An ellipsis for a line that trails off, a dash for one that is cut off, and an action line, or a sparing (beat), when a silence has to land.
Direct answer
Most writers use an ellipsis when a character trails off or hesitates, and a dash when a line is cut off, by someone else or by the speaker changing course. When a pause has to register, write what fills it as a short action line, and keep (beat) in a parenthetical for the rare line whose meaning depends on the timing. None of this is a rule, so give each mark one job and keep it through the script.
On the page
INT. MARA'S KITCHEN - NIGHT
MARA
I kept the letter because I thought—
ELI
You thought I'd never find it.
Mara sets the kettle down. She does not look at him.
MARA
I thought you'd... I don't know what I thought.
Evidence weight
Final Draft's advice is to use scene description rather than a parenthetical when in doubt, and the Academy Nicholl format guide notes that parentheticals telling an actor how to deliver a line are frowned upon. A pause the audience should feel usually plays better as something a character does.
Writers disagree on the marks themselves. Some use an ellipsis for every pause and a dash only for interruptions; others use a dash for both. Final Draft treats beats as a legitimate rhythm tool while advising scene description when in doubt. No guide claims a single standard. The one point every source shares is consistency: a reader learns what each mark means in your script from the first few pages.
Not one rigid template
Three dots for a line that trails off, hesitates or picks up mid-thought. The reader hears the voice slow down without being told to.
An em dash, or two hyphens, at the end of a line that is cut off, by another speaker or by the speaker changing course. The next cue follows straight on, so the interruption reads as instant.
A beat in a parenthetical marks a short pause inside a speech. Final Draft notes that beats help suggest the rhythm of dialogue, and suggests a more specific word or action where one says more than the label.
When action splits one speech, the Academy Nicholl guide gives adding (CONT'D) to the returning cue as the standard, and notes that many writers have dropped it. Both are current.
Reader and handoff friction
Choose for the recipient
In a spec, the rhythm should live in the words. Save marked pauses for the moments that turn on timing, and let clean punctuation handle the rest.
Once actors have the pages, pause marks read as line readings. Keep the few that carry meaning, cut the rest in a polish, and keep the punctuation stable in revised pages so the sides match the script.
In Plot, type an opening parenthesis at the start of a dialogue line and it becomes a Parenthetical, so a (beat) takes a few keystrokes, and Plot suggests the directions you have already written. An action line between two parts of a speech is ordinary Action, and Plot adds (CONT'D) to the returning cue unless you turn that off in Document settings. When a speech breaks across a page, the PDF adds MORE and CONT'D on its own.
Asked next
Use an ellipsis when a character trails off, hesitates or drifts back in, and a dash when the line is cut off, by someone else or by the speaker changing course. Neither is a rule; what matters is giving each mark one job and keeping it.
A short pause inside a speech: the character stops, something shifts, and the next words land differently. Use it where the timing changes the meaning. Where a look or a gesture would say more, write that as action instead.
No standard source defines one; both ask for a short silence before the next words. Pick one and use it sparingly, or write what the character does in the silence as an action line instead.
In action, through what fills it: a look held too long, a kettle coming to the boil, a door nobody opens. An action line tells the reader how long the silence feels and what it means, which a parenthetical cannot.
Parenthetical
A short note in parentheses inside a dialogue block — how a line is delivered or a small action during it, e.g. (whispering). Use sparingly.
Beat
A unit of change in a scene or story — a shift in tactics, information, or emotion. On the page, BEAT can also mark a short pause before the next line or action.
Dialogue
Spoken lines under a character cue. In Plot, a dialogue pass proposes changes, mostly to the spoken lines, that you accept or reject one at a time.
MORE / CONT'D
CONT'D means continued dialogue from the same character, after an action break or across a page break. MORE marks a speech that carries onto the next page.
Browse the screenplay formatting reference
Rendered examples and accepted variations for common screenplay situations
Dual & overlapping dialogue
Format two characters speaking at once, create dual dialogue in Inkwell Plot or Final Draft, and decide when an interruption works better as stacked dialogue.
V.O. vs O.S.
O.S. means a speaker is in the scene but outside the frame; V.O. covers narration and voices outside its physical space. See screenplay examples of both.
Sound effects & capitals
Capitalize a sound, prop, or action only when it has to jump off the page, and a speaking character's name at first appearance, so capitals still mean something.
