About the Book:

Offering a fresh perspective on the essential but technical subject of script formatting, The Dreaded Curse: Screenplay Formatting for Film and Television shows rather than tells.

A screenwriter and story editor herself, award-winning writing instructor Kat Montagu needed a simple up-to-date format guide in the Hollywood-style; so she crafted the tale of two feisty young witches cursed by a ghost of a dead screenwriter. When he steals their car to make it to L.A., the chase is on and only the arcane knowledge of screenplay formatting – Feature Film, Multi-Cam Sitcom, Single-Cam Half-Hour, and One-Hour Drama – can help them. Demonstrating the elements of screenwriting from "inside the format" engages you in an accessible way, reminding you that story is at the heart of the form.

The Dreaded Curse: Screenplay Formatting for Film and Television is fun to read, but more importantly it contains every element you might need to format your modern screenplay correctly.

What people say:

"In less than the time it takes to read an hour-long script, Kat Montagu will show you, in an entertaining manner, how to master script and screenplay formatting. How do you suggest a new shot without annoying the director? What's the difference between ellipses and a double dash in dialogue? How have parentheticals evolved? When and how often do you use them? What do CAPITALIZED WORDS mean in an action line? How do you make actors emphasize the words you want them to emphasize? (Spoiler alert – the answer has nothing to do with italics.) Most importantly, there's a sexy ghost." — Hart Hanson (Bones)

"This genius learn-as-you-laugh guide teaches you script formatting in a way that's pain-free, memorable, and logical. In my nearly 30-year career, I have had to learn formatting on the street, copying the examples I happened to come across, and this would've been a great help to me. In fact, even now, reading it makes certain things clear that I've never fully understood. I highly recommend this book." — Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica)

"Kat Montagu has made the absolutely essential craft of formatting scripts correctly a joy to know: The Dreaded Curse is clear, concise, AND entertaining. Comprehensive and easy to use, I've recommended the original edition to countless students, teachers, film story editors, and to my fellow writing mentors. A Must-Have for scripted showrunners in Comedy or Drama, TV staffers, and script coordinators, too. Think of it as a silver bullet for every time-sucking format debate and unnecessary format corrections from your teams, as well as a trustworthy style guide when working with material outside your usual expertise. An excellent tool." — Karen Walton (Ginger Snaps, Queer as Folk, Orphan Black)

"Kat Montagu's primer on scriptwriting format is a lot of fun, extremely useful, and quite indispensable. Not only is reading this book a refresher course for any seasoned writer, but I learned a few things I'd always wondered about, like when to use ellipses versus double dashes and how to maximize the impact of an action sequence on the page. With formatting instructions cleverly written into a charming narrative, this ingenious guide should be a must-have for every student entering film school." — Maria Jacquemetton (Mad Men, The Romanoffs)

"Kat has crafted an elegant way to make the importance of screenplay formatting not only informative but also entertaining. A must-have resource for all new screenwriters." — Simon Barry (Continuum, Warrior Nun)

About the Author:

Kat Montagu is a writer, a story editor, and an award-winning full-time screenwriting instructor at Vancouver Film School and the author of The Dreaded Curse of Screenplay Formatting. She has a BFA and an MFA in Creative Writing and has also taught at the University of British Columbia and Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Born in the UK, she lives in Vancouver.