Fountain Syntax Skill
Invocation Triggers
Apply this skill when:
-
Writing or editing .fountain files
-
Validating screenplay format
-
Converting between formats
-
Teaching Fountain syntax
Complete Fountain Syntax Reference
Title Page
Key-value pairs at the start of the document:
Title: Seoul Identity Credit: Written by Author: Scott Graham Draft date: December 27, 2025 Contact: scott@wordstofilmby.com
Standard keys: Title , Credit , Author , Source , Draft date , Contact , Copyright , Notes
Scene Headings
INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - NIGHT INT./EXT. CAR (MOVING) - CONTINUOUS
Must begin with: INT , EXT , EST , INT./EXT , INT/EXT , or I/E
Force any line as scene heading with . prefix:
.FLASHBACK - TWENTY YEARS EARLIER
Optional scene numbers:
INT. HOUSE - DAY #1# INT. HOUSE - DAY #1A#
Action (Description)
Plain paragraphs are action. Line breaks are preserved.
The room is dark. A FIGURE moves in the shadows.
Sarah enters, hesitant. She looks around.
Force uppercase lines as action with ! :
!MONTAGE - SARAH'S MORNING ROUTINE
Character Names
All UPPERCASE on own line, blank line before:
SARAH I don't understand.
With extensions:
MOM (V.O.) When I was your age...
JOHN (O.S.) I'm in the kitchen!
SARAH (CONT'D) And another thing...
Force mixed-case with @ :
@McCLANE Yippee ki-yay.
Dialogue
Text following Character or Parenthetical:
JOHN This is dialogue. It can span multiple lines without a problem.
Parentheticals
Wrapped in parentheses, after Character or within Dialogue:
SARAH (looking away) I never said that. (beat) Not exactly.
Dual Dialogue (Simultaneous)
Add ^ after second character:
JACK I love you!
JILL ^ I hate you!
Transitions
Uppercase ending in TO: , or forced with > :
CUT TO:
DISSOLVE TO:
FADE TO BLACK.
Centered Text
Bracket with > and < :
THE END<
TITLE CARD: "THREE YEARS LATER"<
Emphasis (Formatting)
italics bold bold italics underline
Escape with backslash: *not italic*
Lyrics
Prefix with ~ :
~Somewhere over the rainbow ~Way up high
Page Breaks
Three or more = on own line:
===
Notes (Writer Comments)
Double brackets, won't appear in output:
[[This is a note to myself about the scene.]]
Boneyard (Archived Content)
Content between /* and */ is ignored:
/* CUT SCENE - keeping for reference
INT. DINER - NIGHT ... */
Sections (Structural, Hidden)
Pound signs for outline hierarchy:
Act One
Sequence 1
Scene Group
Synopses (Scene Summaries, Hidden)
Prefix with = :
= Sarah discovers the truth about her father.
INT. SARAH'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Validation Rules
Required Elements
-
Title page (for complete scripts)
-
Scene headings with location and time
-
Proper character/dialogue structure
Common Errors
-
Missing blank line before character names
-
Scene heading missing time of day
-
Parenthetical not on own line
-
Unescaped special characters triggering wrong format
Syntax Validation Checklist
-
Title page has required fields
-
Scene headings start with INT/EXT
-
Character names are UPPERCASE
-
Parentheticals are in (parentheses)
-
Dual dialogue uses ^ correctly
-
Notes use [[double brackets]]
-
Boneyard uses /* */ correctly