What is the best way to format someone screaming? Not from pain but being alarmed. Not words but sounds. Something that sounds like EYE or a yelp. (I recorded my wife as I scared her to help me figure the sound out. I got the "slap" sound down pretty good.) Action and dialogue comments?
Screenwriting : SCREAMING for help. by Alan B. Cox
SCREAMING for help.
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Glance through any number of horror scripts; that should give you plenty of written examples. Lol! ;) Personally, I describe it in action never in dialogue: "Brooke jumps, emits a wee yelp." "A distant shriek stops them cold." "He screams in agony, drops a leather strap held between his teeth." "From deep within her comes a voice. Not hers, not human." I tend to stay away from onomatopoeia, but my tone/style and what I'm writing really doesn't call for it. Depending on context, a well-placed "BOOM" or "BANG" or "YELP" is fine. Just keep in mind that overuse can be irksome to read and/or can be problematic. ;) Hope that helps!
When it comes to specific sounds, it's best to just describe the action. Such as he screams in shock. The individual actor will decide how to act. Our job as writers is to give them the overall tone of the scene and the actions. They decipher the emotions and act and sound them out. In my opinion, of course, I could be wrong
A lot of it depends on the scene structure & concept. (Please don't use jump scares.) Action is the way to go: His face contorts in fear. Dialog; ALAN; SHRIEKS