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Formatting

Dots, Dashes and Parentheticals

July 8, 2019 Formatting, Words on the page

Small punctuation difference affect how the reader interprets interrupted screenplay dialogue.

Rules and Plans

Episode - 385

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January 29, 2019 Arlo Finch, Follow Up, Formatting, Pitches, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss when and how to break screenplay orthodoxy, from experimental formatting to narrative misdirects. They also examine why it’s important that your characters create, communicate, and break plans.

Writing Memorable Dialogue

October 9, 2018 Adaptation, Arlo Finch, Film Industry, Follow Up, Formatting, How-To, Indie, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page

John and Craig have a dialogue about dialogue. They discuss how thinking about memorizing lines can help write them, and how to service quieter characters in a scene. We also answer listener questions about adapting plays for the screen, creating a different experience for your reader than your viewer, and whether to trust sketchily worded […]

Why Highland 2 doesn’t automatically add CONT’D

September 4, 2018 Formatting, Fountain, Highland

In screenplays, when a character continues speaking after a line or two of action, the convention is to write (CONT’D) after their second character cue. But software shouldn’t do that automatically.

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