Screenwriting : Quotation marks in scripts by Tom Norton

Songs and movies can be quoted or italicized. Quoting another character can also be in quotes.

CHARACTER

What do you mean by, "I'm a misogynist?"

The real golden rule is to write song titles backwards, i.e. Eriflleh." ;)

Scripts can have quotation marks in a script, Tom Norton. I use them for titles sometimes, text messages, character thoughts in action lines, quotes, etc.

Those last 2 messages were pretty funny.

In all seriousness though, I'm kind of freaking out about such a seemingly small aspect because every single tiny mistake adds up. Heck, I've even gotten paranoid about when you're supposed to use italics!

Tom, no one is going to fault your for putting quotes around a song title, book title. Just be consistent in your script and then "Take The Money And Run" ...

I wonder if in dialogue, the quotations are inferred so when you quote inside dialogue, maybe the one apostrophe quotes kick in? “Our teacher called it ‘the most difficult exam of the year,’” Almir complained to his parents.

C'mon where," Mikey Wikey?

Would putting them in italics work better? There's so much contradictory information about this sort of thing.

"The Screenwriters Bible" might help.

'I wouldn't like to say '

Tom Norton I suggest you stick to (or with) Tom Norton's advice and parrot it along.

Oh, muy macho. What a way with seduction. Whatever it is should be bottled. Make a fortune. hahaha

I’d say go for it. Anyone with the slightest bit of comprehension will understand what you put them in there for.

Stop, stop, I'm all a'twitter.

"In all seriousness though, I'm kind of freaking out about such a seemingly small aspect because every single tiny mistake adds up. Heck, I've even gotten paranoid about when you're supposed to use italics!"

Yeah, because screenwriting communities constantly fester all this fear-based nonsense about what you can and cannot do. Use quotation marks, move on, focus on aspects that actually matter.

That's my man.CJ Walley On one of the courses I attended in Real Estate many years ago, the lecturer challenged the attendees. He asked us "What are you guys selling?" Answers were thick and fast... Houses, blocks of land, apartments... His answer was simple - a dream and all is based on HOPE AND FEAR. The same with any industry. So, do what you wanna do and FTR. If you're desperate, do another job that pays. Otherwise, you could be living in hope and fear for the next twenty years until somebody asks for an option and that would make you feel good. Of course, I tend to exaggerate a little. It's fun.

I use "The Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier for formatting guidance. It would have the details about using quotation marks. In general, I'd use quotation marks in dialogue only if I thought it was necessary for the reader to understand what the dialogue was saying. And I'd err on the side of letting the talent decide how to present it.

For the title of a song (or other work), I would use quotation marks around it. This eliminates any potential ambiguity. The exception would be if a character was discussing a song informally and used part of the title or didn't get it correct.

Dan Guardino Ten hearts for your comment. Ten clicks.

Mike Childress Do you feel that new writers often (yes often) come undone by readers in general.

Thanks Mike Childress I like your analytical style and I say that as a complement. Your answer seems to be very appropriate for this fora.

I know it's easy to want to follow what industry standards want but I've found that produced script have a compelling nature to their script in which they have the uniqueness of their storytelling!

i use quotation marks for irony mainly. for mimicking impressions, i typically just write them without quotation marks because the reader will probably get it

I suggest reading "The Screenwriters Bible" by David Trottier

Mike Childress Excellent!