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SCREEN SIGS
Participation guidelines

Bringing some pages to the group? Make it easy for your fellow writers to enjoy and critique your work by following these guidelines:

Number your pages.

Set your margins to the standard for your genre.
No shaving the margins to squeeze in extra pages!

Use a 12-point standard font
Usually Courier or Times New Roman.

Staple or clip your pages together.

Follow standard screenplay format.
Your Gilmore Girls, sitcom, or action feature script should look like contemporary scripts in your genre. There are many good screenwriting software packages on the market, but if you're in doubt, go to Book City (Burbank) or Script Sales' Examples and look at a published script similar to yours. Want to save your cash? Check scripts out from your local library for free.

Highlight the characters' parts.
Character parts should be highlighted, underlined, or otherwise marked to make it easier for readers to find their places.

Bring enough copies.
Most writers are visual, so they need to read and hear your script to comment intelligently. When every writer has a copy, he or she can write comments on your draft as your work is read. That saves you time too, since you don't have to jot down all the notes afterwards. Plan on bringing 10-12 copies, but check the Evite to find out how many people plan to attend.

Break long works into logical segments.
It's fine if you bring less than 10 pages! We are not the Page Police. One 2-page scene is okay, discussing a character's arc is okay. But if your scene or act ends at page 8 and the next scene is 6 pages long, save it for next time! When you bring the next installment, be sure to include a brief explanation of where the text falls in the script, in case we've forgotten. We will occasionally consider more than 10 pages, depending on time constraints.

Bring story ideas, character arcs, and other non-written material.
Plan to tell the group your idea as succinctly and coherently as possible. If you have questions you want to ask the group, prepare them in advance.