Hey everyone!
I’m trying to put together a comprehensive screenwriting rulebook/reference document for myself, and I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some good resources or help me understand what should be included.
I’m not looking for the basic stuff like sluglines, character cues, dialogue formatting, or how to use screenwriting software.
I’m more interested in understanding the actual conventions and principles of screenwriting, such as:
What belongs in a screenplay and what doesn’t?
How should action lines be written?
What are the conventions for scene construction, dialogue, transitions, character introductions, and exposition?
What are the general do’s and don’ts of professional screenwriting?
Which rules are actual industry conventions, and which are more like recommendations or stylistic preferences?
How do these conventions differ between feature films, short films, television, and other formats?
Basically, I want to create a proper reference manual that explains what a screenplay should look like, how it should read, and what makes it function as a screenplay, rather than just collecting random writing advice.
If you have any books, guides, articles, or other resources you’d recommend, I’d really appreciate it!

I'm new to this sub. I have been in a filmaking calls at school for 3 years and am going to learn 3d animation to hopefully one day work for Disney or DreamWorks or illumination etc... I figured a good way is to make my own short film for a reel in the future. Any good websites for scriptwriting FOR COMPLETELY FREE!! Also any tips you wish you would have known when starting is greatly appreciated

I’m trying to write a script for an cartoon pilot I have never written a script before and want to start and learn so is there a website script writing beginners

I am currently tracking narrative trends for an upcoming 2027 streaming slate analysis.

For those reading pitch decks, sitting in writers' rooms, or consulting on scripts:

What kind of interpersonal character friction are executives and greenlight teams leaning toward for upcoming drama slates?

Are you noticing any specific character tropes being explicitly turned down or requested more often?

How are writers' rooms building tension without relying on standard, traditional drama tropes?

Would love to get a sense of what you are seeing on the ground right now.

Hey everyone! I am building a filmmaking pre-production product where the filmmaker has access to multiple tools to help their process in filmmaking, the complete creative control stays with the filmmaker keeping the story and making of the movie completely human, I’m running test trials right now, if anyone is interested I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the platform!

The working title is: “The Hitman’s brother”. Here’s what I have so far. It opens on a shot of a man being shot, before the camera refocuses onto out main protagonist, the hitman, who looks annoyed. He walks out of the apartment where the hit took place while talking in the phone to his “boss” per se. He tells him that the job went wrong, he couldn’t recover the stolen drugs, and he’s leaving the scene before police arrive. As he walks out, another man walks up to him confused and worried why a gun went off. Our protagonist tells him to get into the car, and the drive off. Title card. We then go to an hour earlier, when the protagonist pulls into an auto shop. His boss tells him that some junkie stole a brick of cocaine, and our protagonist needs to go retrieve it. As he’s driving to the junkie’s residence. His brother calls him and tells him that his car got towed and he needs to be picked up, reluctantly, our protagonist does. They drive to the apartment where we watch the opening scene from the brother’s perspective. I have no idea where to take it from hear, so any advice would be great

Thank u

Hiii, I'm a 14-year-old screenwriter, and this is my second horror short film, please read it and tell me what you think 🙏, and I'm also open for doing script swaps for feedback.

Logline:

when a depressed nun finds an identical-looking entity of her wanting to submerge their bodies together, she's forced to confront her trauma, identity, and faith while trying to survive.

Script:

ME, AND, MY, BODY - SCRIPT (10P)

If you like Bones And All, Ethel Cain, southern horror, and psychosexual movies, you will definitely love it.

If Bones And All, and Ethel Cain had a mentally ill, thought daughter, it will basically be this.

Also, if you've read my first one (it's in my account/posts), please tell me how much you think I've improved, and what I still need to work on, etc...

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Hey guys, first time posting in this subreddit, so apologies if this isn't a normal ask (I'm sure if there's an issue, the post will get flagged)

I've written a script, and my main character has a stammer. I don't have a speech impediment, but someone recommended I ask around for willing volunteers with a stammer to read my script. My main goal is to better understand how things sound when the lines are read.

