Mar 24, 2016 - The best outlining tools make it easy to log your ideas, arrange your arguments,. Cloud Outliner Price: $1.99 for iOS app; $6.99 for Mac. Scrivener is a popular writing tool among the book-writing community, since it. Nov 6, 2017 - That said, there's a sea of writing apps out there, and it takes time to figure out. For anyone who's tired of scribbling down story ideas on the crinkled. For both Windows and Mac, and some of its best functionalities include.
Before we start talking about the writing apps for Mac, let me make it clear, no writing app can improve your writing magically, that can only be achieved with a lot of practice. Having said that, using a good writing app will assist you in writing, so that you can get the words out of your mind and onto the proverbial paper. A good writing app does that by providing a writer with an aesthetically pleasing and easy to traverse work environment. It is also distraction free and helps you focus on what are you writing. Most importantly, it has all the essential features which are hidden when you are writing and only show up when you need them.
It also makes exporting your text as easy as writing them. Basically, it lets you focus on the art of writing itself and handles the rest. Now, no one app can fulfil all these criteria for everyone as each one of us follow a different form of writing. Some are bloggers and dabble in small-form writing while others are looking to write full-fledged novels. Some of us are aspiring scriptwriters while others are trying to complete their thesis and papers.
That is why we have tried to include different apps which will suit different requirements. So, let’s find out the best writing apps for macOS you can get today: Best Apps for Novel or Blog Writing 1.
Ulysses Some apps are best suited for short-form writing while others focus more on the long-form content creation. Ulysses is the only app which is equally good at both of them. You can as easily write a novel on Ulysses as you can a blog post. Ulysses achieves this feat by creating a perfect amalgamation of features and usability.
When you launch the app for the first time, you are greeted by an interface which is simple and yet so powerful. The interface is divided into three major panes. The left pane is called the Library which houses your main navigation area including folders, trash, and storage options. You can choose to save the files on either iCloud drive or locally on Mac. You can even store files on other cloud storage spaces such as Dropbox using the external folder.
The Middle pane is called sheets and holds all your individual documents. The right pane is the text editor and it’s where all the magic happens. At any given time, you can hide the panes and only use the text editor to get a distraction-free environment. The text-editor supports markdown formatting, meaning you can use certain symbols to format your text.
The idea here is that a writer does not have to use anything other than the keyboard to interact with the app. You can use different themes to customize the look and feel of Ulysses, I personally love to use it in the dark mode. One of my favourite features of Ulysses is its exporting capabilities. You can export any document into Text, PDF, HTML, ePub, and Docx formats. You can even link your WordPress and Medium account and directly publish your articles without living the app. Other features include goal setting, photo attachment, keyword search, and inbuilt notes.
What makes Ulysses also good at long-form writing is its organisational structure. You can create a multi-hierarchal structure by nesting folders inside the folders. The easy drag and drop tool to arrange the sheets is another feature which really comes in handy. There are a lot more features which we cannot cover, as this is not a full review, but know this, even though it is a costly software, it is worth every penny. I write all my articles on Ulysses and have no qualms in recommending this to anyone. Install: 2. Scrivener While Ulysses does well in the long-form writing arena, Scrivener is surely the reigning king here.
Don’t get me wrong, Ulysses does come really close but for someone whose sole focus is on creating lengthy content such as novels, Scrivener still remains the go-to tool. I will be the first to admit that Scrivener is not as intuitive as Ulysses and has a little bit of learning curve attached to it. You will at least need a couple of hours to get familiar with the interface while unlocking its full potential will require some serious usage. The inbuilt tutorial does help a lot to learn the basics. When you launch the app, you will be asked to create a project. There are a few templates which can help you get started.
A project is where everything will take place. For this article, I chose the novel template. Now, I cannot go deep into all the features of Scrivener but I will cover some cool features which make it best suited for long-form writing.
The first feature which Scrivener does better than any other app out there is the organisation of your documents. You can create folders and nest folders inside other folders to create multi-layered organisational structure. But the best part is how easy it makes managing and finding your content.
You can search your text by tags, characters, and keywords. You can use the outlining feature to create an outline.
The cork board view helps in getting the essence of your work. There’s also a separate section for research, where you can keep all your research (texts, links, pictures). There’s a place where you can create your character’s sketch. Lastly, Scrivener allows you to export your work in different publishing format, which is really helpful, to say the least. You can export your work as a simple manuscript, a hardcover novel, ePub for iBooks, and MOBI for Kindle. You just have to feed the required information and it will take care of the formatting for you.
If you are a long-form content writer especially focusing on novels, this is the best tool you can get today. As Ulysses, it is also costly but worth every penny. Install: 3. IA Writer If you are looking for an option which is similar in functionality to Ulysses but does not cost as much, give iA Writer a try. IA Writer gets the basics right.
It has a fluid and good looking interface which helps you avoid distractions and focus more on the writing itself. You can use the syntax (Markdown) to format your text. You can also create sheets and search between the sheets using keywords.
