Simple, Clear English.—­The scenario is really nothing more than the synopsis rewritten in detail and divided into scenes.  Observe that the paragraphs of action are written in the present tense to help YOU keep the action simple and vivid and PRESENT.  Absolutely nothing is to be gained by attempted “fine writing,” yet it is true that the best-paid writers today are for the most part the ones who are giving attention to clearness and precision of detail and description when writing the third division of their scripts.  But description does not mean hifaluting word painting—­it means clear, concise setting forth of exactly what a thing is.

The Uselessness of Dialogue.—­Dialogue, naturally, is out of place in the scenario.  If Frank asks Ethel where she hid the letter, and she replies by opening a volume which she takes from the bookcase and taking it out, that is all that is necessary.  Do not write a line of dialogue which tells just what Frank says to her, except as may be required for an occasional cut-in leader.  Neither is it necessary to say what words of hers accompany the action of taking the letter from the book where it has been concealed.  Yet there is one way in which dialogue may serve a useful purpose in writing the scenario.  If by writing a single phrase you can tell the editor and the director as much as you could by writing several lines of action, there is no reason why you should not use the line—­not as dialogue, however, but as stage directions.[20]

[Footnote 20:  Note the introduction of occasional bits of dialogue in the “action” portion of the O. Henry story in Chapter XX.]

Exterior Backgrounds Valuable.—­In planning your scenario remember that for scenes that do not positively demand indoor settings it is best to provide an exterior background, or location.  No matter how well provided with scenery a studio may be there is always a certain amount of time lost in erecting sets.  Even though the director does not take the scenes in the order in which they are written, he will be able to save a great deal of time if, between the scene that is done in the library and the one enacted in the court-room, he can take his people out and get three or four, or even more, scenes in the open air, where the setting is ready for him.  Carefully plan every scene before you write it, and see, for instance, if Dick could not propose to Stella in the garden, or on a bench in the park, just as well as he could in the drawing room or in the ball-room.  Help yourself to more sales by helping the director to easier work.