Do i have to write the courtroom scene?
I am writing a screenplay that has a court room sequence. Since I find it hard to write lawyer lingo, I figured that I could write the sequence in a voice over and have the actors do their thing as I write it out or as the director sees fit.
–Scott
I hate to burst your bubble, but those lengthy courtroom sequences every week on "Law and Order" — the ones where Sam Waterston cleverly gets the witness to screw up on the stand — someone actually has to write all of those. Every word, every comma. Waterston is a talented actor, but he doesn’t come up with a single thing he says. Neither does the director. It’s all in the script, and it’s really, really hard to write.
The same holds true for every line spoken in every movie you’ve ever seen, with the exception of a few improvised comedies and Dogma experiments.
If you find it impossibly difficult to write lawyer lingo, I can think of a few options:
- restructure the story so you don’t need the courtroom stuff
at all,
- get someone to help you, or
- tell a different story, one without lawyers.
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November 21st, 2006 at 1:06 pm
I can relate to the question as well as with the response. However, my novel must have a court room scene! It is crucial to my story. Since the plaintiff is a non-lawyer representing himself, goofs are intended to keep the story authenic. In fact, goofs are build in for suspense and to show how “a fool for his lawyer” can win. To think I am on chapter 47 before coming across your discouraging advice is enough to give me a nervous breakdown. Since a courtroom scene is so complicated, maybe I can bluff my way through without most readers knowing the difference. Of course, thinking my novel will become a classic is now hopeless. Hopeless or not, I am going to finish by November 30 and try to get published for the next five years. Yes, I am aware that the challenge only begins after the writing in today’s novel market. Thanks for the opportunity to vent.