Screenwriting, in plain language

An open, plain-text markup for screenplays. Light conventions — scene headings, character cues, dialogue — keep the file readable in any text editor while still carrying structure. In Plot you write normally; Inkwell understands the structure as you type.

The line that opens a scene: interior or exterior, location, and time of day — for example, INT. KITCHEN — NIGHT. It orients the reader and anchors production breakdowns.

The descriptive prose of a screenplay — what the audience sees and hears, written in present tense. Also called description.

The speaker’s name above a dialogue block, conventionally in uppercase — the label that tells the reader who is talking.

Spoken lines under a character cue. In Plot, dialogue is a first-class element — so a dialogue pass can propose line-level changes you accept or reject without touching action you meant to keep.

A short note in parentheses inside a dialogue block — how a line is delivered or a small action during it, e.g. (whispering). Use sparingly.

An editing instruction between scenes — CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, SMASH CUT TO:. Modern specs use them rarely; most cuts are assumed.

Two characters speaking at once, set in side-by-side columns so the overlap is clear on the page.

A run of short beats or shots in quick succession — often under a MONTAGE heading — used to compress time or braid parallel action.

A teaser before titles — common in TV pilots and episodes — that hooks the audience before the episode’s formal act structure begins.

Dialogue heard while the speaker is not speaking on camera in the scene — narration, a remembered voice, a call that is not diegetic in the frame. Marked as (V.O.) on the character cue.

A character who belongs in the scene’s space but is not visible in the shot — calling from another room, speaking just out of frame. Marked as (O.S.) on the cue.

A formatting pattern for cutting back and forth between locations that are playing at the same time — classic phone calls, chases, or parallel climaxes.

Page-break markers that show a character’s dialogue continues onto the next page (MORE) and resumes (CONT'D) — so a reader never wonders whether a new speech started.

A production number attached to a scene heading so every department refers to the same unit — Scene 42 stays Scene 42 after a lock, even if pages shift.

A time-of-day marker on a scene heading meaning the action picks up immediately from the prior scene, with no time jump. Often abbreviated CONT. in production drafts.

A scene or sequence set in earlier story time. Scripts mark the shift with FLASHBACK (or similar) and return with BACK TO SCENE or a clear present-day slugline.

Text or graphics laid over the picture -- titles, dates, locations, captions. On the page, commonly written as SUPER: or SUPERIMPOSE: followed by the overlay copy.

Final Draft’s native XML format — still the file many coordinators, studios, and production tools expect. Inkwell imports and exports FDX so a Plot draft can enter and leave a Final Draft workflow without rewriting by hand.

A shooting draft whose page and scene numbers are frozen so every department shares one numbering scheme. After lock, changes become marked revisions instead of silently reshuffling the whole script.

The WGA colour sequence (white, blue, pink, yellow, and onward) used to mark each revision pass on a locked shooting script so the set knows which pages are current.

Inserted pages on a locked script that avoid renumbering everything after them — material between 27 and 28 becomes 27A, 27B, and so on.

The first locked generation of a shooting script — white paper (or the unmarked digital baseline) before coloured revision rounds begin.

Industry screenplay layout aligned with Writers Guild practice — margins, element spacing, and revision conventions readers and production offices expect on a submission-ready PDF.

The production draft: scene numbers, locks, and revision marks — the document departments schedule and shoot from, not the clean selling draft.

A screenplay written on speculation — no deal yet — meant to sell the story or showcase craft. Specs usually skip production numbering and camera direction.

The first episode of a series — the script that proves characters, tone, and the engine that can run for seasons. Often the draft a room or network judges hardest.

The first page of a script submission: title, writer name, and contact — not story. It should look calm and professional, not like a poster.

A professional reader’s report on a script — logline, synopsis, comments, and a verdict such as Pass / Consider / Recommend. Inkwell’s Coverage skill produces a structured self-review in that industry shape.

Excerpt pages of a script prepared for a specific day, audition, or work session -- usually only the scenes and lines the actors or crew need, not the full book.

A scene removed after lock that keeps its number in the continuum, often marked OMITTED, so later scene numbers and department references do not reshuffle.

A short outline of a story’s key moments — the beats — used to plan structure before or during drafting without writing every scene yet.

A present-tense prose summary of the story — usually a few to several pages — used to pitch and develop before a full script exists.

One or two sentences that capture protagonist, conflict, and stakes — the shortest honest pitch of the story.

A compact prose telling of the full story — including the ending — used in coverage, applications, and pitch materials.

A single-page pitch document: logline, short overview, and why the project matters now — used to open doors before anyone reads ninety pages.

The turn that ends an act — a cliffhanger or reversal in TV, a major structural shift in features — that re-aims the story’s pressure.

The event that breaks the protagonist’s ordinary world and forces the main story to start — early, concrete, and hard to ignore.

A major turn near the middle of the story that raises stakes, flips power, or reveals a truth — so the second half is not a repeat of the first.

A secondary plotline running beside the A-story — often relationship, theme, or a contrasting character thread that pressures the main pursuit.

How a character changes — or meaningfully refuses to change — across the story, measured in choices under rising pressure.

A late-pass rewrite focused on line quality, clarity, and rhythm — not a page-one reconception of the story.

A ground-up rewrite that rebuilds the script from a new structural plan while keeping what still serves the story — not a line edit.

Actors reading the script aloud around a table — no cameras, minimal blocking — to hear pace, jokes, and confusion before you lock a draft.

The team that breaks story, drafts episodes, and revises together. Rooms need shared drafts, clear history, and a way to try parallel takes without losing accountability.

The living reference for a show — characters, world rules, tone, arcs, and continuity the room consults while writing episodes.

A unit of change in a scene or story -- a shift in tactics, information, or emotion. On the page, BEAT can also mark a short pause before the next line or action.

Story information the audience needs -- who people are, what happened before, how the world works. Strong drafts dramatize it; weak drafts dump it in speeches or captions.

A craft rule: dramatize meaning through action, image, and behavior instead of labeling emotions or themes in dialogue or description. Telling has a place -- just not as a shortcut past drama.

A common story shape: setup (Act One), confrontation (Act Two), and resolution (Act Three), with major turns at the act breaks that re-aim the protagonist's goal and cost.

The writer-producer who runs a series creatively and operationally -- final say on story, scripts, and often tone across the writers' room, production, and post.

A setup early in the story (the plant) that returns later with new meaning or consequence (the payoff). The audience feels clever -- and the turn feels earned -- when both halves connect.

Feedback on a draft -- from a room, producer, manager, or peers -- meant to improve story, clarity, or market fit. Giving and receiving notes is a core development skill.

A system that records distinct versions of a document you can compare and return to — in Inkwell, through save points, draft lines, and readable structural changes.

A document model built from typed blocks — paragraphs, headings, lists, embeds — instead of one undifferentiated page. Canvas uses blocks so outlines, history, and skills can target real sections.

Export and import between Canvas documents and Markdown so headings, lists, and code blocks survive without flattening your structure into plain paste.

A navigable view of headings and sections in a long Canvas document — the long-form cousin of a screenplay scene list.

A Canvas block that embeds a Plot screenplay scene inside a broader document — so research or notes can point at real script pages.