Writing logical and compelling actions for characters in a screenplay is usually the most challenging aspect of writing a screenplay.

It is worth noting that a screenwriter might be able to create the best theme, concept, plots and scenes for their screenplay but mess everything up when it’s time to write the actions that will drive the story forward.

A screenwriter might also be pretty good at writing dialogues but without writing actions there is no way he will be able to create the scenes that will complete the recommended 120 minutes of a film time.

In this article therefore, I am going to reveal to you the basic steps you need to take in order to create logical and compelling actions for your screenplay.

So without waste of time, let’s dive into it, but before we do so, let’s look at what is really an action in a screenplay.

What is action in a screenplay.

Action in a screenplay are the series of events or the things characters in a screenplay are expected to do in order to pass across the message of the entire story.

How to write actions in a screenplay.

Below is a step by step guide to write actions in a screenplay:

1. Write a character bio.
2. Figure out your characters goals and obstacles.
3. Consider adding suspense to your screenplay.
4. Incorporate character flaws and arc to your screenplay.
5. Use the present tense to describe your actions.
6. Show and don’t tell.

1. Write a character bio.

The first step to writing actions in a screenplay is writing a character bio.

Normally, every movie is expected to have two main characters, the protagonist and antagonist. The former is the one who is trying to achieve a particular goal or set of goals, while the latter is the one who is trying to prevent the former from achieving his goals.

Now to make it easier to write multiple scenes for your screenplay, you must start by writing a character biography for your two main characters.

This biography should not be limited to the scenes you want to appear in your screenplay as it can contain their entire life story or history right from birth.

Now remember your goal here is to have enough scenes that will make the recommended 120 minutes watch time, and so therefore understanding the life story of two central figures in the screenplay will help you to come up with multiple actions both of them are expected to take in order to relate the entire story.

Depending on where and how you create the concept for your story, just gather the life story of your characters and use that to start writing the actions you want them to take through out the whole story.

2. Figure out your characters goals and obstacles.

Often times, a screenwriter might find himself hooked on creating the next step a character must make. And the only solution to this is ensuring you determine the main goal and obstacles your character is going to face in the entire story..

You must, without much stress be able to define what your character is aiming to achieve in the entire story as well as the obstacles that are standing in the way of his achieving it (them). And once you are able to define the main goal  and obstacle for your character, you will find it very easy to create the actions he is going to take in order to achieve that goal.

Basically, creating a goal and obstacle for your screenplay will require you to create two main characters, the protagonist who is trying to achieve the goal and the antagonist who will be creating the obstacle that will prevent him from achieving that goal.

Now with these two characters in the forefront, it will be easy for you to create multiple actions both of them are going to take while implementing their goals and obstacles.

3. Consider adding suspense to keep your viewers glued.

Adding suspense is another great way to write the actions in your screenplay.

Now suspense entails the unfortunate or unexpected event that occurs away from the audience expectations.

Take for example, your protagonist is trying to flee from his antagonist and all of a sudden he approaches the traffic light a which shows green on his lane, but instead of driving towards that expected lane, the protagonist swerves to the other lane which the light just showed red, which indicates stop.

Now by swerving to this unexpected lane the antagonist who thought he would maintain the other lane follows it and in so doing the protagonist makes a clean escape from him.

Now think about how happy the audience were that the light showed green when the protagonist approached the traffic  so he could speed on and escape from the protagonist, but unexpectedly their countenance chances when they see him swerving to the other lane while the antagonist follows the expected lane.

And in the midst of their disappointed they finally realize that swerving to the unexpected lane is the only way the protagonist is able to escape from the antagonist.

4. Incorporate character flaws and arc to your screenplay.

Another great way to write actions in a screenplay is to give your character a weakness which we refer to as character flaw as well as his transformation from that weakness which we refer to as character arc.

For example, if your character was a chain smoker his transformation may come when his brother donates a replacement for his kidney that was damaged by his smoking habit. Now the opportunity to live again due to this act of kindness will help him to quit smoking.

5. Use the present tense to describe your actions.

It is an error for a screenwriter to write the actions in a screenplay in the past or future tense, the recommended one is the present tense.

This means that you must describe your actions like it is happening while you are writing.

For example, don’t say “Tony jumped off the motorcycle while it was on a  speed lane” rather say ‘Tony jumps from the motorcycle while it was on a speed lane”.

6. Show and don’t tell.