AI is a big no-no for me. I am going to give your suggestions a test run. As others have mentioned, nothing is ever going to beat the human acting experience, but I also know that in the real world I can’t have a human on standby if, in the middle of the night, I want to play my dialogue through 😂

I’ve done them, and I do intend to keep doing them. I was really asking more for something temporary to use in the times between writing and doing table reads. And I think I found some options. Thank you for your suggestion though 🙏

Yes! I’ve participated in them in the past too. Reading my dialogue out loud or doing table reads has really helped--they’re my #1 method. I only asked about software for the times when I just want to play it out to myself while editing the dialogue.

Fair! 😂

From one marketer to another… is it safe to say we do a phenomenal job at not doing our jobs? 😂

My prevailing theory is it’s easy to promote something externally, like another client’s work, but for some reason I’m always a bit shy about promoting my own.

100% agree and I learned this years ago.

That said, sometimes even the right “tone” doesn’t stop from offending.

After some gentle notes a writer called me Amish and Indigent because he didn’t like my “room for improvement” note.

It’s also worth noting there is a bit of misogyny when notes are given and you happen to be…. well, not a guy. It happens quite a bit.

It’s very unfortunate and repulsive, and ultimately the writer’s loss. They won’t, and shouldn’t, get very far with it You’re 1000% right. I’m tempted to start another thread on writer etiquette too. If we’re expected to be charitable with notes, we should be the same when receiving them.

Ugh. I hate bluesky character limitations, but just to clarify my response:

The fact that you have pissed someone off with kindness means you did something right. Be your kind self. Criticize honestly. How a writer responds to that is their own business. You did your part.

Oh, I 1000% percent agree with you on the nuance of what the “right” tone is as well. What I will say is this: it costs you nothing to have the mindset of being kind. Just try to be. Even when new writers are not at a professional level yet, and even when, many times, they don't take feedback well.

Omggg. What a cutie!!

10/

Do not add unnecessary commentary or lean into a harsh tone that crosses into borderline gatekeeping or bullying. We are creatives at the end of the day. Let’s strive to be empathetic, in the same way we hope our stories are.

9/

That is why I urge my fellow screenwriting brothers and sisters to consider the idea that tone does matter. It does not matter if what you are saying is technically correct or not. We need to make it a habit to not over-notate and to get straight to the point when critiquing one another.

8/

Even professionals have fallen short. They still do to this very day. Why would aspiring writers be any different? Why would anyone be?

7/

We need to be mindful of the way we share our thoughts. Because if we truly believed in gatekeeping this craft, then I would argue that screenwriting “isn’t in the cards” for either me or you, if our flaws are what define our place in it. And to that, I call bullshit.

6/
Because again; criticisms are great, until something like that last part. Until they realized the “why” behind those criticisms. It was not to help them grow. It was to gatekeep this medium, and that honestly needs to stop.

5/

I asked permission to share this story anonymously, but those words broke their spirit. What hurt the most was that they had been actively engaging with the criticisms they were receiving.

4/
But I recently spoke with another screenwriter who was distraught after receiving many constructive notes, followed by the one note we sometimes think but do not say out loud for good reason: “This business isn’t for you.”

That was it. Four words.