by Trevor Mayes | Aug 16, 2019 | Formatting, Modern Craft, Text Messaging, Writing |
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...
by Trevor Mayes | May 7, 2019 | Formatting, Modern Craft, Writing |
What’s a naked slugline? Actually, even before that — what’s a slugline? A slugline is just another word for a scene heading. A naked slugline is a scene heading that has no action line(s) after it. It just sits there, exposed… then goes...
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 | Mar 11, 2019 | Modern Craft, Writing |
You might be a U.K. screenwriter if… We have to cut the British some slack because their accents are dead sexy and they… well, invented English. But even so, when it comes to breaking into Hollywood — where living too far away from Los Angeles can be...
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 | Jun 13, 2018 | Modern Craft, Style, Writing |
Efficiency Screenwriting is all about efficiency. Maximum impact with the minimum number of words. So one of my biggest pet peeves is when I see the following in scripts: She shakes her head no. There are two big things wrong with that action line: Why is the word...
