The Screenwriter App Screenplay Test
You've finished the test! Here's how you scored:
Your script is 50% 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
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.