As you have probably noticed writing action description is way easier than writing good, natural dialogue. But there are still some tricks that can be applied to make your writing leaner, and your narrative brisk and alive.
One of them is drawing storyboards either before describing the scene, or after - before editing it down during a rewrite.
Think of it as if you were drawing a comic. Not all elements of the action are necessary to be shown. Because the artist is restricted by a limited number of panels per page, he needs to show only the key moments - the ones which are absolutely vital for the purpose of storytelling.
Have a look at the panels below and notice which elements are highlighted.
Sequence 1 (even without dialogue you have a pretty good idea what is going on)
(Artist: Greg Tocchini)
Sequence 2 (relying on reader's background knowledge - loading bar on a computer)
(Artist: Greg Tocchini)
The same principle applies to action description. In our class tomorrow we'll be drawing storyboards for a sequence from an unproduced script The Bridge (pages 1-2).
folder: screenplays
password: tick tock
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