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 (interrupting) I'm not asking you to be in all places at once. Just two!
See that parenthetical underneath GLORIA that says “interrupting”? It’s completely unnecessary.
If a person’s dialogue is cut off by two hyphens (as in Ted’s dialogue), we automatically know he’s being interrupted. So there’s no need for the parenthetical.
PLEASE DO THIS
TED Gloria, I can't be in all places at onc-- GLORIA I'm not asking you to be in all places at once. Just two!
Ahhhh. So much better.
Now here’s a question for you: Do you like to put a space before your double hyphens, when used as an interruption. Or do you prefer my method of no space?
I’d say that both are acceptable, but leaving no space seems to make a whole lot more sense to me as it’s more representative of someone’s words being literally cut off.
What about in a stage play. I’ve read that you have the — for the character that’s being cut off, and then the –at the beginning of the interrupter. Is that correct or redundant?
Hi Richard. Unfortunately, I can’t comment authoritatively on stage plays. They’re outside my wheelhouse. Trust your instincts and verify with other stage plays you can get your hands on.
Not sure if this is a live blog, but my issue is when a person is interrupted, they almost always finish their thought/sentence.
So what’s the clearest way to show the full line and mark out where the interrupter begins interrupting? In plays I’ve used/seen double slashes.
GUY
I’m not scared to talk to my boss. There are some battles // that aren’t worth fighting.
DANITA
(interrupts)
Oh my God, you think we’re talking about your job? That’s hilarious.
Hi James, great question! Screenwriting is more hands-off. The actor may continue the line themselves as need be or the other actor may interrupt them earlier so they end at the point of the interruption. The interruption is always indicated by a double dash, and no parenthetical should be used in the following dialogue block.
I’ve seen some screenwriters do some creative things with brackets to indicate the words that are spoken over, but it always comes across as strange and unnecessary. In your example, I would simply use:
GUY
I’m not scared to talk to my boss. There are some battles that aren’t worth–
DANITA
Oh my God, you think we’re talking about your job? That’s hilarious.
That gives the actor who is interrupted enough info to know how the line should be completed and the interrupting actor enough insight to know when they should start to interrupt. The timing can then be refined on set.
Cheers!