: Need clarification on use of M-dash and ellipsis in screenplay, I've seen numerous conflicting sources on this I will try to explain the general idea I've gotten from the most trusted source

Vote Up Vote Down

John August talks about em-dashes and ellipses in Scriptnotes Ep.51 where basically he calls them interchangeable and go with the style you like. However as scripts are written in mono-spaced fonts the convention is to use a double dash for an em-dash.

SF.'s answer is grammatically right on the money, in that an ellipse is a trail-off but an em-dash is a hard break. But such a hard distinction is too pedantic for show business.

However I would caution you to

Never use ellipses

This assumes you want to sell your screenplay instead of make it yourself. If you're writing for your own production, have at it. It's your baby. In all other cases I think it's lazy or bad writing.

In Screenwriting Mistake #2 : Ellipses Phil Dyer points out that ellipses are ubiquitous. Read enough un-produced screenplays and you'll cry at the environmental destruction they've wrought just in page count and toner/ink wastage.

You would not use a parenthetical before every line of dialogue to instruct the actor how to deliver the line. Therefore isn't 99% of ellipsis use a direct note to the actor on how the line is delivered?

Even Shakespeare does not tell actors how to perform or deliver their lines.

(0)

Vote Up Vote Down

Rule of thumb: ellipsis for trailing out (or in), em-dash for turns and interruptions.

The ellipsis is usually more sedate, like when you run out of thought and are not sure what to say next. Em-dash is more intense pause — you got interrupted, you change the subject rapidly, you want to say the next thing but can't.

These rules are not set in stone. The two are often interchangeable, providing merely a slightly different emphasis on the nature of the pause.

(0)