Typewrite your manuscript. Here are other rules of the game which the beginner often disregards: Write on only one side of the paper; use white paper about eight and a half by eleven; put your name and address on the first page of the manuscript; and, most important of all, inclose a stamped and addressed envelope for the return of the story should it be unavailable. Make carbon copies of all your stories. Make certain that your story is good by all the tests you can devise, and then pin your faith to it and keep it in the mails until it sells. Don’t hesitate to rewrite it, however, if after a few months you feel that it can be improved. Were we asked to confine our advice to would-be photoplaywrights to one sentence, we could give no better hint than, “Study the screen.” There, in three words, is contained the one big secret of success in the picture field. See all the pictures you can, occasionally see them more than once, and _study_ them. VIII TECHNIQUE OF THE PHOTOPLAY For the purpose of making clear the strictly technical aspects of photoplay-writing it has been decided best to provide a model “scenario,” as the manuscript form of the photoplay is called. Explanatory notations are made on the different points in construction developed. From the model given here the beginner will understand the manner in which he must develop his story, scene by scene, telling of each move made by the characters. “How many scenes are there in one reel?” is a question often asked by beginners, when a little thought should show them that the number will vary, depending on the length of the individual scenes. The average is between thirty-five and forty. It will be seen that the model runs over forty, but many of the scenes are the briefest of flashes. Remember, “a scene is the action that can be photographed without stopping the camera.” No matter how short your scene seems, if you feel that the camera-man would have to stop grinding, and move his camera to take in the next action, then you know that the next action must be numbered as another scene. The form for photoplays of more than one reel is similar to that given here. The author may suit his own convenience in deciding whether to number his scenes from beginning to end of the story or to number each reel separately. The author is indebted to the Edison Company for the privilege of using the scenario of the one-reel photoplay, “Across the Great Divide,” by Edward C. Taylor. The notes in brackets are solely explanatory and are not part of the scenario. If you desire, an outer sheet may carry the name of the photoplay, the number of reels, whether it is comedy or drama, your name and address, and a line, “Submitted at usual rates.” The first page proper of your scenario will read: (In upper corner author’s name and address) “ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE” SYNOPSIS