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This is not really a big thing. I just wanted to get some opinions on the matter.
Now I read somewhere a long time ago that -- is used in screenwriting when an action gets interrupted. Usually in dialogue, but in action lines as well.
example:
JOHN I think that it's best we --
TOM -- NO! You don't, you don't think. ---------------------------------------
Or when it comes to action lines. example:
John is on the floor, he reaches over grabs the knife, turns --
WHACK! He gets hit with a shovel. -----------------------------------------
Now I read the original Sin City script a few days back. It uses -- in a different way.
example: CRASH! -- COPS fall backward as -- MARV smashes through the DOOR -- splintering it --
I seem to recall there's em dash and en dash. The first has a space in it, the second doesn't. I would try and explain in detail but search engines do it so much better.
To be brief - (ahem)
Opinions vary, as always. One dash at the end of the sentence you're breaking early should suffice.
A single dash is also often used to when you're linking one action to another.
Haha...Yep, I just love them. A technique I cribbed from W. Goldman, a man that I figure knows mostly what he is doing. Some say I use it too much. They may be right.
Plucking a random sentence from a recent script, I use 'em like this:
He walks with a cane -- it TAPS as he moves -- while white smoke curls up from the pipe clenched in his teeth.
But not in dialogue. In dialogue...when breaking things up...you use an ellipse...which is three periods in a row.
Like everything, opinions will vary, but I think the double-dash is more accepted in screenwriting than any of its "em" or "en" counterparts.
Johnny has it right on the money. It's used to soften the read and make the action keep flowing rather than feel stale or dense. Here's an example from the first page of Ion by Will Dunn, which was a huge huge influence in my writing.
"Tall, dark buildings -- no power. Some on FIRE, CRUMBLING. PEOPLE scatter in panic, DEBRIS spins up in the HOWLING WIND, BODIES lie in the wet gutter, lined with winter slush.
A Man stands, eyes searching the chaos -- he is sharp and soulful, but anxious. He looks up -- swirling, celestial lights FLICKER behind the low clouds."
Can you see how he puts emphasis on every new visual via hyphens and capped words? Some writers like to go further like your Sin City example where they start a new paragraph each time they want the reader's attention to shift to the next bit of action, it's usually used for scenes that should feel past paced and energetic. And honestly, it's just a way to make the read faster.
En dashes ( – ) and em dashes ( — ), have slightly different uses. And, they shouldn't be confused with hyphens which are used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word
The em dash ( — ) or double en dash is used primarily when a thought is interrupted by another character butting in, or by a sound i.e., bang on the door etc. Technically an em dash is a wider line and more like the length of two dashes but most screenwriting software doesn't enable it, hence why you see so many scripts with two en dashes put together.
If you're a pedant, em dashes can actually be formatted in Final Draft but you need to enable it in every separate screenplay. Send me a PM if you really want to know how.
An ellipses is altogether different in purpose. It is used when a character's speech trails off. A lot of writers over use the ellipses, and a lot of writers use them incorrectly i.e., when they should be using an em dash.
Your screenplay will look cleaner if you get em' right, but the key is in being consistent with either/or.
When it comes down to it, nobody's going to give a hoot where you put your dots and dashes if your story jumps off the page but it's a good idea to know what's what.