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Tactics

Every episode covering Tactics.

"I think they use different kinds of resources, and that’s what’s interesting, right? So, I kind of think- so, there’s- to bring in a board game concept more than a sports concept, like in board games, you know, you talk about asymmetrical games."

— Stu Willis  |  DZ-103: Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite

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DZ-40: Tactics and Scenes

How do tactics make your characters and scenes more dynamic?
AI✦Tactics are the core subject--how characters pursue their goals in scenes--and Stu and Chas argue they’re revealing of character essence and can drive dramatic change when shifted or thwarted.✦
⏱ 2h 15m
4 FEB 2017
Listen to learn how a character's tactics reveal who they are under pressure--and how their changing tactics reveals their growth.
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In this episode, Stu and Chas turn their gaze to the “tactics” that characters use in scenes to get what they want. Tactics are how the characters try to achieve their goals and (we reckon) can be revealing of the essence of their character. The shifting and thwarting of tactics can make scenes more dynamic; while over the course of a story, the changing of tactics can reflect the growth of characters... even if their goal stays the same… →

KEY IDEAS

Subtext Emerges From Character Tactics

"I don't think Tony Gilroy sat down and said I'm going to write the best subtext ever. This scene evolves so beautifully from the tactics that the characters are adopting."

— Chas Fisher (00:39:07) · DZ-120: Subtext is Overrated!

Revealing Truth Through Tactical Necessity

"What are you trying to achieve? What is their tactic in revealing the truth of themselves? What is it they want that they've been left with no other recourse other than to reveal the truth of themselves?"

— Chas Fisher (00:07:35) · DZ-120: Subtext is Overrated!

Tactics and Revelation: The Core of Character

"It's just tactics and fear. It is how are you trying to get what you want and what are you willing to reveal to the people in the room."

— Tom Vaughn (00:05:27) · DZ-120: Subtext is Overrated!

Aggressive Waiting

"It's an almost a kind of aggressive waiting, if that makes sense. So whoever has the kind of nerve to live with that tension long enough will be the one who wins. It's a great character beat to have someone who is impatient, foolhardy, furious, angry, slighted, to show them really wanting to act. Just, they have to just do something, but what they actually have to do is wait. And they hate it. And that's a nice little -- yeah. That's a nice way to develop character."

— Damon Young (00:16:28) · DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

Kairos

"There's this notion in Greek culture and philosophy, ancient Greece, that is called kairos, which essentially means the right time. And the right time is different to sort of chronological time, clock time, ticking time. The right time is a kind of felt sense for the right moment. And you can't know ahead of time when that will be. You can't assign a clock time to it. You just have to wait until you know it's right. It's a kind of more organic time."

— Damon Young (00:19:34) · DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

Spent Action

"I'm taking advantage of the moment of that exhaustion when they have the least degrees of freedom. You know, it's going to take them so long to start again. They're already in distance because they've committed to their cut. Everything's going wrong for them. Their sword is as low as it can possibly be. They're going to have to pull it all the way back up and start again."

— Damon Young (00:35:13) · DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

First and Second Intention

"The first intention is not fakery. So if your first intention, for example, is to hit someone with a straight oblique cut to the left side of their head, if they do not parry that or get out of the way, you should 100% cut them on the left side of their head. That is your first intention. If, however, they parry that, then your second intention should be to mouliné around their blade and cut them to the right side of the head. But in both cases, you need to be completely committed. And if you're not completely committed, your first intention's unlikely to work anyway, because they'll know. They'll know that it's a fake."

— Damon Young (00:43:32) · DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

Even More

DZ-120: Subtext is Overrated!

How do character goals, tactics, and fears create subtext automatically?
AI✦Tom’s core framework treats tactics as the on-page, visible choices characters make to pursue their goals, and subtext emerges from the gap between tactic and true objective.✦
⏱ 1h 54m
1 AUG 2025
Listen if you're struggling to write subtext without it feeling forced!
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Or, how focusing on good drama will result in good subtext. We often hear how subtext is important for good screenwriting. We’re here to tell you it isn’t. Good subtext is a result of good drama, and your focus should be on creating that good drama. But how… →

DZ-100: Scenes through Swords

What scene-writing tools can be learned from martial arts?
AI✦Damon explains how feinting and leaving yourself vulnerable are tactical choices characters make to manipulate their opponent’s response, directly analogous to how characters strategize within a scene.✦
⏱ 1h 0m
29 MAY 2023
Listen if you want to know why the distance between two characters matters more than what they say.
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In this slightly unusual episode of Draft Zero (but also incredibly on brand), Stu and philosopher-swordsperson Damon Young discuss how the lessons they have learned from martial arts can be applied to scenes. In particular, they discuss how approaching an opponent in a sword fight can be analogous to how characters approach conflict, such as: the distance between the characters, who chooses to engage first, how to feint, how to lure an attack by leaving yourself vulnerable, etc… →

