Scriptwriting
Everything about writing scripts for film, TV, and theatre.
Writing crime scripts: the difference between TV procedural and film noir
These two forms share a genre but almost nothing else, and confusing them is one of the most common problems I see in crime script submissions here. **TV Procedural (think: any police or forensic drama):** - Plot driven. The case IS the story. - Characters are defined by their function in the investigation - Episodic: each chapter/episode can largely stand alone - Resolution is expected. The audience wants the crime solved. - Dialogue is functional: exposition delivered through scene **Film Noir (think: Chinatown, Double Indemnity, classic and neo):** - Character driven. The case is a lens for the protagonist's pathology. - The detective figure is compromised - morally, emotionally, or both - Linear but spiralling: each act makes the protagonist worse off - Resolution is often ambiguous or pyrrhic. Justice is not guaranteed. - Dialogue is stylised. Characters talk around what they mean. The question that separates them: is the crime the point, or is the crime a context in which we understand a person? For Sproker scripts specifically: if you're contributing to an existing crime story, identify which mode it's operating in and match it. The Midnight Tribunal, for example, is clearly noir - don't write a chapter that treats it as procedural.
Formatting scripts for collaborative writing: a practical guide
I write primarily in script format on Sproker and I've noticed a lot of people are confused about how to format correctly, especially on collaborative stories where you don't know who set up the format conventions in the early chapters. Here is the short version of standard screenplay format: **Scene headings:** INT./EXT. LOCATION - TIME Always caps. Always slugline. "INT. KITCHEN - DAY" not "the kitchen, daytime." **Action lines:** Present tense, third person, visual only. Write what the camera sees, not what characters think. **Character names (before dialogue):** Centre, caps. Include (V.O.) for voiceover, (O.S.) for off-screen, (CONT'D) if interrupted. **Parentheticals:** Use sparingly. Only when the read is genuinely ambiguous without direction. "He says sarcastically" is usually a sign the line isn't working. **Page count:** Approximately one minute per page. A chapter submission here should aim for 3-7 pages (scenes), not 30. For Sproker specifically: because we're writing chapters collaboratively, establish your scene clearly at the opening. Don't assume the reader knows where we are. And respect the format the previous chapter set - if the story is using British English and calling it EXT. instead of INT. in unusual places for effect, continue the convention. Happy to answer formatting questions.