How to Write Parentheticals in a Screenplay (Wrylies)

Parentheticals, also called wrylies, are short lower-case notes in parentheses on their own line between a character cue and the dialogue, such as (quietly) or (into phone). They tell the reader how a line is delivered or mark a small action inside a speech, and they should be rare, brief and only used when the words alone would be misread.

Updated 2026-09-22 · About 6 sections · 6 answered questions

What are parentheticals in a screenplay?

A parenthetical is a note in parentheses that sits between the character's name and the words they say. It tells the reader something about the delivery that the line itself cannot carry, or marks a small physical beat inside a speech without breaking to an action line.

INT. DRIVING TEST CENTRE - DAY

EXAMINER PRICE, 60s, clipboard, no expression. LENA, 17,
keys in hand, no colour in her face.

                    PRICE
               (without looking up)
          Whenever you're ready.

                    LENA
               (beat)
          Ready for what, exactly?

The nickname wryly comes from the cliché note (wryly) that turned up under so many character names in old scripts that readers started using it as shorthand for the whole element, usually with a groan. That groan is the key to using them. Parentheticals are tolerated, not loved. A page with none is normal. A page with six is a page a reader skims.

Everything about the format is small: lower case, no capital at the start, no full stop at the end, and short enough that it never wraps to a second line. The dialogue formatting guide shows where they sit relative to the cue and the block; this article is about what goes inside them.

Parenthetical format and placement on the page

The parenthetical is its own element with its own position. It starts about 3.1 inches from the left edge of a US Letter page, between the character cue (3.7 inches) and the dialogue (2.5 inches), so it reads as a step down from the name into the speech. Screenwriting software places it for you: in Zen Writer you type an opening parenthesis on the line after a cue and the app treats it as a parenthetical automatically.

Rule	Correct	Wrong
Lower case	`(quietly)`	`(Quietly)`
No end punctuation	`(to Lena)`	`(to Lena.)`
Own line, between cue and dialogue	cue, then `(beat)`, then line	`(beat)` written inline inside the dialogue at the start
Short	`(checks his watch)`	`(checks his watch, sighs, and looks out the window at the rain)`
Not an extension	`LENA (V.O.)` on the cue line	`(V.O.)` on the parenthetical line
Never alone	always followed by dialogue	a cue, a parenthetical, and no speech

A parenthetical can also appear in the middle of a speech, on its own line between two chunks of dialogue, when the delivery changes partway through. It still sits at the parenthetical margin and the dialogue resumes beneath it with no new cue:

                    PRICE
          Mirror. Signal.
               (a long pause)
          Manoeuvre would be the next one.

(O.S.), (V.O.) and (CONT'D) look like parentheticals and are not. They are extensions and they live beside the name on the cue line; the O.S. article explains the difference and why readers care.

When to use a parenthetical

A parenthetical earns its place when the line would be read wrong without it. Those cases are narrower than most writers think.

The line means the opposite of what it says. (sincerely) above That's a great idea tells the actor it is not sarcasm, when the scene would otherwise let them assume it is.
Who the line is aimed at, when three or more people are present. (to Price), (to the room), (to herself). Without it the reader has to work out the addressee from context, which slows them down.
A change of channel. (into phone), (into radio), (on speaker) when a character switches between talking to someone in the room and someone on a device. The phone call formatting article shows the full pattern.
A tiny action that would look absurd as a full action line. (hands her the keys). If it takes more than a few words, it is an action line.
A pause the rhythm needs. (beat), (then), (a long pause). Use sparingly; every (beat) on a page is a place the writer did not trust the line to breathe on its own.
Language or accent, once. (in Polish) or (subtitled) the first time it applies, then a note in action if it continues.

                    LENA
               (into phone)
          I passed. No. I passed. Tell Dad.
               (to Price)
          Sorry. My mum.

                    PRICE
          You haven't started the car.

When not to use a parenthetical

The default is none. Cut the parenthetical if any of the following is true.

The dialogue already carries the delivery. (angrily) above Get out of my car is telling the actor what the line already told them. Most emotional adverbs fail this test: (sadly), (happily), (nervously).
You are directing the actor. Performance is the actor's job and the director's. A spec script full of delivery notes reads as a writer who does not trust the cast, and a reader notices before a director does.
It contains a camera direction. (close on her hands) is not a parenthetical, it is a shot, and shots do not belong in a spec at all. The free spec script checker flags camera language wherever it hides.
It describes something the whole room sees. Anything the camera has to photograph belongs in an action line, where it has room and where the reader expects to find it.
It wraps to a second line. Too long. Move it.
It repeats the previous one. If a character is on the phone for a page, one (into phone) is enough. Re-establish it only when they switch back and forth.

