Also known as industry format · standard format
Industry screenplay layout aligned with Writers Guild practice — margins, element spacing, and revision conventions readers and production offices expect on a submission-ready PDF.
Formatting will not sell a weak story, but broken formatting can stop a read. Managers and coordinators trust industry PDF norms for margins, element spacing, and page count as a pacing signal. Plot targets those norms so your pages look like the screenplays they already know how to skim.
WGA formatting is a layout convention, not a special file type. Fountain or FDX can both produce a WGA-shaped page when exported correctly. Obsessing over obscure edge cases matters less than clean sluglines, readable dialogue, and a page count that matches the story you are promising.
Revision conventions -- colours, asterisks, locked numbers -- sit in the same professional family once a draft is in production. For specs, focus on the clean continuous look. For shooting drafts, follow the office's revision rules so your PDF behaves like a production document, not a literary pamphlet.
No -- it is a layout convention for how a screenplay PDF looks. Fountain or FDX can both produce a WGA-shaped page when exported correctly.
No. Clean formatting removes friction so the story can be judged. It is necessary professionalism, not a substitute for character, structure, and voice.
Plot targets industry PDF norms for element placement and pacing so page count behaves like a standard screenplay readers already trust.
Some TV templates add act breaks and different page targets, but core element layout still looks like a screenplay. Follow the show's template when you are in a room; use standard feature layout for most feature specs.
