How to Write a Script Without Dialogue: 10 Ways to Improve Your Visual Storytelling

Writing an amazing script doesn’t just mean creating unique characters, intriguing narratives, and snappy dialogue to help move the story along. While all of that is great (and usually necessary), we must also remember that filmmaking is an inherently visual medium, which means it requires good visual storytelling.

Unlike a book, a script is an outline, so you want whoever is reading it to be able to perfectly imagine the film in their head. One of the most difficult instances of achieving this feat is when you have to write a scene with little to no dialogue. Writing a scene without dialogue presents many great creative opportunities, such as providing more unspoken symbolism, allowing for more realistic characters by describing their movements and body language, and creating a more captivating environment for your story to take place.

However, for those who haven’t written this way before, it can be quite the challenge. How do you know when you’re describing too much of the environment? How do you know when you’re straying away from descriptive and becoming novelistic? How do you keep the reader engaged for pages at a time when nobody in the scene says a word? Well, don’t worry. In this article, I answer all of these questions and provide you with some key factors to always consider when writing a silent scene. Here are 10 tips for how to write a script without dialogue.

1. Lean into the Visuals, Don’t Run Away!

When you’re a screenwriter, especially one out of film school, you are constantly reminded to follow the so-called “industry rules”. One of the most famous examples is that you should never be overly descriptive. This rule exists to prevent writers from rambling on and making their scripts longer than they have to be, but I always felt like it does more harm than good and leads to bland writing. If you’re writing a scene without dialogue, then you need to be overly descriptive!

The readers should be able to put themselves in the room with the character, see what they’re seeing, and feel what they’re feeling. It should be as visually immersive as possible, with the only limit being not to include any descriptions that do not achieve your primary goal for the scene (which is where most people get carried away). So, if you’re writing about a character in a creepy setting, make sure to include every single creepy thing they’re experiencing in great detail, but try to leave out any unimportant details that don’t support this goal (like the color of the ceiling fan, for example).

2. Master the Use of Symbolism

Implementing symbolism into your scripts is a great way to deepen the story’s themes and help visualize characters’ inner conflicts. Obviously, this symbolism can be presented in any number of ways - colors, objects, animals, etc. But whatever it is, it must be included in your script in great detail to help convey its importance. If you’re describing a red room because you simply like the aesthetics of the color for that moment in your story, then you can get away with saying “the room was red”. But if the point of the red room is to symbolize something darker, like death or violence, then you might want to make a point to elaborate further: “The walls of the room were as red as the blood of an animal” (not the most creative example, but you get the point).

3. Use Body Language to Drive the Narrative

Body language, while a subtle detail, is a great way to give your characters more depth and help drive the narrative in a direction that words can’t achieve, so don’t be afraid to include it in your scripts. Write about a character’s slouch, how they breathe, how they move about a room. All of these minor details can be pivotal to your characters’ development and can set the tone for a scene. 

Read more: Tips on How to Make Your Characters Come Alive

4. Embrace Silence

Properly utilizing silence in a scene is one of the greatest writing tools a screenwriter can have. In a constantly noisy world, silence is usually rare. This means that the presence of silence in a scene usually implies significance of some kind, which is great for emphasizing certain moments in your script. It can be used to indicate intimacy, help build tension, create a greater sense of fear, and even make funny moments funnier. So whenever you have a scene with silence, don’t forget to point it out in your script. Then, when the noise finally does come, it’ll hit the reader even harder.

5. Show, Don’t Tell

This is perhaps the most important tip for achieving excellent visual storytelling, and it’s also the most simple one to execute. As I said before, film is a visual medium, so don’t rely on dialogue to get your point across. If a character thinks something’s funny, show them laughing instead of saying that it was funny. If they’re scared, depict that fear in their actions and body language, not by having them tell another character they’re scared. This also applies to deeper elements within your script, such as underlying themes and messages.

Read more: A Study on Script Dialogue with Examples

Let’s say you’re writing a political thriller where you want the main takeaway to be that the government can’t be trusted. One tempting option to make sure the audience understands your intentions is to have a character discuss how the government can’t be trusted at the end of your script. AVOID DOING THIS AT ALL COSTS. Sure, it gets the point across, but it’s lazy, boring, and leaves nothing for the audience to take away from the story themselves. Trust your audience!

