The short answer.
(CONT'D) goes after a character's name when the same character speaks again after a line of action, or when a speech continues on the next page. (MORE) goes under the last line of dialogue at the bottom of a page when the speech carries over. Screenwriting software adds both for you, so you rarely type them by hand.
On this page
(CONT’D) after action
When a character speaks, then a line of action comes in, then the same character speaks again, the second cue is marked (CONT’D). It tells the reader that this is the same speech, resumed.
JUNE
Last bus left at eleven.
She wipes the counter where there is nothing to wipe.
JUNE (CONT'D)
There's another at six.
It is used only when nothing but action comes between the two speeches. A parenthetical inside a speech does not trigger it. If another character speaks in between, the first character’s next cue stands on its own.
(MORE) and (CONT’D) at a page break
When a speech runs off the bottom of a page, it breaks at the end of a sentence. (MORE) goes under the last line on that page, and the next page begins with the character’s name again, marked (CONT’D), and the rest of the speech. Because where a page ends changes whenever you edit, these are the marks software is best placed to manage.
Who adds them
Screenwriting software works out where each of these belongs and keeps them right as you revise. Typed by hand, they go stale: the script changes, the page breaks move, and the marks stay where you left them. Leave them to the software.
Whether to use them at all
Practice varies. Screenwriting software includes them by default. Some writers turn them off because they add clutter to a page that is meant to read fast. Neither choice is wrong, but a contest or a studio may have a preference, so check before you submit.
In First Page
First Page adds (CONT’D) to a cue when the same character speaks again after action in the same scene. A new scene heading or a transition starts the count again. If you type a (CONT’D) where it does not belong, First Page takes it away, and if you leave one out where it does, First Page adds it.
In the web app’s page view, a speech that runs over a page break gets (MORE) at the bottom of the page and the cue again, marked (CONT’D), at the top of the next. When First Page imports a PDF script, it joins a speech that was split across pages back into one and drops the (MORE) and (CONT’D) that the page break had added, so none are doubled.
Questions
- What does CONT'D mean in a screenplay?
- Continued. It follows a character's name on the cue when the same character keeps speaking: after a line of action that interrupted them, or at the top of the next page when a speech runs over a page break.
- What does (MORE) mean in a screenplay?
- It marks that a speech carries over onto the next page. It goes under the last line of dialogue at the bottom of the page, and the next page repeats the character's name with (CONT'D).
- Do I have to type (CONT'D) myself?
- No. Screenwriting software adds both (CONT'D) and (MORE) where they belong, and typing them yourself risks printing them twice. First Page adds (CONT'D) for you and takes away one that does not belong.
- Is CONT'D used when another character speaks in between?
- No. It marks the same character resuming after something that is not dialogue, such as action. If another character speaks in between, the first character's next cue stands on its own.
- Do modern scripts still use (MORE) and (CONT'D)?
- Practice varies. They are standard in scripts made by screenwriting software and in production drafts, and some writers and readers prefer to leave them out as clutter. Neither choice is wrong; follow the requirements of whoever you are submitting to.
