35 quick edits to improve your script’s writing style in 24 hours or less.

A reader knows from the very first page whether the writer knows how to write. It’s clear from the dialogue, formatting and writing style. It’s clear from the way the writer chooses how to put the images they want the reader to see down on the page.

However, there are quite a few mistakes and odd stylistic choices that we see writers make again and again. Mistakes that pro writers don’t generally make.

Go through your screenplay, cutting all of the following writing style mistakes and make it feel more professional in one day or less.

1. Strange/awkward acting demands.

Often it’s clear what the writer intends with phrases like these, but another way needs to be found to get the action or emotion across. Always aim to direct actors as little as possible and let the circumstances of the scene suggest how they should play it.

Very often this means simply leaving out any specific instructions on what they should do with their face or body.

2. Car porn.

Unless you’re writing a Fast And Furious-style movie in which high-end car makes could be important, leave these kinds of descriptions out.

There’s a difference, however, between car porn and naming a car as an additional way of showing a character’s personality. This description from Sideways is a good example of the latter:

3. Missing hyphens.

If you’re prone to leaving out hyphens, brush up on how they should be applied and make sure you get them in your scene description and dialogue. The above examples should read like this:

4. Writing style full of clichés.

A good way of catching many cliches is to simply ask yourself if you’ve seen or heard that particular phrase before? If the answer’s yes, take another look to check if it’s a cliché.

Do a Cmd+F search on your script for these most common offenders in spec scripts, all of which involve eyes for some reason: “his eyes widen” “her eyes narrow” “he rolls his eyes”.

Also, do a search for the phrase “like a…” as anything that follows could well be a cliché.

5. Summarizing action.

A writing style like this indicates the writer has forgotten that film is a visual medium. Everything you put down in the description will be visualized by the reader, and so missing out action and summarizing instead always leaves the reader confused.

Either use a MONTAGE or add in the missing action or dialogue.

6. Unnecessary repetition.

Repeating either a word or phrase or a character’s action means you’re taking up valuable real estate on the page, while also giving the reader the impression you’re not aware of it and so aren’t fully in control of your writing style.

7. Half-finished words.

It’s best not to cut off words like this as it looks odd on the page and often leads to confusion. Write out the whole word add some ellipses and leave it to the actor to decide how to trail it off mid-sentence.

8. Naked sluglines.

A slugline should usually be followed by description of some kind. Otherwise, it’s “naked” and the scene hasn’t been properly established.

9. Stating the obvious.

Again, this feels like redundant writing because it’s clear in the reader’s mind what’s happening, but the writer is feeling the need to spell everything out anyway—in effect, twice.

We know, for example, that if someone’s staring at someone it’s in their eyes, or if they’re pacing it’s on the floor, and so this writing style can definitely be tightened up.

10. Ellipses overload.

Ellipses can be effective, but use too many of them and they can slow down the read and start to feel like overkill.

11. Parenthetical extravaganza.

An overuse of parentheticals means you’re again over-directing the actors, which they’re not too fond of. Instead, give them room to insert pauses or beats where they see fit.

12. Purple prose writing style.

An overly descriptive, flowery writing style like this belongs in a novel not a screenplay. Keep things simple by cutting all instances of purple prose like this.

13. Restrictive character descriptions.

The problem with detailing physical features in descriptions is that you’re ruling out many actors who could play the role. It’s always better to stick to a character’s actions, overall style, attitude, clothes, make-up, etc. in order to clue us in on their character.

14. Mixed emotions.

Lines like these are simply confusing, both for the reader and the actor. Pick just one emotion that you want to get across in any given moment.

15. Impossible/unrealistic acting demands.

As with mixed emotions, these actions are pretty much impossible for any actor to pull off.

Make sure you always put yourself in the actor’s shoes when telling them what to do and think “How would I play this?”

This should help prevent coming up with impossible feats for them to perform.

16. Missing full stops.

Some writers forget to include full stops in their sentences and break up long paragraphs into smaller chunks. Don’t be one of them. Give the reader a chance to breathe.

17. Unnecessary sounds.

Sounds only really need to be included if they’re necessary to our understanding of what’s going on in the scene. All of the above examples offer no new information or anything to the scene, so can be cut.

18. Back to front/passive writing style.

A better way to phrase these would be:

Note how the second examples not only feel more active rather than passive but also enable you to more easily visualize what’s happening.

19. Micro-managing actors’ actions.

Both of these examples could be cut back to:

Not every action an actor makes needs to be spelled out. You’d be surprised at how much the reader fills in for him or herself.

20. Overusing character names.

This feels unnatural because in real life no-one uses the name of the person they’re speaking to that often.

It’s a good idea to get the characters’ names out there at the beginning of the script, but if we’re halfway through, there’s no need for everyone to still be bringing up each other’s names in every line.

21. Overly formal language.

This is a big one. So many spec screenplays contain a lack of contractions in the dialogue—we’re, didn’t, they’ll, I’m, don’t etc.—that the conversations just end up feeling unnatural and stilted.

The only time you really want to have your characters talk like this is if it’s on purpose because your script is set in the 1800s. Or you want a particular character to speak in a super formal manner, say, because of their occupation.

