Screenwriting Advice From The Past: The Final Close-Up [Part 1]

“Knowing when and how to stop is as important to a photoplay writer as to an after dinner speaker, but amateur scenarists, like amateur orators, seldom seem to know when or how to bring their stories to a conclusion.”

If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early stages of American cinema, associated with 136 film projects per IMDb.

Married to writer John Emerson, the pair wrote one of the first books on screenwriting in 1920: “How to Write Photoplays”. I have been running a weekly series based on the book. You can access those posts here.

Today: The Final Close-Up [P.103].

Knowing when and how to stop is as important to a photoplay writer as to an after dinner speaker, but amateur scenarists, like amateur orators, seldom seem to know when or how to bring their stories to a conclusion.

Beginners, therefore, will do well in writing the last few scenes of their stories to follow these two simple rules:

First — Stop as soon as you have straightened out the complications of your situation, accomplished the purpose of your plot and proved your theme, if you have one.

Second — Stop as soon after the big scene as possible. Many comparatively poor stories have brought their authors large financial returns simply because of a well-constructed, original and timely ending.

Any salesman will tell you that his last arguments are the ones which buyers remember and act upon; and, through this same psychological law, the close of your story is what will be the uppermost in the scenario editor’s mind when he considers it for purchase — it is your last argument as to why he should buy it. So follow the two rules mentioned above and avoid anti-climaxes.

I’m reminded of Billy Wilder’s 10 screenwriting tips, the last two of which are:

9. The 3rd act must build, build, build in tempo until the last event, and then…
10. …that’s it. Don’t hang around.

But a great ending needs more than brevity, it should provide a satisfying resolution on all fronts: Plotline, Themeline, Psychological. [For more on that subject, you can check out my interview with Michael Arndt on his video presentation “ENDINGS: The Good, the Bad, the Insanely Great”].

Tomorrow: More screenwriting advice from the past.

You can read “How to Write Photoplays” via Google books online here.

For the rest of the series articles:

Introduction
Getting Ideas
Conflict and Crisis
Situation
Theme
Star Sympathy
Action: Part 1
Action: Part 2
Action: Part 3
Action: Part 4
Action: Part 5
Story Synopsis
Continuity: Part 1
Continuity: Part 2
The Title
Marketing the Script
Writing for the Camera
Scenery for Scenarios
The Actor’s Angle: Part 1
The Actor’s Angle: Part 2
Character On The Screen: Part 1
Character On The Screen: Part 2
Character On The Screen: Part 3
Character On The Screen: Part 4
The “Interest”: Part 1
The “Interest”: Part 2
The Kinds of Stories That Sell: Part 1
The Kinds of Stories That Sell: Part 2
The Kinds of Stories That Sell: Part 3
The Kinds of Stories That Sell: Part 4
The Kinds of Stories That Sell: Part 5
What to Write and Not to Write: Part 1
What to Write and Not to Write: Part 2
What to Write and Not to Write: Part 3
Cutting The Picture: Part 1
Cutting The Picture: Part 2
Cutting The Picture: Part 3
Writing for the Censors: Part 1
Writing for the Censors: Part 2
Writing for the Censors: Part 3
The Pictorial Element
The Denouement: Part 1
The Denouement: Part 2
The Denouement: Part 3
How To Begin: Part 1
How To Begin: Part 2
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 1
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 2
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 3
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 4
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 5
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 6
Midway in the Photoplay: Part 7

Note: I ran this series originally in 2012. Unfortunately, the individual articles got bungled up on the site in some sort of technical snafu. So, I am recovering them one by one in this reprise of the series.