If you properly utilize the idea of showing, not telling, then the reader will have no problem comprehending the underlying messages within your script (and will do so in a much more rewarding fashion). 

6. Frame Your Scenes Within the Script

Yet another screenwriting rule that was meant to be broken is to never include camera direction in your script. The basis behind this rule is that you don’t know who’s eventually going to direct and shoot your screenplay, so don’t bother holding them back with your silly shot ideas. But the truth about writing a script is that sometimes a scene only works if framed and paced a certain way. So, if you encounter a scene like this (especially one that doesn’t have dialogue), don’t be afraid to include your framing ideas within a script.

Read more: Why Ignoring Screenplay Rules Works in Past Lives

Maybe you want the scene to open with a series of close-ups. Maybe you want to crash zoom into your character to make a scene feel more chaotic. Maybe you want the character’s head framed on the far left side of the screen to show how he’s emotionally distancing himself from the other characters. Whatever it may be, if it helps YOU as the writer get your point across to the reader, then just throw it in there. The director and DP can always choose to disregard it later if they please.

7. Create Compelling, Non-Verbal Conflict

One of the best ways to visually make the conflicts in your script more compelling and realistic is to utilize physical tells like body language, facial expressions, and actions within the physical space. In real life, you often recognize dissatisfaction or aggression through visual cues rather than dialogue, so why not use them in your screenplays? Minor actions are often especially effective for implying a character’s attitude within a scene, such as crossing their arms, refusing to make eye contact, or even staring out a window.

Read more: Different Types of External Conflict

Or, if the script calls for it, then a major action can be used to escalate a conflict exponentially, such as a character throwing something against the wall or discharging a weapon. It all depends on the context of what you’re writing. Either way, just always remember that you don’t need dialogue to make a conflict interesting. And the more interesting the conflict, the more powerful the silent actions of your characters will be.

8. Include Music and Sound Effects

Sometimes in films, the music and sound effects are what really make a scene stand out. Just like I mentioned before regarding adding shot instructions to your scripts, including specific songs or sound effects is usually discouraged. However, if a specific sound effect or music choice helps you as the writer achieve how you want the scene to be perceived, then by all means include it.

On top of that, these elements are especially helpful in setting the tone for scenes without dialogue. Certain song choices can be used to create tension, enhance specific emotions, or help juxtapose what the audience is hearing with what they’re seeing. The same goes for sound effects. Maybe there’s a certain popular ringtone that would be perfect for a villain to have. Maybe a character's boots make a unique noise that draws attention to them.

Whatever it may be, if there’s something specific you have in mind regarding a song or sound effect, then just put it in the script. Now whenever someone reads your screenplay, they’ll be more immersed in the world you created and will leave the scene feeling the emotions you intended. 

9. Break Up The Action

While less of a creative tip and more of a piece of formatting advice, breaking up your action and description lines into multiple, bite-sized chunks is a great way to keep the reader engaged. As I mentioned before, a script is not a novel, so try to avoid long, drawn-out paragraphs. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to cut down on your descriptions. It just means organizing your writing into a collection of smaller pieces to keep the reader from getting bored. Each paragraph generally shouldn’t exceed 4 sentences and should be focused on the same minor event. That way, the reader can move through the paragraphs quickly, and every time they start a new one, something new is happening in the story.

Read more: How to Write Scenes

10. Pace the Story Through Editing

Just like with shot instructions and music suggestions, don’t be afraid to add a little editing direction in your script. Editing is one of the most important parts of the filmmaking process, so it’s admittedly difficult to write without having the final edit in mind. This is especially true when you’re writing a scene without dialogue, as the visual aspects become even more crucial to your story. So, if the story calls for it, feel free to include any specific cuts, fades, or montages that you feel are necessary to make your script more engaging.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when writing a scene without dialogue, the most important thing to remember is that film is also a visual medium. So, instead of being intimidated by this fact, take advantage of it! Write visually, descriptively, and feel free to include any sort of extra details that will help immerse the reader into your world – even if that means breaking a couple industry rules.

Looking to get some practice in? Read and vote on treatments for this year’s Script to Screen Competition. Voting is open now!