22. Basic grammatical errors.

Here’s a quick list of the most common mistakes we see in spec scripts, so make sure you really nail their uses:

• its/it’s

• off/of

• lie/lay

• waits/awaits

• your/you’re

• whose/who’s

• to/two/too

• their/there/they’re

23. Basic spelling errors.

Spelling errors of basic words like lose, breathe, peek, etc. don’t give a good impression either.

No matter how good the script, a reader will automatically begin to question your overall writing ability if it’s peppered with mistakes like these.

24. Similar character names.

When the protagonist’s called Tim, and then we meet his best friend, Tom, and then they both fall for a girl called Tina, you’re unnecessarily confusing the reader.

Likewise, if you have three women in a script named Lucy, Tracy and Wendy. If more than one character name either starts or ends with the same letter, take another look and see if it needs changing.

Similar sounding names often result in the reader constantly having to flip back through the script to check who’s who.

25. Unnecessary exclamation marks.

Exclamation marks look particularly incongruous in dramas, thrillers and horrors and are best avoided in these genres. You can maybe get away with a few in comedy, family or action/adventure scripts, but use with caution!!! (See how over the top that looks?)

26. Omitting character names.

Often characters remain as MOM, APPRENTICE, DETECTIVE, etc. throughout the whole script when really they should be given names. A good rule of thumb to go by is: if a character has more than a couple of lines of dialogue they should be named.

Again, think about your script from the actor’s point of view. They will want to bring as much as possible to their role, but if they’re just the RECEPTIONIST, you’re not giving them much to work with.

Give every single role in the script a sense of meaning and a reason for being there and the actors will thank you for it.

27. Using a writing style that misses out “a” and “the.”

This style can work to a certain extent, usually in action movies like Tony Gilroy’s script for The Bourne Identity, but it can also be overdone.

You may have been told that things look more “screenplay-like” if these words are omitted, but it’s not true. There’s nothing wrong with writing “A car pulls into the parking lot.”

28. Excessive use of MONTAGE and FLASHBACK.

While both devices can be extremely useful tools in a screenwriter’s arsenal, many specs overuse them. Be sure that every MONTAGE or FLASHBACK progresses the story in some way, rather than being used to merely pass time in the protagonist’s life, or having them reminisce aimlessly.

Also, be sure the formatting is clear. There is no “right” way, but it’s important that they’re well-presented on the page. Check out this page on screenplay format for more info.

29. Excess description.

All of this could be written in a much more sparse way that doesn’t spell out every single beat and the actor’s movements. Something like:

This is saying the same thing but in three lines instead of seven. We know Kate is scared in this situation, for example, so we don’t need to be told that she holds a hand to her mouth, or tries to collect herself.

Our Line Edit service is a great option if you’d like a pro screenwriter to go through your script and tighten it up in this way.

30. Incorrectly formatted numbers.

These should be:

All numbers under ten in dialogue should be spelled out as well as numbers at the beginning of a sentence, whether in dialogue or description. Dates and times, on the other hand, should generally be written numerically.

31. Unnecessarily sexualized writing style for female characters.

Unless a woman’s sexuality is essential to her character, it’s best to edit these kinds of descriptions out as they just look gratuitous and slightly creepy.

32. Confusing (O.S.) with (V.O.) and vice versa.

When a character is speaking (O.S.) they’re off-screen, i.e. in the same scene but maybe another room. If they’re talking (V.O.) they’re not in the scene but in a different location altogether and talking in voiceover, i.e. talking on the other end of phone lines, on TVs, or narrating.

So in the above examples, Ted’s dialogue should be (V.O.) and Sandra’s (O.S.).

33. Copyright paranoia.

Yes, it’s a good idea to copyright your script at the WGA West or US Copyright Office, but it’s not such a good move to give the impression you’re paranoid about someone stealing your script.

This is achieved by including WGA registration numbers, copyright symbols, all rights reserved notices, and especially watermarked pages.

Anything more than adding the title of your script and (minimal) contact information can look a little amateurish.

34. Alternating between single and double spacing.

There’s no correct way to use spacings after periods in a screenplay. Some writers prefer single, others prefer double. What doesn’t look so great is continually switching between the two.

Run a Cmd+F search on “. ” (full stop, single space). Then hit Replace with “. ” (full stop, double space), or vice versa. That will make sure they’re all identical throughout the script.

35. Vowel overkill.

You can get away with a few (such as Aaarrgghh!) on occasion because they don’t distort the actual original words, as in the above examples.

To be on the safe side, a better way to get emotions across in dialogue is to simply write the word normally and leave it up to the actor how they want to deliver it. For example, What?! Stop! Fire!

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We hope you found our top 35 dialogue, formatting and writing style mistakes useful. There are many more to look out for, of course, but our general advice is to keep your writing style as tight and clean and as simple as possible. Put the most evocative images in the reader’s mind.

The very best way to learn how to do this is to read professional screenplays.

Download the 50 best screenplays to read, set aside some time every week and see how your style improves over the months as you absorb all influences from the best screenwriters out there.

If you’d like your screenplay reviewed, check out our script coverage services below.

Loved this post? Read more on cultivating a great writing style…

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