When you launch the app, you will only see a single editor window and you can start typing immediately. To get to the navigation pane, just slide from left to right. Sliding from right to left will give you a view of how your text will look in an actual document. One cool feature is that when you are writing only the current line is highlighted while the rest of the text is greyed out. This helps you focus more on what are you writing. This feature is also present in Ulysses but is not enabled by default.
It also has a dark theme to go with it. Where iA Writer falls behind Ulysses is in its organisational features.
The export feature is limited to text formats only. The goal setting feature is also missing. However, whatever it does do, it does best. The writing environment is fabulous and the app is very light and never lags.
IA Writer can be a great alternative to Ulysses if you are ready to give it a try. Install: 4. Bear Just when you start to think, there’s nothing left to innovate in a certain category of app, there comes a new player which changes the game and Bear has earned its place among them. It combines note taking and small prose writing and put them into an interface which is not only fun to use but is also very effective. Maybe that’s why Bear has won the Apple’s best design award for 2017. Just like Ulysses, the interface is divided into three panes. One houses your groups, one your notes and one acts as your editing panel.
However, Bear’s organisational structure is a little different from Ulysses’. You don’t create folder rather you organise your notes using tags. Any note can have n number of tags. This is a free form organisation and best when you need to show a single note in multiple groups.
Probably the best feature of Bear is its iOS client. Although Ulysses also has an iOS app, Bear’s app is more intuitive and easy to use. At first glance, Bear might feel like that it’s a note taking app which is not wrong but at the same time it is much more than that. Bear handles writing and editing short-form content like articles and blog posts like a breeze. It also has better theming capabilities than any other app on the list. The only major drawback is that it follows a subscription model.
It will cost you $15/year to unlock the pro version, which unlocks its best features like theming, exporting and cross-device syncing. Still, it’s a small price to pay for what you are getting. Don’t just listen to me, try the free version and then decide if it is worth your time or not. Install: (, Pro version for $14.99/year) Best Apps for Screenplay Writing 1. FadeIn I don’t claim to be an expert in screen-writing, however, I have my fair share of experience in it.
For the most part, I have found FadeIn to be the best screenwriting app out there. The interface is easy to understand and you can start as soon as you launch the app.
You will learn the pro features along the way. The best part about FadeIn is its predictive typing experience. Most of the times it figures out correctly if you are about to write a scene heading, a character or a dialogue.
In cases, if it does fail to predict correctly, you can use the tab key to simply move between the options. This makes formatting your screenplay very easy. Our main theme for picking apps today has been selecting the apps which help you getting your words onto the paper and FadeIN does just that. Install: 2.
Final Draft 10 Final Draft is the most popular screenwriting software out there. However, I have kept it at second place because of two specific reasons. Firstly, it costs a lot and every new version will set you back additional $99 to upgrade, which is just absurd.
Secondly, over the years it has borrowed a lot of features from its competitors which have made it really complex. Hence, it has a steep learning curve associated with it. However, if you get over these shortcomings and I am not sure that I can, at its heart, it is a great piece of software aimed at professional scriptwriters.
Like FadeIn, it also supports keyboard shortcuts to change the different script writing elements. In fact, I have found its prediction to be more accurate than FadeIn. However, the premium it demands over FadeIn is not justified in my opinion.
Install: Best Apps for Journal Writing 1. Day One Day One is one of those few apps which make the experience of using the app more powerful than the purpose it serves. The app just looks beautiful. From its design to its UI and its colour scheme to its typography, everything induces a sense of calm. The feature set is also huge. You can create multiple journals and each journal can hold infinite pages.
Not only you can write inside the app, you can even attach photos to support your memories with visual cues. My favourite feature is the addition of geolocation data. It helps you to see the places where you have recorded your journal entry. Day One serves as a multi-purpose tool. Apart from recording your days, you can use this as a dumping ground for your ideas.
You can create tags and stars to sort your notes. It also has an inbuilt search feature which is lightning fast. The app is also password protected which helps in keeping your thoughts safe. The fact that it has apps for both iPhones and iPads makes this one a must for on the go journalism. There is so much to love here. If you are a regular journal writer, this one is a must have.
Install: 2. Journey If you are looking for a journaling app which is truly cross platform, Journey is where your search ends.
It has an app for all the major OS platforms including Android and Windows. The app is powerful and has a feature set which is comparable to that of Day One.
It syncs across devices, supports photo attachment, markdown, and syntax editing and so on. However, I have two main problems with Journey which pushed it down to second place. First, it only uses Google Drive to sync your notes. I hope they add other popular cloud storages such as Dropbox in the future. Also, even when you buy the full app, there are certain features for which you still have to pay for, which is just outrageous.
Other than that, it is a perfectly good app and you will not enjoy using it. Install: Best Writing Apps for Students 1.
Pages If you are a student, you don’t have to look any further than the app which comes preinstalled with every Apple Mac, Pages. There used to be a time when Pages felt like a cheap rip off of Microsoft Word. Now, things have changed and Pages has become one of the best word processor apps present in the market. The best thing about Pages, apart from the fact that it is totally free is that Apple keeps on improving releasing updates every few months. At the time of writing this article, Pages has received yet another big update. Now, you get a library of over 500 shapes, which are also customisable. The auto-correction and text replacement features also get some needed improvements.
