Screenplays and teleplays are more than technical documents. They are a form of literature in their own right, separate from the films and television programs that may be made from them. And just as the layout of a poem on the page is an integral part of the poetry, so is format an integral part of the art of the script.
Use the guidelines in this manual as a launching point for your creativity. Properly understood, they should never hold you back. Instead, use the principles contained in this book as tools to free you to express clearly and powerfully your artistic vision, to capture on the script page the best and deepest and truest things you know.
Write with all your heart. Advance the art of the screenplay.