Scott, me thinks I need you in my room -- pronto! Great advice, and at the right price too!

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

I've read quite a few amateur scripts over the years.

I would say that dialog is another big problem. Waaay too long many times.

I remember a two page long monologue in one paragraph and a eight pages long dialog with a natural conversation.

Desiree, you are so right. I keep hammering home with my students that movies are primarily a visual medium. Sure, it's easier to write and, frankly, read dialogue -- the margins are narrower on the page. However, movies are not (generally) just talking heads. They were known originally as "motion pictures" and both of those words connote visuality.

There's an old adage in Hwood: "Show it, don't say it." There's a reason that has stuck around for so many years.