Page Craft Widows & orphans
One lonely word on its own line costs you a full line of page — and makes the read look sloppy.
Page Craft Rhythm on the page
A script is read before it's shot. White space is tempo.
Page Craft Walls of text & the 4-line rule
A reader skims a block of 8 lines. Skimmed action is invisible action.
Action Lines Kill the adverb, show the action
An adverb tells the actor how to feel. A verb gives them something to play.
Action Lines End passive voice in action
Passive voice hides who's doing what. On screen, someone is always doing something.
Action Lines Unfilmables
If the camera can't see it or the mic can't hear it, it isn't in the movie.
Action Lines Directing on the page (without camera directions)
'CLOSE ON' and 'PAN TO' tell the director how to do their job. Direct with the words instead.
Dialogue Dialogue pacing
Great dialogue is short, overlapping and always fighting for something.
Dialogue Subtext vs. on-the-nose
People rarely say what they mean. Characters who do sound like robots.
Dialogue Distinct voices (and Voice Lock)
Cover the names. Can you still tell who's talking?
Dialogue Parentheticals: less is more
Actors cross out wrylies. Use them only when the line would be misread without one.
Character Character arcs: want, need, wound, lie
Plot is what happens. The arc is who it happens to — and how they change.
Character Character introductions
You get one line to make a reader cast your character in their head.
Scene Craft Scene structure: enter late, leave early
Every scene is a mini-movie with a goal, a conflict and a turn.
Structure Three acts, and where they really break
Structure isn't a formula. It's where the audience's patience runs out.
Structure Setups & payoffs
Anything important at the end should be planted early — and anything planted should pay off.
Format Scene headings done right
INT./EXT. LOCATION – DAY/NIGHT. Nothing else. Consistency is professionalism.
Format Transitions, montages & intercuts
CUT TO: is implied. Use transitions only when they mean something.
The Business The first 10 pages
Most readers decide by page 10. Many by page 3.
The Business Loglines that sell
If you can't say it in one sentence, the reader can't pitch it upstairs.
