by Trevor Mayes | Sep 2, 2019 | Action Lines, Dialogue, Modern Craft, Writing |
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...
by Trevor Mayes | Aug 27, 2019 | Dialogue, Modern Craft, Writing |
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– ...
by Trevor Mayes | Apr 10, 2019 | Dialogue, Modern Craft, Writing |
What and When? For some reason, the different initials that can appear after dialogue cues trip up a lot of screenwriters. Let’s have a look at what each one means and when the appropriate time is to use them. O.S. (Off Screen) O.S. is used when a character is...
by Trevor Mayes | Feb 19, 2019 | Dialogue, Modern Craft, Parentheticals, Writing |
(beat) it Sometimes you need your actors to pause in your script. One of the common ways to convey this action… or rather, inaction, is to use the word “beat.” Here are three ways that people typically misuse BEAT: 3. At the beginning of a dialogue...
by Trevor Mayes | Feb 11, 2019 | Acronyms & Abbreviations, Dialogue, Words, Writing |
Screenwriting is Weird There are tons of “rules” in screenwriting that take a long time to figure out. Many of these so-called rules are shibboleths or leftovers from a bygone era that are handy at weeding out the amateurs from the pros. However, most of...
by Trevor Mayes | Jun 25, 2018 | Dialogue, Quick Screenwriting Tips |
Quick Screenwriting Tip: Don’t use abbreviations in dialogue. Abbreviated words like “Dept.” and “Sen.” are confusing in dialogue and force the reader to stop and think, however briefly… which is bad. Is it “Deputy” or...
