{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreicprx2vjhbwji3yfulezvid7a7nd7lxxusvvk7hekgwliyhfsjh6a",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:4jjxx3max7tcdxwmdkjrnyj4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnin7qqyqlc2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreihmvmyw67kr5fmdn4unq5yme234ttelbnxcyx3u54qoodbgpqdzce"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/webp",
    "size": 84778
  },
  "path": "/david-koepps-golden-rule",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-04T20:29:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://nofilmschool.com",
  "tags": [
    "Screenwriting advice",
    "Screenwriting tips",
    "David koepp",
    "Action lines",
    "Screenwriting In LA interview clip",
    "www.youtube.com",
    "the first page of the Jurassic Park script",
    "screenplay formatting rules",
    "read in the Se7en screenplay",
    "how to write a scene"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nScreenwriting is incredibly hard. I am sure you know that, but there are times it's worth acknowledging so you don't go crazy.\n\nBut really, what you're doing is both telling a story and writing a blueprint for a medium that relies entirely on sights and sounds and imagination. And all that has ot be translated by people, cameras, and editors later.\n\nNo one knows this better than industry legend David Koepp (_Jurassic Park_ , _Mission: Impossible_), who discussed this exact phenomenon in a Screenwriting In LA interview clip.\n\nLet's dive in.\n\n* * *\n\n- YouTube www.youtube.com\n\n## The Cognitive Load of the Page\n\nI like talking about the actual work of screenwriting because it's where the pros and joes get separated.\n\nWriting a script takes thinking about storytelling in a way that's so different than if you were raised on. Most people grow up reading books, but screenplays are not like them at all.\n\nKoepp points out that, unlike a traditional novel, where the author spells out every interior emotional state and environmental detail, a script forces the reader to co-direct the film inside their own head.\n\nFor me, I actually feel like scripts are close to comic books, because you're kind of directing imagination with your words, trying to get people to picture the panels in their minds.\n\nSo, when a writer throws massive, chunky paragraphs of prose at the page, that process grinds to a halt.\n\nAs Koepp says:\n\n> \"Reading a screenplay is really difficult. It's not like a book where everything's spelled out for you... When you get big chunky descriptive paragraphs, you're killing a reader. You're making it too hard.\"\n\nIf you force a manager, agent, or script reader to plow through blocky paragraphs, you destroy the momentum of the story.\n\nThe reader stops experiencing the movie and starts performing manual labor.\n\nYou want them to read with speed and get it right away.\n\n## Writing at the \"Speed of Cinema\"\n\nKoepp’s personal solution to this problem is a commitment to a terse writing style. If you look at his work on an iconic thriller like _Jurassic Park_ , the pages are sparse, sharp, and lean.\n\nTake a look at the first page of the Jurassic Park script and see how he drips you into a world.\n\nJurassic Park Credit: David Koepp's Website\n\nBy breaking up the action text into single lines and short fragments, Koepp forces the reader's eyes to dart down the page and to keep reading.\n\nYou don't want to step because you're so invested.\n\nLearning how to manipulate this layout is a massive part of mastering screenplay formatting rules, and it helps you find your unique voice.\n\n## Terse vs. Dense: Finding Your Style\n\nNot everyone has to write the same way. Koepp talks about Andrew Kevin Walker and lauds his more dense prose, which you can read in the Se7en screenplay.\n\nIn that, Walker uses a different kind of prose style to build a suffocating, atmospheric world. It's totally unique and represents who he is and works for that story.\n\nTypically, for newer writers, I would always advise that when figuring out how to write a scene that lands with impact, you prioritize visuals over excess verbiage.\n\nLook at your current draft. If a sequence takes ten seconds on screen, it shouldn't take a full page of dense words to explain it.\n\n## Summing It All Up\n\nThis short video is a good reminder to keep your paragraphs lean, clear the clutter, and let the white space do the heavy lifting.\n\nThis will help your voice shine through and get everyone excited by your projects.\n\nLet me know what you think in the comments.",
  "title": "David Koepp’s Golden Rule: Why Thick Blocks of Action Text Are Killing Your Screenplay"
}