SLUG LINES
are one of the most useful tools in a writer’s arsenal. Get to know them and love them! They serve many functions. Of course, we all know they can tell us where we are…
INT. JOANIE’S CLOSET – DAY
But they can also be used to call attention to a certain character or occurrence or indicate a camera call without ever using the word “camera”. They are a more VISUAL way to write, and film is of course a visual medium.
And best of all, they break up the action and add
WHITE
to the page. In short, just about anything you need to do in a standard scene description should be reconsidered with slug lines in mind. They are the key to fluid, fast-paced, visual writing.
HOW IT WORKS
Slug lines can be used in three separate ways:
As a location header, such as:
INT. MURPHY’S HOUSE – DAY
To indicate a different room in the same location. Let’s say we have several scenes in a row set in “Murphy’s House,” we can move from the “Bedroom” to the “Bathroom” without using INT. Just put “Bedroom” in all caps onto a separate line and then hit return and start your bedroom scene.
Murphy pads across the tatty shag carpet.
BATHROOM
He squirts a glob of toothpaste directly onto his teeth and finger-brushes for five seconds. Good enough.
To draw attention to an image. For example:
Joe wavers on his stool, doesn’t hear the crowd or the ref.
HIS THROBBING BLACK EYE
Feels like Ricky Ricardo playing “Babaloo” on his face. He swoons and… eats mat.
Highlighting an image in all caps on its own line is known as a “Mini-Slug.” It’s a great way of breaking up dense description. Pepper your scene description with these to visually tell your story.
THE JEEP
Spirals daintily through the air in slo-mo —
Murphy, behind the wheel, wailing to the heavens —
COPPERTONE BILLBOARD
Wham! The Jeep comes to an abrupt halt, embedded in the sign 40 feet above Waikiki Beach.
MURPHY
His jaw gapes in disbelief. Can he possibly be… unscathed?
As well, by breaking up paragraphs with slug lines we can SEE the action much better. The ample skipped spaces make the read much easier and quicker and ratchet up the excitement, and add the much-coveted white on the page.
So embrace your slimy new slug buddies and make sure your garden has plenty of them.
