The Screenwriter App Screenplay Test
You've finished the test! Here's how you scored:
Your script is 21% 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've read my script backwards, as well as forwards.This is a great way to weed out plot inconsistencies. By starting with the last scene and then working backwards, your linear story-telling functions are befuddled, and quite often mistakes in plotting jump out at you.
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.
I try to put one shot per paragraph of action.
By breaking up your action paragraphs so each line/paragraph is one single shot, you can tell the visual story in a clear and concise way.
Multiple actions or shots within one paragraph make it harder for the reader to understand what's going on and for the crew to decide what needs to be shot.
My action sections are littered with expletives.
This is really just a call-out to be sensitive to all the other people that will read your script. Most would accept bad language from characters, but a lot of swearing in your action sequences just makes you look potty-mouthed. Others may find that offensive.
My character and place names are consistent.
We've all done it; got half-way through an edit and thought of a more appropriate name for a character or location.
Did that happen in this draft? Have you removed all the references to the old names? It's one surefire way to confuse readers if you haven't.
My dialogue is littered with multiple exclamation marks!!!
If you listen to people when they talk, they rarely get agitated enough to exclaim something in a way that would need an exclamation mark if it were written. Yet, we all have a tendency to overdo the dialogue in our scripts. Read your dialogue aloud when you write it. Does it require three exclamation marks after it, or would one, or even none, suffice?
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.”
The FADE IN: on the first line of my script is on the right-hand side of the page.
This is a minor thing, but it does aggravate many readers and tends to call out the pros from the amateurs.
The first FADE IN: of a script should be on the left. The logic being that this isn't a proper transition, as there is nothing to FADE IN from.
The final FADE OUT: should on the right (the logic slightly failing there, but hey!). If you are using professional software like the Screenwriter app, Movie Magic Screenwriter or Final Draft, this will be positioned for you.
I have checked the screenplay for typos.
Really, there are no excuses here. Run that spellchecker and weed out those typos.
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.
My script has the words 'CUT TO:' at the end of every scene.
Putting CUT TO: at the end of the scene is redundant. It's the end of the scene, of course you are going to cut to something else. All you've done is add an extra page to your screenplay of useless information. Get rid of them!