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Script Proofreading
Is Your Logline Too Vague?
First things first If you’re not sure what a logline is or why it’s important, I recommend you read this logline primer. Here’s the key takeaway: A logline is a sentence (or in rare instances — two sentences) that captures the essence of your screenplay in the most...
INT. and EXT. Sure You’re Using Them Correctly?
This one's easy, right? Not so fast. Everyone knows that when you use INT. in a scene heading, it means "interior" and when you use EXT. in a scene heading, it means "exterior." That much is straightforward. But what happens when you want the subject matter to be...
What’s More Important: Script Idea Or Execution?
Idea vs. Execution I subscribe to a number of different online screenwriting groups, and one of the most common pieces of amateur advice I see is this: It’s not the idea that matters, it’s the execution. Well, I’m here to tell you, that’s categorically FALSE!...
An Easy Way To Understand Theme
What is theme? If there’s one aspect of screenwriting that confuses people more than any other, it’s theme. To be honest, it confused me for the longest time as well. And that’s because people who write about theme tend to get all philosophical and flowery in their...
Writing With A Partner – One Thing You Must Consider
Pros and Cons All the usual pros and cons exist with any partnership: Pros You have someone to share the workload with, bounce ideas off of, complement any gaps in your skill set, etc. Cons You may be at different skill levels, have unresolvable disagreements, or may...
Peeve Of The Week (4 of 4)
Week 4 The final week of pet peeves! Again, these aren't just words or expressions that bug me for some reason -- they're mistakes I see so commonly when proofreading that they've become pet peeves of mine. For the big finale, I have not one but three writing...
Peeve Of The Week (3 of 4)
Week 3 This is a good one. And by good one, I mean a mistake I see all the time that drives me crazy. There's mistakes See anything wrong with the above subheading? It should be: "There are mistakes," right? You wouldn't say, "There is mistakes." And yet somehow this...
Peeve Of The Week (2 of 4)
Week 2 Before I jump into Week 2's pet peeve, I need to make a point of clarification. These items aren't simply preferences; they are mistakes. Full stop. The reason they're pet peeves of mine is because I see them so often in scripts. Such is the case with this...
Peeve Of The Week (1 of 4)
Week 1 I proofread a lot of scripts. Some mistakes I find drive me batty. And if they drive me batty, odds are they'll do the same to other readers (i.e. gatekeepers). None irk me more than this pet peeve, but I've already written about that one. So for the next four...
How To Properly Indicate Characters Yelling
Barking up the wrong tree Sometimes, it's the easy things that can trip you up in a script. Take yelling and screaming, for instance. Seems like it would be an easy thing to indicate, but there are some common problems I'm seeing in scripts that are derailing what...
Quick Tip: Writing Dialogue Interruptions
Streamline Screenwriting is all about streamlining things. Any redundancies have to go. Such is the case with interruptions. And I'm seeing this mistake a lot: DON'T DO THIS TED Gloria, I can't be in all places at onc-- GLORIA ...
Text Message Formatting
Superman, I defy you! I'm a big fan of David Trottier, AKA "Dr. Format" and his books, "The Screenwriter's Bible" and "Dr. Format Tells All." I'm also really impressed by Christopher Riley's book, "The Hollywood Standard." Between the two of these legends of...