The Screenwriter's Path

9When to Use Your Bag of Tricks

If I’m a painter, I have lots of little tricks to paint in such a way as to make a tree look far away in a painting rather than close up, I can use shading and shadows to convey emotion or danger, I can surprise with a color that seems unusual for the location—I can do many things with my brushes and colors and canvas. The painter’s bag of tricks all have to do with painting a picture—and a writer’s all have to do with telling a story.

There are many ways to tell the story. Let’s say you’re telling the story of a young woman, Polly, who’s getting a divorce from Max after 5 years of marriage. What are some possible ways you can tell this story?

• (1) You can tell it in a linear fashion—which is the most common. This ...