Is there any guideline for how long/short a scene should be? Right now my first scene, and I feel really happy about it, is about 4 pages long but that feels really short. Is it really short?

You could try looking at existing scripts. Scenes can be anything from half a page to twenty-something, from what I've seen studying English.

The only guideline I can think of giving is to ask one question: does it do what you need it to do? If yes, then it's fine - My first scene is just over a page long. I wanted it to set the atmosphere and plotlines of the play, and I feel it does - therefore, it's long enough. If you try to flesh out, people will notice - just like in essay-writing, excess information is noticeable.

Hope this helps - if not, I hope someone better experienced replies ^^ hehe

Technically, I think a scene should be as long as it needs to be in order to convey the necessary information. For stage plays (I think it's the same for screenplays--it's my first venture into stageplay writing) 1 page is equal to 1 minute of stage time. So, just realize that if a scene is short, have something that will make it stand out in your audience's mind--like having a very important piece of information explained or conveyed.

This is my first venture into stageplay writing, and I just got back from watching a stage play, so I'm really excited. Good luck. And I hope this answered your question.

Thanks guys! It is basically an intro scene, sets the players and stage for the audience and I don't want it to drag out as it's mostly chit chat hi nice to meet you so i don't want them to start spilling their guts. I'm going to leave it as it is for now! Thanks again :)

I know that none of my scenes are over five pages long, so I'm glad to find this info.

M

All I can say is that mine tend to vary, and are at the moment, quite short.

Mine are varying lengths, too. I'm at page 23 and have 5 scenes--so on average about 4 pages--but in fact one is only 1 (or 1 1/2) pages and is intended to quicken the pace.

Also, I'm writing a musical, so the standard measure for timing a page won't necessarily work, either. The music at times makes the page go faster, and at times go slower.

but it's SF, so I'm not thinking about all these things too much.