We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
CHAPTER XXXIII 137 predate. Before you can hope to write photoplay, you must first learn to write action, just as you would first learn the French lan- guage before you would undertake to write stories in French. To write in action you must first acquire the ability to think in action and to visualize that action. You think, for example, that Paul kisses Mary. You must, at the same time, with your mental vision,^jee Paul kissing Mary. You must see this so distinctly that you can wTTte the action as you see it and not merely write an action. But while you can see every detail of this action, you do not write down every trifling gesture. You write only that part of it that, told a director, will en- able him to see what you have seen; not the precise action, but ac- tion that will do as well and may, perhaps, be even better. 3. Phil Lang, of the Kalem Company, has happily called this the picture Eye." That is precisely what it is, but the eye is thejsye of the mind and not the external organ of vision. The trained writer can see his action so clearly that he gets a good idea of precisely how such action will look and so is able to discard action that lacks in any \ quality of interest. 4. Without tlie picture eye it is not possible to write convincingly of your action since you cannot see your action and do not know what it is, but a little practice will enable you to acquire the picture eye if you have the proper imagination. When you write a scene close your eyes and see if you can see this action playing before you. Then re-_ ^erse and see the action before you write it down and you can write intelligently. 5. The final development is being able to write only that portion of the action that is essential to the story. Some writers never master this trick of condensation. They write so much detail that the impor-' tant action is lost in the mass of words in general. Study the exam- ;• pies in the Appendix and note how the essential action and that alone \ is shown unless the by-play, seemingly unimportant, will help the major action. 6. In Chapter XXXI you have been given some examples of writing action in scenes, but it is the purpose of this chapter to treat the mat- ter in greater detail. Let it be supposed that you have a scene in* which John meets Edna for the first time. The meeting is accidental. They have not been introduced. Writing the scene as you have vis- ualized it, you may get this action: 6. Road by a brook in the ivoods. The brook is in the foreground and we can see both banks, but we stand on the side Edna com^ in from. Edna is seen through the trees in the distance, comine along the path. She is coming toward us. It is summer time and she has on a white dress. Her hat is off and she is carry- ing it as a basket, filled with wild flowers. She aoproaches slowly. When she gets close to us she stops and looks at the brook._ The stepping stones are slippery and she is afraid that she will fall in and get wet. As she stands there, wondering what she shall do, John comes in from one side and looks with