The Screenwriter App Screenplay Test
You've finished the test! Here's how you scored:
Your script is 55% good.
Before you submit it to any readers, take some time to review the report below and amend your script accordingly. Then retake the test...
Your screenplay report
I have read all of my dialogue out loud to see if it sounds OK and is easy to say.This should be a standard part of your screenwriting development. Read your dialogue out loud or, even better, have someone read it out to you. They will have no preconceived ideas of how you intended it to be written. What sounds great in your head often sounds terrible when spoken.
As Harrison Ford once quipped at George Lucas across the studio, “George! You can type this shit, but you sure can't say it. Move your mouth when you're typing.”
I have more than five parentheticals (wrylies) in the whole script.
Actors don't like to be told how to act. They like to get into the character and respond in natural ways. If you try to specify how they are to deliver a line through the use of wrylies, you will get their back up.
The only real legitimate use of wrylies is if the character is deliberately acting in a specific way that affects the story, or to clarify who is saying what to whom.
My script has camera directions in the action paragraphs.
Most directors and cinematographers will want to put their stamp on the film. Also, the eventual set may be nothing like how you imagine it in your head, which will also dictate what options the crew have. Unless you intend to shoot the film yourself, there's no point specifying camera moves.
However! You can be subtle about it. Using the 'one shot per line' rule, you can surreptitiously control what gets shot. For example, 'Water spills onto the computer,' would instinctively be a close-up.
The word 'we' regularly appears in the action sections of my script. (for example, 'We see a huge spaceship fly into frame').
The word 'we' is always redundant. Remember, your script is a blueprint, it should be as concise as possible.
Just stick to the facts and describe them as simply as possible. Instead of 'We see the robot move across the room,' simply say, 'The robot moves across the room.' It's far more direct and keeps the reader in the story.
I used a professional screenwriting tool, such as the Screenwriter app, Final Draft, Celtx or Movie Magic Screenwriter, to format my script
What?! Download the Screenwriter app right now! It's a fraction of the cost of the big screenwriting packages and will format your script professionally. There should be no reason to use a standard word processor.
My script has a lot of action paragraphs that are more than three lines long.
The screenplay is a blueprint. If you have lots of dense paragraphs of action, it makes life difficult for readers, the crew, and director to figure out what's going on.
Stick to the 'one shot per line' rule. It will make the script far more readable, and force you to think in terms of what both what the viewer will see on the screen, and what the crew have to shoot to achieve that.