So I was taught that when ending a sentence you're supposed to double-space before starting a new sentence as I'm going to do now.  I have notice that in a lot of scripts, in the description as well as in the dialogue, pro's are only using a single space. Like I just did.  

Is this an important part of formatting I've somehow missed?  Or does it not matter?  

Thanks.

Michael

I dunno... I double because it was drummed into me with touch typing, so a lot of the time I do it without thinking. Except when using one finger on my tablet, as you can see. It's probably a throwback. If you've got a great script I doubt it would matter.

Outside of nerd-fights in Twitter, I doubt anyone really cares if you use one space or two after a sentence. That said, don’t be surprised if some reader says you should have used one or the other (which says more about them than about you).

As a practical matter, using one or two spaces can have a slight effect on the length of your text... especially in dialogue where double-spaces can cause troublesome word wrapping. For consistency, I’d tend to recommend using a single space everywhere.

I believe double spacing used to be the norm, but it's one of those that seems to have fallen by the wayside a little.

Both are acceptable, so go with whichever you are most comfortable with.

I let final draft handle it.

Quoted from JohnI I let final draft handle it.

Final Draft does a lot more meddling than spacing. At times it will move entire sentences forward or back a page, which can make it difficult to manage orphans.

Single or double spaced is fine, the important thing is to pick one and be consistent throughout the entire script.

I let Final Draft take care of the formatting but it does get a little screwed as FrankM says. So when you've finished your script, there's an option somewhere (I'm not on a computer with FD installed so I can't remember what the option is called) which checks the entire script for formatting errors. You will be surprised how many weird spaces it seems to just add by itself.

Quoted from MarkRenshaw I let Final Draft take care of the formatting but it does get a little screwed as FrankM says. So when you've finished your script, there's an option somewhere (I'm not on a computer with FD installed so I can't remember what the option is called) which checks the entire script for formatting errors. You will be surprised how many weird spaces it seems to just add by itself.

There is probably another way, but in FD if you choose to print your script it will give you the option to check the formatting. It picks up all the weird and inconsistent spacing. I never print my scripts but I use this method to check the formatting.

I'm pretty sure there's an option in FD called something like condensed formatting, or dense or tighter - something format meaning it's going to include more of the text.
I don't remember where I saw it though. I think it's in the software somewhere - there are examples, so it's in one of the examples. Sorry if I sound confused.

Quoted from khamanna I'm pretty sure there's an option in FD called something like condensed formatting, or dense or tighter - something format meaning it's going to include more of the text. I don't remember where I saw it though. I think it's in the software somewhere - there are examples, so it's in one of the examples. Sorry if I sound confused.

You are correct. I have it open in front of me, so I can describe it.

On the Document menu, choose Page Layout. On the Options tab of the Page Layout dialogue box, there are three options:

• Line spacing (drop-down choice of Very Tight, Tight, Normal, Loose)
  
• Enable smart quotes (checkbox)
  
• Break dialogue and action at sentences (checkbox)
  

That last one is the one that shoves huge numbers of words back and forth between pages. It does LOOK better, but it's hard to control pagination, orphans, etc.

I just had a quick look and found what I use in FD, it's called Format Assistant and it is in the Tools section.

Just be aware that the dense, very tight formatting can be seen as cheating page count. If for example you submitted for professional proofreading you could cheat on page count. It's usually crammed and pretty obvious though, so not advisable in an effort to save money and dupe the reader. We will always know.

I'd take that with a grain of salt. I notice that a lot of articles that say this are written by guys over 50. But people under 35 who've been writing for a long while say they've never heard of  it. This smells of an old standard that's dieing out. But tread carefully because I could be wrong. It's definitely worth looking into.

It just isn't necessary today to use a double space today... and hasn't been for a century or more. Those that do it have either been taught wrongly and do it out of habit or are just plain wrong in the belief it makes their work look more professional.