In 2012, the Charlottesville Area Real Estate Market has been trying to form a bottom in pricing, and the number of transactions is up. There are many positives, alongside some negatives and ongoing challenges for bubble-era buyers. Here's a look at the complicated "bottom" process. And for troubled homeowners, here's a reminder. Our next post will appear in early November, and cover

Overlapping Dialogue

How do you write characters who speak over each other, or talk at the same time? Here are three ways:-

- indicate it in the scene description

- combine everything into one dialogue caption

- on Final Draft, there's a 'Dual Dialogue' option, which will give you this

All three are perfectly fine in my book because they don't confuse the flow of the script. For American scripts, where a Hollywood reader might unmercifully pounce on any formatting glitch, then it's probably best to stick to the dual dialogue option.

Apostrophe Catastrophe

A brief follow-up on the recent typos, spelling mistakes, grammar post.

Where to put a possessive apostrophe? In the world of text messages and abbreviations courtesy of sending email 'via my mobile device', it may not seem to matter anymore. For mobile communication or truncated messages on Twitter, maybe, but in screenplay form, it matters a great deal. Why? Because your you're a writer, and if you want to be taken seriously, then you've got to get the basics right.

A quick hit:

It's = It is
Its = A possessive pronoun, e.g. 'The cat licked its paw.'
This gets so commonly misused that it's practically becoming acceptable to use It's instead of Its. A neat way to avoid the trap is to remind yourself that It's is always two words. When in doubt, say the two words in full, e.g. "The alien protected it's eggs." The alien protected it is eggs? I don't think so.

They're = They are
Their = Possessive pronoun

Your = Possessive pronoun
You're = You are

These are the most common offenders in the scripts that I read. It's disconcerting. You may think I'm being pedantic but when you read a script with no typos or grammar discrepancies, it makes a huge difference, and the writer or writing stands out with more distinction.

Red Planet Prize 2011/2012, Winner!

Jonathan Neil has been announced as the winner of this year's competition, with his script, Darby and Joan, a 1950s tale of spies in very British suburbia. The script beat more than 2000 other entrants to win the coveted prize and the opportunity to be mentored by both Red Planet and Kudos.

On announcing the winner, Tony Jordan said: "This script was a real page turner, great characters inhabiting a unique world and, as you finished it, you wanted to know what happened next. I read a lot of scripts and you'd be amazed how rare that is."

Neil commented: “I am delighted to have won the Red Planet Prize and to have this unrivalled and privileged opportunity to continue developing my script, and gain some great insight and experience into the industry.”

More details on Red Planet's website.

As ever, I'm very proud to be part of this writing scheme as I know what it's like to be a new writer, and also know what it's like trying to maintain your career even when you get a break. It's great that Red Planet and Kudos are so supportive of new writers through the competition, as they're two of the best companies in the biz.

Details of the 2013 Red Planet Prize will be announced at the end of the year.

UK Scriptwriters Podcast: Writers Vs Writers

In the latest UK Scriptwriters Podcast, Tim and I chat with Great American Pitch Fest organisers Signe Olynk & Bob Schultz about 'the industry around the industry', the sometimes thorny issue of writers charging other writers for writing services. I'm certainly no stranger to this method of income, and it's a necessity at times, but I like to think I only offer what's relevant to my level of experience, such as my script reading services, and/or the occasional script courses that I host.

Signe and Bob are over in the UK to promote their pitch fest in the upcoming London Screenwriters Festival, as well as their low-budget indie horror Below Zero, starring Edward Furlong and Michael Berryman. It was a fun and interesting discussion, check it out below, or subscribe to the podcast via the usual methods.

Email us with any feedback or suggestions.
Or post feedback/promote your work on our Facebook page.
Or you can find us on Twitter.