{"id":95625,"date":"2023-03-09T22:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T02:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=95625"},"modified":"2023-03-16T10:48:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T14:48:24","slug":"how-to-write-a-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-write-a-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Treatment: Blending Text and Subtext"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the purpose of a treatment? What’s the best way to write one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKee details what he believes to be the ideal writing process: Begin with an outline, flesh it out into a treatment, then polish it into a final script. McKee frames this as a process for screenwriters, but you could apply it to stories in any medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to explore the second step in McKee’s process and learn his advice for how to write a treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Write a Treatment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

McKee\u2019s second step in writing a story<\/a> is to turn your outline into a treatment, and he explains how to write a treatment. It’s a more detailed description of each scene that takes care to outline both text<\/em> and subtext<\/em>. That is, you not only write in extreme detail what happens in each scene but also what each character is thinking and feeling\u2014what\u2019s truly motivating them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re creating a story<\/a> that\u2019s true to life, this internal subtext will often contradict what the characters superficially appear to be doing. To return to our example from Finding Nemo<\/em>, when Marlin shouts at Nemo, \u201cYou\u2019re going to get stuck out there!\u201d (text), he\u2019s expressing, \u201cI hope I can control Nemo by acting angry. I\u2019m only doing this because I\u2019m terrified something will happen to him\u201d (subtext).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this difference between text and subtext, you must write down both textual layers to ensure you fully understand what\u2019s happening in your story in every scene. According to McKee, this is the purpose of a treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: McKee recommends outlining your subtext as a diagnostic tool to ensure that everything in your scene is true to life. However, you can also intentionally inject subtext into a scene to make it more compelling, just by having your characters avoid saying what they really mean. Subtext makes a scene more compelling in two ways. First, it withholds information from the reader, generating curiosity. When the audience isn\u2019t quite sure what your characters are really saying, it motivates them to look more deeply into your story. Second, subtext organically creates conflict<\/a>. When characters avoid saying what they\u2019re really feeling, it makes communication more difficult, which can escalate the tension in interpersonal relationships.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s the purpose of a treatment? What’s the best way to write one? McKee details what he believes to be the ideal writing process: Begin with an outline, flesh it out into a treatment, then polish it into a final script. McKee frames this as a process for screenwriters, but you could apply it to stories in any medium. Keep reading to explore the second step in McKee’s process and learn his advice for how to write a treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":16886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[938],"class_list":["post-95625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","tag-story","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Write a Treatment: Blending Text and Subtext - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A treatment should help you fully understand what\u2019s happening in your story in every scene. 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