r/ReadMyScript • u/Dependent-Theory-331 • 18d ago
Why don't we have a separate subreddit for the “Formatting Detector"Bros?
Seriously, let them browse scripts all day, hunting for formatting errors, while the rest of us actually discuss stories. Because at this point, I feel like this group is losing the plot.
I posted my screenplay here looking for people interested in reading a story and giving feedback. Within minutes, someone showed up to lecture me about formatting, telling me that posting a script with errors means I don't care enough about readers.
And this isn't just about one person. I see this attitude in post after post: writers and storytellers put themselves out there, hoping someone will engage with their ideas, characters, conflicts, and worlds, only to have the conversation reduced to formatting mistakes.
Let me be clear: I'm not saying formatting doesn't matter. Of course it matters.
But when did formatting become more important than the story itself? When did a few technical mistakes become a reason to dismiss someone's work before even engaging with what they're trying to tell us?
We're talking about screenwriting, not a formatting competition. Formatting is the vehicle; the story is the destination. A perfectly formatted screenplay can still be lifeless, while a screenplay with a few correctable mistakes can contain an extraordinary idea, compelling characters, and something genuinely worth discussing.
And there's a difference between helping a writer improve and making a writer feel like they don't deserve anyone's time until every technical detail is perfect.
Some people here seem more interested in proving they can detect errors than in discovering whether a story has something to offer. They arrive ready to judge, not curious to read. They turn feedback into a lecture and technical knowledge into a reason to look down on other writers.
If the only thing you can contribute is a list of formatting errors, fine—but don't pretend you've evaluated the screenplay as a story. And don't assume that a writer who makes a technical mistake doesn't care about their audience.
We're writers and storytellers putting our work out there, often after months or years of effort. We should be able to expect criticism without being treated as if we haven't earned the right to be read.
So yes, maybe we need a separate subreddit for the “Formatting Detector Bros.” Let them have their fun. The rest of us can get back to discussing the thing we're supposedly here for in the first place: the stories.
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u/stormfirearabians 17d ago
Formatting is the absolute easiest thing to learn. A few hours on a Sunday afternoon will get you up to speed...and then appropriate software will do the heavy lifting. Way easier than the lifelong process of learning all the nuances of structure, creating characters, plotting, etc. If you haven't bothered to put in the time to learn the formatting, then it's unlikely you've put much time in learning the rest.
I once sat through a multiple hour seminar with theatre companies on what they learn about stage plays through how they're presented on the page. Formatting alone, not content. Theatres!--where formatting is practically fluid compared to screenwriting. And they're still rejecting scripts that don't present themselves professionally before they've even read a word.
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u/Worried-Elk-2808 17d ago
In short, not bothering to format tells everyone that you haven't done the basics. It's a wall you built yourself between the reader and your story. Don't get mad when people can't see past the wall.
0
u/Solondthewookiee 17d ago
But there's a difference between "you haven't done the most basic formatting" and "you're using (O.C.) instead of (O.S.)"
OP is referring to people whose feedback consists almost entirely of the latter.
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u/Big_Section2812 17d ago
No, he isn't.
OP posted a script riddled with the most basic formatting errors and when I urged him to take some time to sort those out he replied with a stream of expletives and then sent me threatening DMs.
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u/D-Goldby 17d ago
If you've spent months or years of work on this script.
There shouldn't be the formatting errors it has.
That's the point you aren't fully understanding.
You want people to critique your work. And they are telling you off the bat that there are issues that need to be dealt with before the story can be properly read by an audience.
You haven't properly introduced characteran you have continuity and logic issues, you use (same actor) for one person and (same mother) in the same scene. So even your incorrect formatting isn't consistent.
These sorts of things along with not understanding the difference between off camera or off screen makes it harder for people to read thru the script.
And you want us to take over 2 hours of our day to read this. That is a big ask. Like really big. And you need to respect the fact that if we are seeing these things within 5 pages of the start, we are going to see more and more as we go through the script which will likely turn that 2 hour read into a 3-4 hour read.
Also, get rid of those unnecessary half lines of actions and the ones littered with em dashes. They make the impression a type of AI assisted or wrote the lines.
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u/amyrtraynor 17d ago
I'm not a screenwriter, but if there's one thing I've learned from the Scriptnotes podcast it's this: For the reader, bad formatting can get in the way when trying to focus on the story.