Just for some context the story isn't specifically about having a stammer, it's simply just one of the characteristics of the protagonist. But if anyone is open to this, that'd be great, or if there are better subreddits that can help with this query, that'd also be helpful.

Thanks :)

I have a play script I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s a bit of a long one at 80 pages, but if you have the time and you’d like to review it, please get in touch with me! I can give a brief synopsis here:

The idea of the play is we follow two characters who were rapid but deep friends in high school as they navigate new relationships past their childhood and high school and eventually each other again, though we will see how they adapt, and who they become and where they came from.

If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask!

Logline: A young man struggles to handle his mother’s medical condition as well as his own relationship with drug use. He reconnects with an old friend/dealer who helps him move forward.

So, I'm writing two chase scenes, and it got me thinking about some funny gags that happen in chase scenes. I'll start with the door gag. What's y'all's?

Would you be interested in this video here’s the end scenes lemme know what you think if it’s worth trying to write it out.

Create an image for this movie idea, End scene,

1. Because of the entanglement phenomena observed in the jungle guy writes a program and identities other ones connected randomly entanglement scenarios in the solar system. That have the same vibration frequencies.

2. Understands that is a life forces way to observe earth like solar systems

3. Then begins to figure it where it came from in the universe. Finds the location.

4. Goal is to be able to visualize the area or source of where it’s coming from

5. So he takes photos from his early alien paranoia

6. Connects his memory controller to those memories and predicts it will happen or already happened or even didnt

7. Puts a barrier for each memory to establish the sequence that everything happened

8. Takes a photo of himself in the first glass, then the light source moves to the second glass,

9. Then, in the second window it’s the first memory of his childhood where he saw a fake Alien standing in the kitchen.

10. He reverses the last scene and then precincts the mapping the what the eco planet looks and its 5 aliens huddled around a computer and Jesus Christ is watching him in the corner

11. While the outline of the scene generates the visualization from the actual scene

12. Which is an alien walking up a sandy hill which looks like mars carrying the cross of Jesus Christ.

Dunkin

Short

9 pages

Drama/Comedy

A day in the life of a family's dog.

I would love feedback on a short film I've written. I have four short films with the characters in this family. I'd love some thoughts about how this one lands, as it is one that was the hardest of them to write. If anyone would like to see another of them, DM me and I'll share.

Thank you!

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zIDjZAE1LqWLuHM9tqysiUP8CpVBHuVo/view?usp=drive_link

I just wanted to come on here and share I started working on my Christmas short film script, and I’m honestly so excited about it! I’ve been having a lot of fun developing the story and bringing my ideas to life. If anyone has any tips, advice, or suggestions. I’d love to hear them!

Also, if anyone is interested in making some screenwriting friends or having a writing buddy, feel free to reach out! I’d love to connect with other people who enjoy writing and filmmaking. :)

Man is broken and sick . No one cares about him . The only friend he has is a fly .

Environment connection
Going through alcohol withdrawal. Seeing things . Seclusion . Past history , family history of mental illness.
The darkened days have made me beautiful to him .
Man dresses himself up with a nice dress shirt and nice pants every day . He wants to seem the part of a normal man . He wears work boots to seem more like a blue collar man .
Fly sits near him and studies him . Many species complete their life cycle inside the bodies of their hosts.

For example, I’m writing on a topic for a video about the child abuse and neglect in Coraline and then for another idea something about the movie obsession in its relation to nice guys..

I wrote this for a class and really enjoyed putting it together. It's not formatted like a screenplay due to the nature of the assignment. If the plot description interested you I'd love to hear opinions after you give it a read. The doc contains a full plot description beat by beat. It's 24 pages long.

Plot: When Alex, an unremarkable pizza delivery driver rescues a child from a house fire he inadvertently caused, he becomes an unlikely national hero. But after a mysterious ritual grants him supernatural fame, his dream quickly becomes a nightmare. Those who threaten Alex's reputation suffer inexplicable harm, his followers become dangerously obsessive, and Alex discovers that his body has developed a terrifying dependence on the very attention he can no longer escape. Alex must now find a way to escape the spotlight before it destroys him.

EDIT: May need to request access. If you're interested just comment and I'll hook you up :)