Script elements with prefixes and suffixes?

Scrivener Wish List
1

Hello,

I really don’t know if this has been considered already, but I could not find any reference to it anywhere in the program, manual, kb or the forums.

Basically, what I need is more options when defining script elements. There is a suggested format in my game narrative course, which I really like, and would like to use inside of Scrivener. I could probably do it manually, but it’d be great to be able to use script elements for this. This way, if I ever decided to switch or alter the format, I can do it more easily.

This is an example of a scene in a game script, as illustrated in my course.

[code]###############################################################################
Act: The Prelude - A Bag of Memories - Part I
###############################################################################

Scene: The Unmarked Tomb

The scene begins in the Realm Year (RY) 784 (20 years after the Scarlet Empress disappearance and the decimation of House Tepet legions) in some forsaken place between the cities of Tuchara and Nishimo in the Blessed Isle, at the center of Creation. The protagonists are about 19 years-old at this moment. The sky is gray, and it has been pouring non-stop for a while. The PCs will arrive one by one to the gates of an unmarked mausoleum in the middle of a cemetery few hours off the main road. They will be wearing hoods that will serve to hide their visage as well as to cover them from the rain. Most of them will have kept in contact through periodically, except for Itan who has not seen his friends in a long time, possibly years.

The mood is solemn, yet nostalgic. For the moment the PCs will think it is because the place reminds them of their childhood, which is not wholly inaccurate, but the factual memory of the place is hidden behind veils of pure sadness… and glamour. For a long time now, each and every one of them will feel a great void in their hearts; a void so deep-rooted and lingering that even their moments of triumph and happiness feel hollow and unfulfilling.

Itan will be the first to arrive, followed a few moments later by Onyx. Itan will be carrying a sturdy bag on his back full of mementos. Itan will bow slightly to greet Onyx and also as an unspoken thanks for keeping the mausoleum neat in his absence. At that moment Dassous will arrive and comment on the formality and solemnity of such a greeting:

  • Itan: bowing (Thank you.)
  • Onyx: embarrassed Eh… No. You don’t have to do that. It was just
    something that I did on my spare time.
  • Itan: still bowing …
  • Dassous: chuckles Heh! Never mind him bro’, he has always being a stiff on
    formality.
  • Itan: grabbing Dassous forearm and pulling him for a hug Of
    course I am. After all, propriety-
  • All: -starts with your friends. Never forget it! *chuckles*
  • Itan: Yeah, yeah! By the way, where are the girls?
  • Dassous: They should be arriving shortly.
  • Onyx: opening the locks Let’s go wait for them inside, shall we?

[NOTE: Mayhiros Nahir, a Lunar Exalted, will be inside the mausoleum paying her respects to Nita, but after hearing the PCs enter she will transform into a small spider. From then on she will listen to the PCs conversations.]

Once inside the PCs will light some lanterns and get as comfortable as they can. After a few silent moments appreciating the contour and design of the interior, Itan will bring out the bag with a bunch of memorabilia inside.

  • Itan: Look what I found.
  • Dassous: Whoa! This surely brings back a lot of memories.
  • Onyx: grabbing a portrait I remember this…
    [/code]

I know that most of this can be achieved already (mainly the headings), but here’s where I’m unsure:

-    Itan: *bowing* (Thank you.)

That’s a line in the dialogue. The hyphen before the indent at the beginning of a dialogue line, highlighting the character’s name (somehow, if possible), and the *'s wrapping around an action, is there any way to pre-define these with script element functionality?

Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated. I really want to follow this format. It seems more comfortable than screenplay format, to me.

2

So… Anything? Maybe I should post this elsewhere?

I am requesting this as a feature, unless there is a workaround, in which case, I’d like to know how to achieve it.

Thanks.

3

Why not define your own project template(s) to give you what you want? Set up a bunch of formatting presets to go with it. Bob’s your uncle.

4

Thanks for responding.

I’m already doing that… But that is not the problem, you see.

I would like to have Scrivener help me automate the formatting of such lines of dialog, from the “-” and the indent, to the character’s name, and then allow me to insert inline elements such as action and (whisper), for instance. Hence why I ask if I can define prefixes and suffixes in my script elements, or if there’s a workaround.

5

Are you expecting these prefixes and suffixes to be inserted as you type or are you only concerned with them being inserted when the document is compiled? If the latter then the File > Compile > Formatting > Section Layout’s Title Prefix/Suffix setting might be what you want.

If the former then you might be able to use the Project > Auto-Complete List … dialogue box to help. If you’re not using Scriptwriting mode then you’d have to switch Auto-Complete off in Preferences > Corrections down on the Auto-Completion section turn off In Script Mode Only. You might want to think about keeping Only suggestion completions from custom auto-complete lists switched on. Whether it gives you what you want depends on how averse you are to typing.

6

Thanks! I will give the auto-complete list a try, but I don’t see that it allows any formatting or any other options at all, which I need.

This is definitely something I need to be able to use as I write, and not on compilation. I’ll see what I can do between script elements and auto-complete, but it seems that what I really want is not achievable at this time.

What I really want is just script elements, but I need more configuration options for them, like prefixes and suffixes, indenting where I need it, and positioning the cursor between those prefixes and suffixes if I so desire it.

Think of how message boards’ BBC tags work. You click on the button, and it inserts the tag and positions your cursor between them, so you just need to type what you need inside them, and you’re ready to go.

With the current script elements functionality and script elements’ auto-complete lists, could I be able to insert, say, actions, inline? Actions in this script format occur within the dialogue lines, as I illustrated in my previous post. Is there a way to do this?

7

Hello,

Any answer you can give me regarding my last message? (I’d rather not start a new thread, sorry.)

8

Bumping this in the hope that I’ll have some response. I’m still interested in this feature. It would be nice if we could have a little more flexibility when defining script elements. :slight_smile:

If I could write a plug-in or something, I’d gladly do it.

Thank you, and I hope this doesn’t seem rude…