: Re: How to write character's emotional reactions in a screenplay? Question : When writing my screenplay, I frequently find the urge to describe a character's emotion. However, I have read somewhere

@Connie138

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E.

A scared Bob walks over to the door, hand on the knob.

or

BOB

(scared) Who are you?

While I haven't written scripts, I have acted some on stage. Giving the actor the basic reaction you want her/him to have is important. In your example, the actor can not figure it out from context. Bob might be amused, mad at the ghost, mad at the person who is surely pranking him, worried that he's hallucinating, freaked out that he's dead, etc.

Scared of the ghost is a good possibility but far from the only one. Don't make your actors and director guess. If the emotion is important to the story, state it succinctly.

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