Screenwriting : Screenwriting Tip – Change the Location by Maurice Vaughan

I can see how changing the location from a fictional setting to a real one would make it a little more relatable Maurice Vaughan. I created the fictional city of Covenant City but if I used New York, I can definitely see the difference in feel and effect.

Great point, Leonardo Ramirez. Changing a location to make it more relatable to the reader or audience. Some people might not relate to a fantasy forest, spaceship, etc., but they might relate to a big city or small town. And I just thought about something. Just because a writer changes the location doesn't mean their scene has to lose important elements.

That's exactly right, Maurice Vaughan. It doesn't.

It's a good tip. I always remember how when I was in the improv club in high school all the locations we worked with were non-geographical and you could come up with some really neat and hilarious stuff.

Thanks, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. That sounds like fun. And writing a script without an outline is kinda like improv.

Hey Maurice Vaughan

No worries Maurice Vaughan, I honestly come back to improv often when writing and the use of a non-geographical location allows for much freedom since it could literally be anywhere. I don't think I was there for that specific scene but I remember everyone fondly reminiscing about the one that took place inside a watermelon lol

This is great food for thought! It’s always valuable to step back and revisit things with fresh eyes.

Hey, Sandra Isabel. I’ve done that in Fantasy and Sci-Fi scripts. The environment and things are strange and different, but I added things we find on Earth. And it’s fun to come up with my own things (tech, gear, companies, brands, etc.) for scripts. Have you tried that?

I've heard people in the industry say writers should take acting and improv classes, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. They can help writers write characters and dialogue.

Thanks, Sydney S. Great advice, and you're right. I do that with scenes, dialogue, and entire scripts sometimes. And that reminds me, I have some OLD scripts I need to revisit. Like the first scripts I've ever written old. It'll be interesting to see how I can apply what I know now to those scripts.

Tell me more about that Maurice Vaughan! Some elements I use in the spiritual realm we can find them in Japan, only that I changed the worlds. Explain me better about your own things in the script. I never did that!

Funny the way people are interpreting the prompt.

Rather than change the setting of the whole story, I took it to mean change the location of an individual scene that’s not working.

So instead of having two people give exposition sitting on a sofa, get them up on their feet, racing to catch a train. More visually interesting, with urgency!

The writers who craft their own stories, Mike Boas, are the ones who know them best.

In the story I referenced, it makes little sense to change the location of a single scene when 95% of the story takes place in that city and the main character doesn’t travel anywhere outside of it and exists to address the needs of that city.

Sure, Sandra Isabel. I create my own tech, gear, companies, brands, etc. that characters use in scripts, like tech that makes a character's job easier, a shoe brand that a character wears, the food a character eats, and so on. But whatever I come up with is important to the story.

"Rather than change the setting of the whole story, I took it to mean change the location of an individual scene that’s not working." Writers can use this prompt for that too, Mike Boas. I didn't mean change the setting of the whole story (that could work too though), but just the setting of one scene. The original scene might be working fine, but this prompt could help writers come up with new things that make the scene stronger. Or even make the original scene different in some way.

Great advice about making characters active when they're giving exposition!

Thats cool on the page, if you get to dev/production, locations change for many reasons. The Equalizer was supposed to be in Brooklyn. They moved it to Boston. Didnt matter. Collateral, on the page, was in NY. They moved it to Los Angeles.

Great point, Dan MaxXx. And I rewrote a short script once for a script lead. It took place in a house, and I changed it to an apartment. Easy change that didn't affect much of anything in the story.

I loved that Maurice Vaughan It's an amazing idea, and you are a marketeer. Love that!

Thanks, Sandra Isabel. I like that. Marketeer. We're all marketeers since we're all promoting and selling our scripts and/or services.

We are marketers, Maurice Vaughan. Many of us don't know that, but we are! You are a good one.

Thanks, Sandra Isabel. You're a fantastic marketeer! Just look at the success you had in business. It really helps to have a business mindset as a creative, as you know. When I sit down to write scripts, ghostwrite, make pitch decks, etc., I'm making art, but it's also business.

We are Maurice Vaughan. Yes, it helps a lot to have a business mindset as a creative, and never forget that: You are your brand! And you do that very well :)) Kudos for us :))

It isn´t easy to be our brand because it requires a very regular work, but I know it´s very important and it´s my biggest challenge nowadays.

Someday I will write about that Maria Caeiro How to build your brand :))

Hi, Maurice! You're so welcome! That’s such an exciting realization—going back to your earliest scripts with fresh eyes and all the knowledge you’ve gained since. It’s amazing to see how far you’ve come and how you can elevate your past work with new insights. I bet you’ll find some gems in there just waiting to be polished! Enjoy the process, and I’d love to hear how it goes!

Hi, Sydney S. Thanks. I'll let you know how the scripts turn out. It'll probably be a lot of work, but I'm sure it'll be fun too.