8. Every Scene Needs A Goal
What's the absolute worst crime that any motion picture can commit? Cardboard characters? Jarring tonal shifts? Too much exposition? Nope. The absolute worst crime that any movie can commit is...
it's boring. It's a simple as that. The reason that some movies are boring and some aren't? It all comes down to the fact that the characters have a goal. A simple A to B. A mission statement that your movie hinges on. Something for audiences to
invest in. Next time you're watching a movie and you start feeling like you're bored, ask yourself one question: "What's the character's goal right now?" If you don't know, or you're not completely sure, it's because there isn't one. And movies are boring when characters are lacking goals. Which means that every single scene in your screenplay should be driving towards
something. Anything. Just don't leave your characters in limbo
. Even if your characters are trapped in a bunker waiting out the zombie apocalypse, they need a goal. They need to have an idea of what it is they want to achieve. And we need to know whatever that is. The moment the main goal becomes vague or disappears, you'll start to lose your audience. If one goal is completed, set up another one straight away. Having goals is the backbone of your script. They're what shape your characters, because goals force characters to act - and that's where we learn, fundamentally, who they are and what they stand for, right?