Hey all. So I've downloaded the Celtx format. Cool. When I type the dialogue or stage directions, do I have to keep going up to the top and clicking on character, dialogue, direction etc? Also, is the character's name written next to the dialogue or on top (as in a screenplay?) I'm confused, scared and excited. Which means I should go eat some chocolate.

BBC writersroom offer some good tips for formatting plays. Usually the format varies slightly depending on where you look, which means reading the guidelines for whichever theatre/organisation you're sending your plays to.

if this is a first draft of your play, then I would personally consider trusting your instincts on the layout. In a first draft the format shouldn't be dominating your flow for content, especially in a situation like script frenzy. Keep it simple and clear.

Good luck with your play!

Thank you. I just need to put pen to paper and get on with it. Good luck to you, too.

Check out the formatting and commentary on this site. It is one generally referred to when I have entered competitions. Every possible senario has been covered.

M
www.vcu.edu/arts/playwriting

Hiya. I'm using Celtx too, and there's one thing that's bothering me that I can't find addressed on the 'how to' resource.
Celtx insists that you hit enter and start a new line after you've typed the character name and before you type the dialogue. Eg

SAMANTHA
Hello, how are you today?

(but with the dialogue line indented slightly- my knowledge of html doesn't stretch far enough to show that here!)

Where as I'd thought the layout would be

SAMANTHA: Hello, how are you today?

(character name and dialogue on the same line)

My concern about this is that if I manage 100 pages using this 'extra line' format, will the Screnzy counter immediately remove it and potentially almost halve my page count?

Second-day-smiles to all :-) x

Your character name should be centered and the dialog goes on another line....as do parentheticals and stage directions.....

HENRY
(insistently)
Go – enjoy it Maggie . . . I’d like to spend some time with Martha before she falls asleep.

If you look at the programs offered for money or as freeware, you will find they all use this format. The word count bots should not be halving your page count for the standardized formatting.

As an aside...I probably wouldn't use the parenthetical (insistently) because it is implied with the dialog Go - enjoy it Maggie.

Interesting......the spacing holds in the message window, but disappears when the message is previewed or posted.

In many professionally printed scripts, I've seen the format of

Character: (Movement or Action) Speech.

It's only on Script Frenzy that I've seen the

Character
(Action)
Speech

Format. Although, this may be a result of professionally printed scripts attempting to conserve space, while drafts don't need to conserve space, and so they use this format in order to get a certain flow into the script. I may just use the professionally printed style. I don't really want to have to figure out the whole format thing and then change it up a bunch.

Most acting editions (the slim versions that actors carry with them during rehearsals) have the dialogue under the character's name. Academic or literary versions, the thick kind that students and teachers carry with them to class, try to conserve space and put the dialogue next to the character name. This way is tougher for actors to read- makes it hard to find your dialogue, as it's all run together.

Putting the character's dialogue under the character's name is the best way to do it. Don't just use center alignment, though... you want to create a tab at about 3.5 inches from your left margin. That way all the character names line up down the page, making them easy to see and distinguish. If you use center alignment instead, they don't line up because each name is likely a different length. Serendiptee's site rocks! Use it! And that it helps your page count, well... that's cool, too!

I love Celtx, since it makes formatting a breeze. I found you can use "tab" button to switch between Character, Dialog, and Parenthetical, but you'll have to select for Scene and Acts. (As I just found out.)

Also, the program has a way of storing your character's name for future reference, so when you type the character's name, it'll appear with a selection. Have fun and experiment. The tabs at the bottom of the window are helpful--like Title Page and Index Cards for keeping you on track. ^_^

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. (And chocolate is always a good idea.)

But with Celtx, be careful when using saved character names. Hitting enter when you've typed a partial character name or a misspelled one will add it to your master catalog of character names (after you save).

Best to check it after every couple saves to make sure you are removing any extra/unwanted entries there.

I have a character named DOTTIE. I will often type DO and then hit enter to auto-fill the name. "DO" has been added to often as a character name. It's probably the most inconvenient function of the program.

Soooooo...let's say one has been innocently and unintentionally doing the formatting "wrong," as in inserting spaces between both characters' names, AND actions, AND characters' speeches--example:
-------------------
PETUNIA

(Throwing the book across the room)

I don't care if I did do it wrong! I'm not doing it over again, so there!

-------------------
Obviously, this results in more pages than the play would otherwise have attained unto.

At such a point, should one's conscience force one to go back, reformat everything and get a more accurate count? Or should one merely continue to write, but with the inner, wrenching knowledge that one's total page count is in fact only about half of one's "validated" output--and perhaps forcing oneself to write an extra 100 pages or so as compensation? On the basis, of course, that one NEVER edits or "goes back" during the Script Frenzy event proper.

At the risk of a dreaded Orange Page in Typewriter icon (topic is sticky) for this forum (and rainning down the wrath of the page-count obsessed): Script Frenzy sucess could be about writing scripts which satisfy oneself - without worrying too much about how the pages were counted. You only need concern yourself with the standard for page counting if you are striving for the certificate as your primary objective. As for myself: I finished the first draft of one of my plays on Sunday! Needless to say, I already feel like this has been a huge sucess. (Yes, I'm working on another play!)

edgewritermom,

Too funny! You didn't do it intentionally. I'd leave it and count yourself a winner. And like TN says, enjoy the success of actually writing. Keep writing. Make it what you want. (You can edit and reformat later. But from here on out, I'd try to do what's "right.")

good luck.

TNScribe said:

"Script Frenzy sucess could be about writing scripts which satisfy oneself - without worrying too much about how the pages were counted. You only need concern yourself with the standard for page counting if you are striving for the certificate as your primary objective."

And Saipanwriter said:

"Too funny! You didn't do it intentionally. I'd leave it and count yourself a winner. And like TN says, enjoy the success of actually writing. Keep writing. Make it what you want. (You can edit and reformat later. But from here on out, I'd try to do what's 'right.')"

Good points! Thanks! When my play becomes an international best-seller, I will mention you guys in the credits.

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