Also known as MORE · CONT'D · continued
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.
On the page
CONT'D
MAYA (CONT'D)
(MORE)
MORE and CONT'D are pagination aids in professional PDFs, not creative choices. They tell a reader that a speech continues onto the next page and then resumes, so nobody mistakes the top of page two for a brand-new cue. Plot and industry exporters add them when a speech splits across a page break.
Manually typing MORE or CONT'D into action or as fake cues is a common beginner tell. It also fights the exporter, which may insert the real markers again and leave you with duplicates on the PDF. Draft the dialogue cleanly; let pagination machinery handle the seam when you print or export.
In locked production drafts, these markers still matter because sides and table PDFs break in awkward places. Your job is clean speeches and correct cues; the production office cares that a continued speech is labeled so nobody skips a mid-sentence pickup when the scene finally shoots.
No in normal drafting -- your editor or PDF export should insert them when pagination splits a speech. Manually typing them into action is a common beginner tell.
It signals the same speech is continuing after a page break (or after an interruption block, in some house styles). It is a continuity mark for readers, not a new performance instruction.
House styles differ. Many modern specs omit CONT'D after a short action break in the same speech block. Follow one consistent rule inside a draft rather than mixing styles.
Often they are export-time pagination artifacts rather than something you author as story text. Worry about clean dialogue elements; let the PDF layer handle page-split labels.
