I read this in the A-List Screenwriting's newsletter. I'm not a writer but I found it helpeful.
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Here are the 10 most common mistakes (in no particular order) that I've seen screenwriters make in their scripts. Of course, one or two gaffes might not hurt your chances of success, but a script riddled with them will mark you as a rank amateur - and your uphill battle just gets steeper.
THE DASH
This is one of screenwriting's biggest workhorses - and one of the most misused. To make a proper dash, type a double hyphen. This method is a holdover from the days when scripts were created on those antiquated machines called "typewriters." You must place a space on either side. Note: Take care that a dash is not left hanging on a line by itself.
THE ELLIPSIS
Another workhorse, equally misused. It's always three (not four, not two) periods or dots... and there's never a space before it (so that it's never left hanging by itself)... but always a space after it...
THE PERIOD
Double-space after each period. This is the standard, if only because it's more Reader-friendly. And as you must know, you want that Reader to love you.
CAPITALIZATION
Only certain words should be capitalized in scripts. That's because capitalization serves a specific function. A good stylebook can tell you what should - and should not - be capped, but until you buy one here's a general guide (based on the mistakes I see most people make):
1. Don't capitalize props.
2. Don't capitalize a character unless he or she speaks.
3. Cap all sounds and the things that make them. Don't cap sounds that an onscreen character makes. But if the sound happens offscreen, cap it.
Sadly, many of the scripts I edit suffer from what I call the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome. Writers cap words arbitrarily - as though doing SO somehow MAKES the writing PROFOUND. You see WHAT I mean? After awhile the words lose their intended emphasis.
CHARACTER NAMES
Character names must be consistent throughout. If, for example, you introduce a GRUMPY OLD NURSE, the character name over her dialogue must be GRUMPY OLD NURSE each and every time - not GRUMPY NURSE or OLD NURSE or just NURSE.
Too many times a writer will introduce a generic character - someone without a proper name - then use the same generic name for a number of different characters. For example, a screenplay set in the business world. JAMES has a SECRETARY. His business rival, MARY, also has a SECRETARY, who's obviously not the same person as James's secretary (unless he or she is some sort of double agent). See the problem? The solution is to differentiate them as JAMES'S SECRETARY and MARY'S SECRETARY. Or give the poor old secretary a name, especially if he or she has a fairly substantial role.
If you do use a generic name, you must capitalize the first letter in each subsequent reference. Thus, if you introduce a GRUMPY OLD NURSE, he or she becomes Grumpy Old Nurse in all action (direction) thereafter.
SHOT HEADINGS
Consistency also applies to shot (scene) headings. Once you've designated a place as JOE'S APARTMENT, you can't just call it APARTMENT later in the script. And never use an article - the, a, an - in a shot heading. Thus, don't write THE APARTMENT.
SHOT HEADINGS - THE SEQUEL
Too many times a writer forgets where he or she is. For example, we're told that we're INT. CAR, where Joe invariably "grips the wheel tightly as he speeds along." Then, without any warning, Joe "slams on the brakes, leaps from the car, and dashes into the house, where he throws open the fridge, grabs a pint of blood, and guzzles it." See the problem? We've just dashed past two missing shot headings: EXT. CAR and INT. KITCHEN. Watch where you're going, and tell us every step of the way.
TIME ELEMENT
Many style mavens take a minimalist approach to the time element in a shot heading - that is, whether it's DAY or NIGHT. I've joined that camp, too. Thus, once you've established the time (for example, DAY) you don't need to repeat it in each shot that takes place during the day. Just tell us when it changes to NIGHT.
So that means you don't need to tell us when it's DAWN, or MID MORNING, or AFTERNOON or MIDNIGHT, unless for some reason you require it for the story's sake. Even then, if MIDNIGHT is your witching hour - when the hero turns into a kumquat - a simple NIGHT will suffice. Besides, your action should show us that it's midnight, such as Big Ben tolling 12.
While we're at it, if you've done your job you don't need LATER, CONTINUOUS, or SAME. All of those time elements are assumed... unless you've reworked Memento in a multiverse where everyone speaks backward except on Tuesday. In that case you might want to help us along.
PARENTHETICALS
Most of the time a parenthetical isn't necessary. If you've done your work - which means rewriting your dialogue for the umpteenth time - then you don't need to tell us that Joe delivers the following line angrily: "I'm gonna kill you, you freakin' piece of offal." But if there is some doubt about how to say the line and thus do need a parenthetical, at least make sure that you've used it correctly. That means that it sits on its own properly indented line, below the character's name and above the dialogue to be spoken. And it's never placed after the dialogue. Again, a good stylebook has all of the rules. Among them: Don't cap the first letter.
CONT'D
No one uses CONT'D for a character who speaks twice or more in succession. Turn that off in Final Draft or Movie Magic. But don't turn off the MORE and CONT'D when dialogue breaks across two pages.
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David Gillis was a journalist for more than 20 years, including 15 as an editor on the Living/Arts and Business copy desks at The Boston Globe. He has written for newspapers and magazines nationwide. His screenplay The Gray Ghost won the Fantasy Genre Prize in the 2007 Screenwriting Expo Screenplay Competition. He offers several proofreading services for screenwriters.