If you want to be successful at screenwriting, you must first master the screenplay format. Screenplays look very different on the page than novels and have length requirements. If your script doesn’t look right, it won’t be read. Period.
It should also be the right length. Screenwriting novices often make their scripts too short or too long. They should be between 90 and 120 pages. If a dash is too short or too long, it will be discarded without further consideration. Period, end of story. It may seem unfair and petty, but you have to behave like a professional to be treated like one.
The left margin should be 1.5 inches, which leaves room to drill holes for brass brads that hold the script together. The right margin is one inch. One inch margins at top and bottom.
Use only Courier or Courier New 12 point font. The reason for this is that filmmakers use a rule of thumb that one page of a script equals one page of screen time. Using different sources would make that rule unreliable.
Begin your script with the words FADE IN: in the left margin, one inch from the top of the page.
Scripts are written in scenes, not chapters. Every scene begins with what is called a slugline that establishes where and when the scene takes place. Sluglines start with INT. (indoor) or EXT. (Exterior). Next, indicate the specific location followed by a hyphen and the time of day. This is what the slugline looks like:
INT. ONE CLASSROOM – DAY
Then unfold two lines and describe who is in the scene and what they are doing. The first time you introduce a character in your story, their name must be in ALL CAPS. After that, use traditional capitals. For example:
ALICE WALKER, in her twenties, dressed in a budget suit, stands at the blackboard, writing math problems in the empty classroom.
Start the dialog at 2.5 inches and end at 6 inches. Character names in dialogue are in UPPERCASE and set to 3.5 inches.
If the dialog jumps to the next page, place (CONTINUED) below it. Begin the next page with the character’s name followed by (CONT’D) on the same line.
There are more rules to the screenwriting format, but these will give you a good start.
If you’re really serious about a career in screenwriting, consider investing in screenwriting software. The two industry standards are Movie Magic Screenwriter and Final Draft.