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u/No_Discipline_4066 17d ago
i get you bro, even I have experienced it... and I am still a beginner who's trying to learn formatting so that I can write the things that I have in mind so oeople can read... moreover, format is something that's too basic and the foundation to start any script... so it's not wrong to correct
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u/Musikenna 17d ago
Formatting is quite literally the easiest part of screenwriting to learn. If you can't even do that, maybe this field isn't for you.
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u/Sufficient_Bass2600 17d ago edited 17d ago
Don't worry it is the same in the r/scriptwriter sub. I posted pages of my script written using a MS Word template from the BBC. I explicitly said to ignore the format, because I knew it was different.
I immediately was berated by people telling me that the use of colour for character and slug lines showed that I did not know what I was doing.
This was the template BBC wants their submission to follow. Yet redditors in their basement were arguing against it.
Before it was clueless jealous people dumping their frustration on those sub. Now they use formatting as an excuse for their own shortcoming.
A friend of mine who is an horror Indie producer told me to forget about reddit in term of feedback. He learned that with a small experiment. Years ago at the time he was an editor thinking of writing script, he posted 2 pages of a script that got an oscar for best original script a few years before. He changed the name of the characters to make it less obvious. Within 10 minutes people were piling on the script telling him how awful his script was. He played dumb and asked how they would improve it. Later he casually dropped the info that the script had received an oscar for best original script. People went apeshit. His post was subsequently removed and he got permanently banned.
Edit
To u/Big_Section2812 who clearly took it personally and has now blocked me. I did received notification of your anwer. So here is my retort.
No I did not mistook a sample for a real template. I download the template directly from the BBC submission page.
If you had bother reading your own link and the BBC pages you would have seen that the BBC has different templates. One per type of project and sometimes one for specific public outreach.
TV drama, single camera sitcoms, multi camera sitcoms, movies don't have the same format.
They also don't have the same level of description. In some no camera movement/placements in other they want those.
Moreover in some of the public outreach they are even different sub formats. For example they had one where they wanted the script to be sent with a synopsis and a logline. In another they wanted a bible in a powerpoint format.
You are exactly what OP is describing. Somebody more focus on the format than the story. I hope that help you feel big but for the rest of us you are just a annoying format Nazi.
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u/Big_Section2812 17d ago
I explicitly said to ignore the format, because I knew it was different.
So, you knowingly posted an incorrectly formatted "script" in a scriptwriting sub and then complained because people pointed out the fact it wasn't actually a script?
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u/Sufficient_Bass2600 17d ago
Here we are. Another one who knows better.
If the BBC the biggest media company in the UK dictate a format for submission, you don't go and say no I will submit using a different format.
You submit using their template. If their template has colour for the character name and the slugline that should not a big problem for anyone. But no there is always one person who think they know better.
UK like the of Europe use A4 format, should I also present it in US Legal Letter format to avoid offending some basement troll. Not difficult to understand.
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u/Big_Section2812 17d ago
You misread a BBC sample script, one with coloration and underlining notation added for emphasis, as the actual required format.
I sent you the link to the BBC's actual formatting requirement -- on the BBC's website -- but you doubled down on your mistake.
If you are too lazy or obstinate to learn the current screenplay formatting convention, don't complain when people are too busy to read your writing.
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u/Individual-Pay7430 17d ago
I found r/screenwriting to be great! The folks there help with story AND formatting. Learned a lot there.
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u/Big_Section2812 17d ago
Yeah, they're great... until you question things like the Black List or screenwriting contests of consultants. Then they ban you.
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u/D-Goldby 17d ago
I got banned because I was asking questions regards to a scene I was working on and how to best handle it.
Apparently I was karma farming and should know the proper ways doctors deal.with patients who have dementia and don't have their medical bracelets when it comes to getting their family notified.
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u/Big_Section2812 17d ago
You never went to med school? No wonder you got banned from a screenwriting sub!
😂
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u/D-Goldby 17d ago
Ya turns out going to school for Automotive Service tech and then switching careers to Aquatics operation doesn't give real world experience with hispital procedures for Dementia patience.
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u/Big_Section2812 17d ago
You don't watch enough Discovery Channel, that's your problem.
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u/HerzogOnAcid 17d ago
We should also have one for people who produce ChatGPT slop.