My brother and I are both in our 20s but today we legit had a 0-100 screaming match over who got to sit in the comfy chair. We’ve been refusing to speak to each other for the last 90 minutes.
I mean, not to turn this into a ‘teachable moment’, but that argument was actually an excellent example when it comes to screenwriting. Two people arguing over a comfy chair are rarely ever actually arguing about that comfy chair.
I’ve read a bunch of scripts lately where characters have stated exactly how they felt and the reasons why they felt that way.
Don’t do that.
Let it bubble under the surface. Shove some subtext in. Have people fucking lose it over a goddamned chair.
Your audience will know it’s not actually about the chair.