DZ-31: Tools for Better Dialogue 1

How does dialogue serve to reveal character?
AI✦The episode treats dialogue as a tactical tool characters use to get what they want from one another in a scene, evident in the scene breakdowns from THE AVENGERS and REMAINS OF THE DAY.✦
⏱ 2h 5m
10 APR 2016
Listen if your want your dialogue to individualizes characters, reveal characterization, and shift status!
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Chas & Stu are joined once again by the renowned script developer and producer, Stephen Cleary. In the first part of our series on writing better dialogue (there will be more!), we take a close look at how dialogue serves character: individuating characters, revealing characterisation, shifting status, and much more… →

DZ-8: Status Transactions

How does a shift in status or power reveal character?
AI✦Characters reveal themselves through how they pursue, defend, or surrender status within a scene, making tactics the operational tool Stu and Chas use to track these power negotiations.✦
⏱ 1h 32m
10 JUN 2014
Listen to make your character relatinships more dynamic.
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Stu and Chas explore an idea they both came across studying theatre: status and by extension (or juxtaposition) power. Is a story where a character changes status or experiences loss (or gains) in power more compelling… →

DZ-109: Talking DIRECTLY to your audience

What are the different ways a filmmaker can ask something of the audience?
AI✦Stu connects what a character communicates directly to the audience with the tactics they choose to get what they want, making lying itself a tactical choice that differentiates characters.✦
⏱ 1h 20m
1 MAY 2024
Listen if you've wondered what a character actually wants when they're talking directly to the audience!?
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DZ-108: The Emotional Event with Judith Weston

How and why should every scene have an emotional event?
AI✦Judith uses tactics as a lens for understanding how characters pursue what they want in a scene, and the hosts examine tactical choices in the Oppenheimer, Casino Royale, and Past Lives scenes to uncover emotional movement.✦
⏱ 1h 37m
31 MAR 2024
Listen to understand why a scene's power lives in what shifts between characters, not what happens to them.
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DZ-103: Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite

How can games elevate dramatic scenes?
AI✦The episode examines how a character’s available resources and skills directly impact which tactics they employ within the game, distinguishing between referees, rule lawyers, rule makers, and rule breakers.✦
⏱ 1h 42m
1 OCT 2023
Listen to understand how games force characters to interact and reveal themselves (through competency, decisions, and rule-breaking)
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In part two of this two parter, Stu and Chas go further into the game (of the scene) and look at how games force characters other than the protagonist to interact. We deep dive into the wonderful social satires of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS and THE FAVOURITE… →

DZ-29: Showdowns & Scene Structure

What can fight scenes - whether physical or verbal - teach us about structuring any scene?
AI✦Each character in a fight--whether throwing punches or insults--pursues a specific tactical objective, and understanding what each combatant wants in the moment is what makes the scene land.✦
⏱ 1h 41m
25 JAN 2016
Listen to discover how fight scenes can be great inspiration for writing any kind of showdown (verbal or otherwise)
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In exploring how to write good fight scenes, Stu and Chas compare how writers structure memorable showdowns - both verbal and physical. Fights vs arguments. Swords vs insults. Lightsabres vs passive aggressive subtext. To do this, they analyse the showdowns in EASTERN PROMISES, ROB ROY, THE FORCE AWAKENS (yes, yes, we finally let Stu officially discuss Star Wars), A FEW GOOD MEN, BREAKING BAD and BEFORE SUNSET… →

DZ-0: Welcome to Draft Zero

What, exactly, is Draft Zero?
AI✦Chas specifically discusses ‘how tactics can improve a scene and reveal character’ as one of the granular craft elements that distinguishes Draft Zero from broader structural instruction.✦
⏱ 9m
1 FEB 2014
Listen if you're new to the podcast and want to understand our philosophy on screenwriting craft!
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Welcome to Draft Zero. A message from 2019 to those starting with our first episodes dating from 2014. We’ve learned a lot in five years. So where do you begin… →

DZ-42: One-Shot - Character Worldview & Macro POV in SPLT

What screenwriting lessons can be we learn from SPLIT?
AI✦Though covered in lesser detail, the hosts examine how characters’ individual tactics within the contained space reveal their distinct worldviews and motivations.✦
⏱ 1h 52m
26 APR 2017
Listen when you're writing a twist and need to earn it through point-of-view rather than surprise alone.
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In our first (and perhaps last) one-shot, we take a close look at the M. Night Shyamalan’s SPLIT. Rather than having one topic with many examples, we use the one example to look at many topics. Well, okay, a few topics… →