Run a spell-check. All it takes are a few mouse clicks, but it is surprising how few writers do this. Spelling errors may be interpreted as carelessness on the part of the writer.

Marvel Schebler Aircraft Carburetor Service Manual. And if the writer doesn’t care, why should the reader? Consult by Judith H. Haag and Hillis R. Cole, Jr., CMC Publishing 1989. Considered the final authority on format, this book offers many more examples than space allows here. Some people say times have changed, and script formatting is now less bound by rules than it once was.

The truth is that Industry standards really haven’t changed. Ignore them at your peril. The first line of text should appear on the seventh line from the top of each page. The bottom margin varies, according to the rules for where it’s permissible to break a page, but the target is between half an inch to an inch. Two spaces should follow the punctuation at the end of each sentence. (Don’t confuse this with double-spacing the lines, which is done only in three-camera television shows.) Keeping sentences separated by two spaces, not just one, makes the script easier to read. Two spaces also follow a colon.

Underscore for emphasis instead of using bold or italics. Print your script on only one side of the page. Double-sided printing may save paper and make your script appear slimmer, but readers tend to find it awkward and annoying. It takes twice as long to turn a page, which may result in the perception your script reads slow. Try to keep it under 120 pages, but no shorter than 100 pages. Longer screenplays used to be more acceptable. (The final draft of Chinatown, for example, was 145 pages.) However, the trend is toward shorter, punchier scripts.

Download the free trial version below to get started. Double-click the downloaded file to install the software.

The rule is a page per minute. Comedies tend to be shorter than dramas. Don’t cheat by narrowing your margins in an effort to shorten the page count. The standard width of a dialogue element, for example, is 33 characters. Narrower margins make it more difficult to estimate the running time.

Even worse, a wide swath of dialogue forces the reader to spend more time on each page. This may also convey the impression your script reads slow. View a, with guidelines for setting your margins. Use the standard pica line spacing of six lines to the inch. While word-processing software may permit you to compress the lines to fit more text on a page, closely spaced lines are harder to read. What’s more, tight spacing will throw off the estimated running time. The top “CONTINUED:” and bottom “(CONTINUED)” should be omitted.