.

2. A scene needs conflict (or tension)

A good, well-developed dramatic scene needs conflict. And stakes, too, so the conflict matters to us. That generally means characters with opposing goals, desires, or objectives, and something meaningful and/or urgent motivating those goals.

Conflict in the scene, just like in your story as a whole, shows how characters pursue their goals (which moves the plot), and shows how they react and behave (which reveals character).

The occasional scene might be just "business" that gets us from Point A to Point B, and those scenes may not need conflict to exist. But those scenes will probably be pretty short and aren't really what we're talking about today; we're talking about the dramatic scenes that make up the story.

A good question to ask yourself is: "Does the conflict support the page count?" (Thank you, Corey Mandell.)

A scene without conflict might work briefly, but it won’t hold the audience’s attention for long. The more intense and meaningful the conflict, the longer it can sustain our interest.

3. It may not be strictly essential, but a scene really benefits from surprise

We need surprise to keep a scene from being predictable. Predictable is the opposite of entertaining.

But we’re not just talking about big, shocking reveals here. A surprise can be as simple as an unexpected turn in the scene, or a creative way for a character to tackle an obstacle.

Surprise can come from anywhere:

• The obstacles characters face
• The solutions they find
• A twist at the end of the scene that leaves us guessing

And it can occur at any point:

• At the beginning: A character finds themselves in an unexpected situation.
• In the middle: A sudden revelation changes the scene’s direction.
• At the end: A twist acts as a cliffhanger, pulling us into the next scene.

And smaller surprises might happen anywhere over the course of the scene for added entertainment. It's all about keeping things interesting.

I've chosen a couple of examples to share, but really surprise can be found in most (good) scenes once you start looking for it. Think of it as something unexpected, surprising, or unlike what we might've seen before.

​In this example from the Oscar-nominated animated film Flow, there's a moment of surprise mid-scene, when we see the boat stuck on top of the tree – that's certainly unexpected. And then we get a bigger (and related) surprise at the end of the scene when the giant wave hits.

​In this example from last year's Juror #2, we see the jury in the deliberation room for the first time. The surprise in this scene shows us that it doesn't have to be a jump scare or physical obstacle to work. Here, the audience is surprised at the protagonist's choice in the scene – he doesn't immediately convict the defendant and close the case, which we know would be to the protagonist's benefit.

Surprise makes a scene fresh, memorable, and – most importantly – fun to watch.

Build better scenes, build better stories

Every scene in your screenplay is an opportunity to engage your audience, deepen your story, and reveal your characters. By focusing on purpose, conflict, and surprise, you can ensure your scenes pull their weight and keep your screenplay lean, compelling, and entertaining.

So the next time you’re writing or revising a scene, ask yourself:

• Does this scene change something?
• Does it have conflict or tension that supports the page count?
• Is there a surprise to keep it interesting?

Until next time,

Naomi

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