Fix This - 7.7.24

When a Hollywood reader picks up your script, they don’t know you have an incredible third act. But they can tell immediately if you’re a good writer. Make sure your writing is as strong as possible.

Take a look at the lines below. Can you spot the two changes that would fix this excerpt?

The first mistake is the word “peaks.” It should say “peeks.” The writer’s spell check didn’t pick up the mistake because “peaks” is a real word, but this is the wrong way to use it.

Before you share your draft with other people, run your spell check AND check it yourself for grammatical errors. Little mistakes like this add up and become distracting for the reader.

Once that’s fixed, can you find the second mistake?

The second error in this excerpt is the writer misuses parentheticals. Remember, parentheticals tell us how a line is delivered if it’s not clear from the dialogue itself. A parenthetical does not describe action. Anything an actor does should be written in the action description. The correct way to format this scene is…

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