In order to become a Compendium Member,
an Associate Member must:
- Submit a SPEC (speculative) screenplay (or TV Teleplay) for review by the Compendium Committee. A spec (speculative) screenplay is a script written on one's own (not for hire or under contract). It is a way to show the blueprint of a movie, sell a movie idea, and sell your screenwriting skills.
- Submit a story LOGLINE - a one- or two-sentence description of your movie that tells us what it is. It must contain your protagonist, the antagonist, and the hero's primary goal/central conflict. It doesn't have to be perfect, so give it a shot.
- Be a fully PAID-UP Associate Member of the Guild. If you are not a current member of the Northwest Screenwriters Guild (NWSG), but would like your script reviewed for Compendium status, you must first join the Guild as an Associate Member.
- It can take 2-6 weeks to review a script, so please be patient.
- Email your spec and logline to:
The biggest mistake a novice screenwriter makes is to not format their screenplay according to industry standards. To mitigate this problem, we have presented the following guidelines to insure that Compendium screenplays can be read quickly and easily, and are professionally written to the minimum standards and criteria expected by potential buyers (producers, agents, managers, studios, etc.).
Screenplay Presentation:
- PAPER: Pages are 8 1/2 by 11 inches (in the US).
- PRINT: Print only on one side
- FONT: Only use 12 point Courier / Courier Final Draft.
- PAGE NUMBERING: All pages, except page one and title page, are numbered in the upper right hand corner.
- PAGE LENGTH: 80 to 110, and no longer than 120.
(TV Teleplays should be 30-60 pages long) - FRONT & BACK COVERS: Use solid 65-110 lb. white index/cover stock.
(Do not print anything on these.) - TITLE PAGE: Following the front cover, insert this page.
It should contain the screenplay title, your name, and contact information. For those who are using Final Draft and having trouble with the Title Page, go here. - BINDING: Three-hole punched on the left side.
Use two (ACCO-Brand), No. 5 round-headed solid brass fasteners/brads, which are 1 1/4 inches in length.
Place brads in the first and third holes, leaving the center hole empty. This makes it easy to take apart for copying.
A final touch (not necessary) - add No. 2 Brass Washers (ACCO-Brand) to lock the brads into place.
Due to advances in technology and the use of the internet, screenwriters are able to submit their work in an electronic format (pdf, final draft, rich text, word doc, etc.) We will take electronic submissions in any of these formats, instead of a physical script. No point in using up valuable paper if you don't have to, right?
Please DO NOT include or use the following items:
- Decorated covers, artwork, graphics, illustrations, or storyboards
- Any font other than 12 point Courier / Courier Final Draft
(If you use any other font, your script will automatically be rejected by studio readers, production companies, and screenplay competitions) - Bold or italic font styles
- Justified right margins
- Scene numbers
- CONTINUED at the top and bottom of each page
- Camera and editing directions
- Phrases like WE HEAR or WE SEE
- FIRST DRAFT or FINAL DRAFT or anything in between
Once a spec screenplay goes into production, it is transformed into a shooting script. A shooting script looks quite a bit different than a spec screenplay. An important difference is that a shooting script contains camera shot descriptions; a spec screenplay does not.
Please DO NOT include or use the following items:
- Camera Angles: CLOSE UP, ANGLE ON, POV
- Editing Directions: CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO
- Other technical intrusions: References to dollies, cranes, specific soundtrack songs, overly specific costume details, etc.
The following terms are admissible, but should be used tastefully:
- MONTAGE
- FLASHBACK
- INSERT
- SERIES OF SHOTS
- INTERCUT
- FADE IN
- FADE OUT
Most screenwriting software applications (Final Draft, Movie Magic, Sophocles, Dramatica, etc.) will handle the formatting details for you. We strongly suggest you purchase one, as it will fast-track the technical formatting aspects of screenwriting.
NOTE: Some programs will insert an automatic CONTINUED when a character's speech is broken into more than one block. This is not needed. Make sure you turn this feature off in your preferences. However, if a character's dialogue carries over to the next page, (CONT'D) is needed, plus a (MORE) on the following page.