Writers reach for parentheticals when the line does not do its job. The fix is usually in the words, and the dialogue craft article is about that fix: subtext, pressure, and lines that can only be said one way.

(beat), (pause), (then): the action parentheticals

(beat) is the most common parenthetical in professional scripts and the one most often overused. It means a short pause, a breath, a moment where the character decides something before continuing. It does not mean a dramatic beat in the structural sense.

                    PRICE
          Turn left at the roundabout.
               (beat)
          Your other left.

(then) is the same idea with a change of direction: the speaker finishes one thought and starts another. (pause) and (a long pause) are longer. Some writers prefer to break a speech with a one-line action instead of any of these, because Price watches the roundabout go past tells the reader what the pause contains, while (beat) only says it exists.

Whichever you use, the count matters. A reader who sees (beat) three times on one page stops seeing it. In a feature, single digits across the whole script is a reasonable budget, and full-script search in Zen Writer will tell you your number in a second. The free plain text screenplay formatter will also normalise stray parentheticals that ended up inline or in the wrong case when a draft was written in a notes app.

Parenthetical mistakes that mark a draft as amateur

A wryly on every line. The reader stops reading them, then stops reading the dialogue with any care.
Adverbs of emotion. (angrily), (sadly), (excitedly). If the line does not carry it, rewrite the line.
Extensions in the wrong place. (V.O.), (O.S.), (CONT'D) on the parenthetical line instead of the cue line.
Paragraphs in parentheses. Two lines of stage business is an action line wearing a disguise.
Capital letters and full stops. (Beat.) is wrong twice.
A parenthetical with no dialogue after it. The element exists to modify speech. With no speech, it is an action line.
Camera or editing notes. (off his look) is borderline and common; (close up) is out.
Using it to explain a joke. (sarcastic) above a line that is obviously sarcastic tells the reader you were not sure it landed.

To see parentheticals sitting correctly among every other element on a sample page, the screenplay formatting examples page has one; the screenplay formatting hub has a guide for each element. If you draft on a phone, Zen Writer for iPhone puts the parenthetical at the right indent the moment you type the opening bracket, so the only decision left is whether the note is worth having, which is the only decision that was ever yours.

Frequently asked questions

What is a parenthetical in a screenplay?

A parenthetical is a short note in parentheses on its own line between a character's name and their dialogue, such as (quietly) or (into phone). It tells the reader how a line is delivered, who it is aimed at, or marks a small action inside a speech. Writers and readers also call them wrylies.

Why are parentheticals called wrylies?

Because (wryly) appeared under so many character names in older scripts that readers turned the word into a nickname for the whole element. The term carries a warning: a note that tells the actor to be wry is usually a line that was not written wry enough.

How many parentheticals are too many?

There is no fixed limit, but more than two or three on a page will be noticed and a parenthetical on most lines marks a draft as amateur. Professional scripts often run several pages without one. If you find yourself adding delivery notes to make lines work, rewrite the lines instead.

Should parentheticals be capitalised or end with a full stop?

No to both. Parentheticals are lower case with no end punctuation: (beat), not (Beat.). They are also short enough never to wrap to a second line. If one needs a capital letter because it contains a name, as in (to Lena), only the name is capitalised.

Can I put an action in a parenthetical?

Yes, if it is tiny and belongs to the speaker: (hands her the keys), (checks his watch), (beat). Anything longer than a few words, anything a second character does, and anything the camera has to see in its own right belongs in an action line instead of a parenthetical.

Is (into phone) a parenthetical or an extension?

A parenthetical. It goes on its own line beneath the cue and describes how the character delivers the line. Extensions such as (V.O.), (O.S.) and (CONT'D) are different: they go on the cue line beside the name and describe where the voice comes from, not how the line is spoken.

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Type an opening bracket under a character cue and Zen Writer indents it as a parenthetical, then Smart Enter drops you straight into the dialogue line.

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Screenplay Formatting

How to Write Parentheticals in a Screenplay (Wrylies)

What are parentheticals in a screenplay?

Parenthetical format and placement on the page

When to use a parenthetical

When not to use a parenthetical

(beat), (pause), (then): the action parentheticals

Parenthetical mistakes that mark a draft as amateur

Frequently asked questions

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