Writing character names always in ALL-CAPS

[Clint Hill]

Either the story is good or it is not. The one reaction that you won't have is: Great story, but too many caps so I'll pass. Pretty sure that's the one opinion you won't hear.

That's the truth.

[Centos]

Has anyone ever been taken out of a story cause character names have been in all caps? I have not. As long as they are consistent and it is always the same. Not sometimes capitalized and sometimes not.

For what it's worth (not much) I wouldn't like it. It would be shouting the name every time it's mentioned. Especially if the writer is the kind who writes without pronouns and conjunctions. "JOE stands. JOE walks to the counter. JOE scratches his nose. JOE looks a the newspaper. JOE pours a cup of coffee.

[Clint Hill]

For what it's worth (not much) I wouldn't like it. It would be shouting the name every time it's mentioned. Especially if the writer is the kind who writes without pronouns and conjunctions. "JOE stands. JOE walks to the counter. JOE scratches his nose. JOE looks a the newspaper. JOE pours a cup of coffee.

The traditional use of all capital letters is for the introduction of characters in a screenplay. The use of all capital letters for the introduction of characters in a screenplay makes it easier to scan a page for characters at any stage of the script's life.

Using all capital letters for characters each time the characters' names appear in the script is a matter of personal preference. I wouldn't do it, but it wouldn't bother my read of a script. I look for a good story, capital letters or not, just as if e e cummings wrote a screenplay.

Those who dare to use all capital letters each time for characters may run the risk of annoying a reader. The readers might see it as the mark of an unskilled screenwriter.

Incorrect spelling, grammar, and punctuation tell me that I'm not in good hands with a writer's story. Now and then, there is that one diamond in the rough out there somewhere in the mechanical morass of English usage in screenplays whose story tops any misuse of format, style, or writing mechanics.

Active Voice writing, though, is the gold standard for what works best for audio and visuals on the screenplay's pages to be translated through a microphone and camera lens into a film story comprised of photographic images played at a rate of twenty-four frames per second.

The writer's choice of words and the order in which they're arranged are what make a screen story sing from the page.