If you are dyslexic or have real difficulties with spelling, grammar etc, I would strongly advise you to get someone else to do your proof-reading as well as you – but not instead of you even if this is the case, proof-reading should be a vital part of your creative process.Īpostrophes, their / there / they’re, etc. (Some writers seem to think writing ‘Draft 17’ on their script will demonstrate an impressive thoroughness – whereas I think it is more often a hostage to fortune – ‘You’ve written 17 drafts and still haven’t picked up on the 7 typos on page1?!’) Somehow your script will look different on the printed page and you will spot things you won’t have spotted on your computer screen. If possible, it’s always a good idea to print the pages out when you are proof-reading. Proof-reading is always more than just proof-reading – it’s about editing, honing and, above all, improving the script. The first draft you submit professionally should have been re-drafted and re-drafted until you are confident it’s as good as it can be (without driving yourself mad). This is a vital part of the creation of your script. The BBC Writersroom script library is an invaluable resource! Some instantly send the wrong signals – if there are page-long blocks of action or endless ten page two-handed dialogue scenes. Some scripts instantly look professional and reassuring in the way they are laid-out, in the balance between dialogue and action. The more screenplays you read, the more confident you will be in writing your own, and the more you will think about what works and what doesn’t work in the way you present your story on the page. It’s a convention of screenwriting that you don’t include camera moves, angles, shot sizes, etc in the writing. What to include in the ‘action’ (what we more usually refer to as the ‘directions’ – but I think referring to it as ‘action’ is a useful reminder that the best directions are dynamic) thinking about the balance between dialogue and action (what do the best scripts look like on the page?) and becoming more adept and confident with the minutiae of scriptwriting software (eg dual dialogue, transitions within scenes, transitions between scenes and how to describe these on the page – there are decisions to be made, for instance about whether to include ‘CUT TO’ at the end of every scene – probably not necessary). ![]() What you read will inspire and inform your writing, in terms of creativity but also, importantly, in helping you to think about how you present your story on the page. You need to read the best screenplays to learn how the best storytelling works on the page (and even the less good screenplays are helpful to read). ![]() ![]() There is no substitute for endless reading and writing. Would you attempt to write a novel if you’d never read one? And yet I regularly receive scripts from writers who have clearly never read a screenplay.
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