How to Format Dialogue in a Screenplay
Screenplay dialogue format: character cues, the 3.5" dialogue column, parentheticals, extensions like (V.O.), interruptions with dashes, and trailing off with ellipses.
Dialogue in a screenplay is a three-part block: the character cue (the name in caps), an optional parenthetical or extension, and the speech itself — set in a narrow column roughly 3.5 inches wide, well inside the standard margins.
The Dialogue Block
MARA
You're late.
WAITER
(O.S.)
Kitchen's closed.
MARA
(beat)
The coffee machine isn't.- Character cue — ALL CAPS, indented to ~3.7" from the page edge
- Parenthetical / extension — lowercase, in parentheses, at ~3.1" (full guide)
- Speech — starts at ~2.5" and runs ~3.5" wide (~35 characters per line)
The column is narrow on purpose: it makes dialogue sound like talking and forces you to break long speeches into beats.
Extensions After the Character Name
| Extension | Meaning | Guide |
|---|---|---|
(V.O.) | Voice-over — narrator, recorded voice, phone's far side | V.O. vs O.S. |
(O.S.) / (O.C.) | Off-screen / off-camera — present in the scene, not visible | V.O. vs O.S. |
(CONT'D) | Same character continues after interrupted action | (MORE) and (CONT'D) |
(IN FRENCH) | Language notes, subtitles conventions | — |
Interruptions and Trailing Off
Two pieces of punctuation do all the work:
Interruption — double dash:
MARA
If you'd just listened to me for
one second--
JAKE
I listened for sixteen years.Trailing off — ellipsis:
MARA
I just thought we'd have more
time...The -- is cut off by another voice; the ... loses steam on its own. Don't mix them.
Breaking Up Long Speeches
A monologue that runs over a page is usually a design problem. Options:
- Interleave action beats — the classic move, and it keeps the scene visually alive:
MARA
The night of the accident, my
father drove. Nobody talks about
that.
She turns her cup. Doesn't drink.
MARA (CONT'D)
Everybody talks about the bridge.
The rain. Never that he drove.- Give the lines to someone else — let another character pull the story out
- Cut it — if the scene survives, it wasn't load-bearing
What Dialogue Formatting Is Not
- No quotation marks — the layout already marks speech
- No "he said/she said" — the cue is the attribution
- No italics or bold — Courier styling is off-limits (font rules)
- No novel-style paragraphs inside one speech — break with action instead
Page Breaks
If dialogue has to split across pages, the bottom of the page gets (MORE) and the next page repeats the cue with (CONT'D) — software handles this automatically; the full convention is on (MORE) and (CONT'D).
Scripta keeps character cues, parentheticals, and dialogue perfectly aligned — and auto-adds (MORE)/(CONT'D) at page breaks. Start writing free →
Frequently Asked Questions
How wide is the dialogue column in a screenplay?
About 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), or ~35 characters per line — see the margins table.
Do you use quotation marks in screenplays?
No. The character cue above the speech replaces all attribution punctuation.
How do you show a character being interrupted?
End the speech with a double dash (--). The next character's cue starts immediately — see the example above.
How do you format a phone conversation?
With INTERCUT or one-sided dialogue — see Formatting Phone Calls.
Related Pages
- Character Cues — naming conventions above the line
- Parentheticals — when and how to use
(beat) - V.O. vs O.S. — the extensions explained
- Writing Dialogue — the craft section on voice and subtext
Screenplay Transitions — CUT TO:, FADE OUT., and When to Use Them
How to format screenplay transitions: FADE IN, CUT TO:, SMASH CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, MATCH CUT TO:, INTERCUT — where they go, how to align them, and when to skip them.
Character Cues — Naming Characters and First Appearances
Screenplay character cue rules: ALL CAPS names, capitalizing first appearance in action, (CONT'D), consistent naming, aliases, and what to name unnamed characters.