Script sections

A screenplay is made up of a set of sections - the building blocks for creating your script. There are eight section types as described below. NovaMind makes it easy and fast to write your scripts by anticipating what section type you are likely to add next and automatically applies it when you press return or tab.

You can configure what happens for both Return and Tab for each of the Sections. This is set up in the preferences under the ScreenWriter / Sections tab. To look at what the next section type for each section, select the section in the section popup menu, and then select what you would like the next section to be when you type Tab or Return in the bottom two popup menus.

For example, if you wanted to configure the settings so that you went from Character to Parenthetical when you press Tab, and from Character to Dialogue when you press Return, then you would follow these steps:

In that panel you can also set the initial section for branches. This is the section type that is used when you first type text for each branch. Of course if you want something different for a particular branch, you can either set it using the popup menu in the control bar, or you can just press Return with no text on the branch, and select the section type you prefer. Some people prefer to have a scene per branch, so you would leave it on a Scene setting, while other people would prefer it to be a character name or action.

If you are in an empty section, you can cycle through the relevant section types by repeatedly pressing the tab key or you can show the section selection panel by pressing return then select the desired section using the arrow keys.

NovaMind also automatically assists with completions of scenes and character names to save retyping and ensure consistency.

As you can see, the whole thing is designed to enhance the writing experience, minimizing typing, anticipating your needs and allowing you to keep your hands on the keyboard.

This is an outline of what each Screenwriting section is used for, along with the shortcut key for that section:

1	Scene	This normally is at the beginning of each section of script and gives information on what the scene location is, the time of day, internal or external location etc.
2	Action	Tells the characters what they are supposed to be doing.
3	Character Name	Tells which character is talking/acting.
4	Parenthetical	Tells the actor what kind of expression to use with the dialogue.
5	Dialogue	The script for the character to say.
6	Transition	Describes how the shots change from one scene to another.
7	Shot	Shot indicates a camera angle, shows what is to be emphasized.

9	General	For recording additional notes for wardrobe, lighting etc.