Ask Phil: Formatting Feelings
This week, Phil Stark, screenwriter turned therapist, answers a question about breaking industry standard screenplay formatting rules and whether developing your own formatting style will hurt your chances of getting past the “gatekeepers.
Many of the problems we face as screenwriters are related to the reality of the craft: third act structure, navigating notes, character development, the pitch process, etc. At the same time, there are personal and emotional issues that influence the practical work: imposter syndrome, the inner critic, shame and anger, professional jealousy, etc. I have the screenwriting experience to address questions about the practical aspects of the work, and the therapy experience to explore the personal and emotional considerations that inform the work of screenwriting.
My email address will be at the end of every column, so please send in your questions and comments about life at the intersection of screenwriting and mental health. It’s a busy intersection!
Dear Phil,
I’m struggling with script formatting. I know there are industry standard formatting rules, but in my writers group we still argue about the proper way to format scene description or slug line or dialogue. I feel like I’m developing my own style as a screenwriter, but I’m also afraid that a reader down the line will see that I formatted my slug line in an untraditional way and think I’m an amateur and throw my script away. Thoughts?
Signed, Formatting Feelings
Dear Formatting Feelings,
Yes, I have thoughts. One of the first things we learn about screenwriting is how a script should look. Of course, nowadays the software does it for us, but as we learn how to write a screenplay we begin to appreciate why a script is formatted the way it is, and understand we’re all working with the same rules. FADE IN and FADE OUT should only appear at the beginning and end of your script, you must include the time in your slug line but only by saying DAY or NIGHT, characters talking in a scene have to be mentioned in the action line of that scene, etc. There are certainly certain rules.
I like that you’re developing your own style, Formatting Feelings. I think it reflects your growth as a writer. We start out learning the rules, and once we’ve learned them, we learn to break them. That entails both the content of a screenplay and the formatting. We begin to develop our own style, which often involves writing things in a different way, messing around with action lines, stage direction, dialogue, or in other words, breaking the rules, which doesn’t always go well with everyone.
The rules exist for a reason. We need to know if a scene is Interior or Exterior, we need to know which characters are in a scene, we need to be able to convey to the reader what we want them to see on screen, and there are rules to ensure this. So when we convey the information to the reader in a different way, we’re breaking the rules. But what if we’re still conveying the information we need to the reader? That’s the whole point of the rules anyways. For some people, the end goal doesn’t override breaking the rules to get there.
So I encourage you to develop your own style while incorporating the reasons behind the rules. But what about this gnawing sensation, this fear that, for all the thought you’ve put into it, some unnamed reader or producer or agent’s assistant will disagree with your approach to formatting and hold it against you? Now we’re getting into Imposter Syndrome, which I think we all pretty much understand and can define in our own way, and which for me is specifically the doubts about my own talent and ability that I project to the people around me. In this sense, of course, we’re concerned with following the rules about screenplay format because we don’t want people to doubt our skills and talents, especially with the added stakes that our careers and financial success depend on it!
This is where, from a mental health point of view, it helps to distinguish between the work and the feelings about the work. You seem to have a good handle on knowing the rules, the reasons behind the rules, and how to break the rules in terms of script formatting, Feeling Formatting. It makes sense you might lie awake at night imagining a reader enjoying your latest spec but grimacing in pain when they see you’ve written WE SEE one too many times, or god forbid mentioned THE CAMERA, and tossing your script in the trash can remorselessly. I’d encourage you to instead imagine the reader enjoying your fresh take on writing an action scene, appreciating the way you wrote it, and putting your script in the “Million Dollar Spec Deal” stack. Both takes are just as unrealistic, but one is more fun to think about!
Therapist and screenwriter Phil Stark answers reader questions about topics at the intersection of screenwriting and mental health. Got a question for Phil? Email him at starktalktherapy@gmail.com
Phil Stark is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Los Angeles. He is also an author and screenwriter, with credits such as Dude, Where’s My Car?, That ‘70s Show, and South Park, along with a book about talk therapy, Dude, Where’s My Car-tharsis?. Learn more about Phil at starktalk.net.
