The Simpsons & Futurama Fanworks Central

Before I start: no, this is *not* just an excuse to start a flame war on the relative merits of script format v. prose format. (Mostly because I'd be the first to do so.)

No, seriously, has anyone got the "official" guidelines for how to write a screenplay, including elements such as spacing, concise scene instructions etc.? (Yes, I could probably find it on Google, but I reckon it would be a valuable commodity to have on the board.)

I'll be grateful for contributions.

A tangiable example of good script format would be Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire." My literature teacher said that T.W. uses stage directions and descriptions of characters better than any playwright in the genre.

Why, thank you, Rich. This is just what I was looking for. Maybe a bit *too* terse, but it seems to cover the essentials.

Thank you as well, Jase. I've enjoyed productions of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (not, may I add, excluding "Oh, Streetcar!"), but I haven't read the script. It's for sale in the university bookshop, though.

This has helped clearing up quite some confusion.

Yay! I probably broke all the guidelines in here with my script writing!

The software I use (Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000) actually has specific "Sitcom" templates you can write in...including "The Simpsons". It also sets itself up in other formats, like screenplay, stageplay,novel, etc. Of course it's kinda like using windows, everything is done for you except point and click, so even though my scripts are now nicely formatted, I'm left to answer your question with a shrug of my shoulders and "How the hell do I know?"

Now I'll just use my superior intelligence and end this post with all the mastery of computer skills I've learned in my countless hours of computery...
(point) (click)

*lol* Nice one Dana...

Ah well, I never learned any kind of formatting but I seem to have adopted something similar to the formatting they use in movie scripts. Considering the length of my fics, that's probably not surprising...