Screenwriting : Screenwriting Tip: Use shorter words by Maurice Vaughan

"Mic" instead of "microphone" is another example.

There may be times when "television" and "microphone" should be used instead of "TV" and "mic." Example: A person may say "television" or "microphone" because of the way they talk (the unique way that person talks throughout the script).

Hi, Dan. One "ok" (or a few) won't change page count, but if you have "okay" many times throughout a script, it will take up more space on pages than if you just had "ok."

Changing "okay" to "ok" (or "television" to "TV") throughout a script will help cut down on page count. And if it doesn't cut down on page count, it may give you more white space on a page.

Learn to write clean and tight. Avoid abbreviations in your narrative but they often fit nicely in the character's dialog.

So the two extra letters in "okay" takes up space? I write out the entire word in dialogue. If your page count is high, it's probably because of other unnecessary dialogue or scene descriptions.

In dialogue, I can see where you'd use "mic" instead so we get a feel for the character. If in description, I'd write it out. Ok and okay sound the same so spell it out.

But this is a good post because I have used ok and mic and changed them in my scripts.

Thanks, Christine Capone. I try to find ways to make as much white space as possible. Changing "okay" to "ok" (or other words) helps; even if it creates a little white space. Every word and every piece of white space in a script are important.

Totally! I know that white space is important.

Great post! does it bug you as much as me when you press period and it moves to another line? I can spend a looooong time trying to get that bad boy back on the above line!

I do the same thing, Jon. I spend time rewriting action lines so the last word doesn't get pushed to another line.

Be careful with this in dialogue as actors might not know what the abbreviation means. John August shared a funny story on Scriptnotes once where an actor read something like "50mph" as "Fifty Umpf".

Spell it all out for them. Even number sequences so the rhythm/use is right eg "Turn one-eighty" vs "Turn a hundred and eighty" vs "Turn one-eight-zero".

In my last produced script, there was a little confusion in development over the common pronunciation of "Roth IRA". Someone thought it was normal to say "Roth eye-rah" while some say "Roth eye-arr-aye" and thus it was written as "Roth I.R.A" in the script to make it clear which way we preferred the actor to pronounce it.

CJ if the action is written correctly then the actor should know to say mic and not mick. Same thing for turn one-eighty. And doesn't everyone say Roth eye-rah. Roth Eye -arr-aye is the irish republican army. The actors need to have a clue, in my opinion. I mean fifty umpf??

I'm sure there's terms that could catch us all out. On my first movie, almost all the American actors didn't know what "erm" meant in the dialogue as Americans tend to say "umm" instead.

The point is to be clear and not make any assumptions. It may not always be worth the saving on space and, if a term is used wrongly during shooting, could be a real problem.

We did research the Roth IRA thing and went with how the financial consultants on YouTube say it. The fact there's any debate only goes to prove the point I'm making.

Not debating. I'm just saying how I've heard it pronounced.

You can say it either way.

JFC.

Thanks for sharing, CJ. I didn't think about that (the actors might not know what the abbreviations mean).

You don't have to be a jerk CJ!

You're more than welcome, Maurice. I think you have given a great tip but it's best only applied to action rather than dialogue.

And I don't think it's appropriate to say that on this site.

I'm pretty sure we're good to say "Jamaican Fried Chicken".

Unless you assumed the abbreviation meant something else?

I know it meant something else. Please.

I was just saying that it could be said either way but he had to bring Jesus, I mean chicken, into it.

Oh the things we learn on S32.

Yeah, sure that's what it means.

Stop worrying about page count. Stop worrying about "abbreviations" stopping worrying about stuff that doesn't matter. No one cares about any of that stuff. The only thing that matters is the depth of the story and how your characters get from point a to point b. That's it. Everyone is worried about the wrong thing.

Sometimes I wonder why I haven't logged on for a while, then I read a few posts and I remember.

John August shared a funny story on Scriptnotes once where an actor read something like "50mph" as "Fifty Umpf".

Then the screenwriter is dumb for writing it incorrectly.

Spell it all out for them. Even number sequences so the rhythm/use is right eg "Turn one-eighty" vs "Turn a hundred and eighty" vs "Turn one-eight-zero".

Depends on the context, if its a Military Soldier, he might say "Turn one eighty, ok squad, on me" If its a posh, stiff upper-class character, he might say "I would be most appreciative, if you could be so kind as to turn one hundred and eighty degrees at the next set of traffic lights"

In my last produced script, there was a little confusion in development over the common pronunciation of "Roth IRA".

Its common knowledge to space the letters in those instances, like this: I R A or F B I. etc. Some tips there for you, CJ Walley.

Brevity is key to good writing after all.

Who has the time to peruse an article chock-full of extraneous adjectives and adverbs after all? But trimming down individual words sounds like a symptom of struggle; as if out of desperation to fit far-more in far-less page space. I've been there. You're not alone. Your Page Count sky-rockets above the intended 120 page limit you intended for and you really don't want to trim down all the goods; all those great quotes, character moments, lengthy action descriptions, etc.

But that's the purpose of multiple drafts; filtering down the fat and some of the muscle until you have shiny bare bones on display.

Nicely put, Brad.

Depends on needs of the producer and team involved.

J.O.