But for me, the best new feature is the inclusion of threaded comments while collaborating with other people. All the comments can be seen in a threaded conversation format, which is updated on real time basis. Now you will be able to collaborate with your friends on a document without having to wait for your conversations to load. That is a huge improvement in my opinion. If you are a student, Pages is the software for you.
It’s good looking, it’s feature packed and it’s totally free. Install: 2. Microsoft Word Microsoft pretty much invented the modern word processor and Microsoft Word is still the best. Don’t get me wrong, over the years, Pages did catch up with Microsoft Word but it still has some distance to cover.
In my opinion, Microsoft Word is still the easier of the two software while packing more features. The menus and sub-menus are easier to navigate and the inbuilt search functionality is also better. There’s pretty much nothing more I have to say about it, it’s Word. If you have the cash to spend, this will be a purchase you will never regret. Install: SEE ALSO: The Best Apps for Writers on Mac As I said earlier, these writing apps can not improve your writing, however, what they can do is to assist you in improving your efficiency while writing.
They create an environment where you can forget about technical stuff like formatting and focus more on the art of writing itself. They are more like tools, which in the hands of right person can create wonders. Give these apps a try and let us know in the comments below which is your favourite.
Also, do tell us which writing software do you use currently on your Mac and why.
If you want to learn, at some point you’ll need script writing software. When it comes to script writing software/screenwriting software, I have three apps to recommend.
Here’s a quick guide to the best screenwriting software so you can choose what’s right for you. Quick Navigation. My Philosophy on Screenwriting Software In a nutshell: time is a writer’s most valuable resource. Therefore, script writing software should save you time: it should be easy to learn and use, bug-free, and reliably updated. NOTE: what follows is my opinion, and I am not compensated for these recommendations. That said, here are my choices for the best screenwriting software.
Best Free Script Writing Software: Celtx is free and over 3,000,000 people are using it (according to their website). Celtx is fully-featured, cloud-based screenwriting software that can also be used for storyboarding and production. Celtx offers a few subscription choices, one of which is the option for a free subscription. Celtx is not only my top choice for the best free screenwriting software, it’s also my choice when a filmmaking team needs to collaborate on the script as well as budgets, schedules, shot lists, and more. Celtx is only $9.99 per month for the additional storyboarding and production features. Celtx integrates with iOS apps such as Index Cards, Script, Shots, Scout, and Sides. Best Inexpensive Script Writing Software: Highland is a minimalist, distraction-free software that utilizes plain text. This means that your script is readable in any text editor and can move easily on and off of any device.
Highland also exports to and imports from FDX and PDF, provides notes inline with text, and has markers and page-jumpers to navigate within a long document. Highland’s lead developer is top screenwriter John August ( Big Fish, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory). Highland is $29.99. Best Full-Featured Screenwriting Software: Fade In renders text crisply, supports unicode (text in other languages) and dual dialogue, and allows you to find/replace and undo just about anything.
Fade In has fully functional syncing iOS and Android versions, and is updated for free by a capable developer who also writes and directs films. Fade In is also the choice of top screenwriter Craig Mazin ( Hangover 2, Identity Thief). I should note here that John August’s podcast Scriptnotes (which Mazin co-hosts) has. Fade In costs $79.95 and offers a free trial. I purchased Write Brothers Movie Magic, i.e., Screenwriter in 1998. I dabbled in a few other screenwriting applications including Celtx, Story, Final Draft, and Highland. I liked Celtx and Highland. I’ve written scripts for commercial and informational videos using Word just because that’s what the client used.
If I were starting now, I might go with Celtx. It being more web based has advantages and disadvantages, but it is free. I still prefer Screenwriter. I have a BSEE and was a hardware and software engineer for 30 years so I don’t think my preferences are biased by technophobia. In the future, if I need to write anything besides narrative features and shorts, I may try another application. Claire E Robertson Same here. I bought Movie Magic in September 2000.
I’ve had to wrestle with downloads when switching to a new computer system from my old Windows XP systems but it works great for me so I’m basically refusing to upgrade to the expensive newest version of it. Why fix what isn’t broken? I did have to try and show that I could use Final Draft when I took a college course over a decade ago but my instructor was so impressed with how well my work looked in MM that he allowed us to choose which we preferred. The majority of the class chose MM over FD. Bottom line on it was that we really didn’t need a lot of extra tools to do basic things like using an index card feature. Both programs have it but MM is a lot simpler to use than FD and you really only need to remember where your tab, enter, and down arrow keys are in addition to where your alphabet keys are once it’s set up for your own writing style. Happy to report, I can type over 200 words a minute without having to look at the keyboard.
Useful since the letters often fade fast on every keyboard I get. The addition of being able to import a word processing document and then quickly convert it into a screenplay format means I’m unlikely to want any other screenwriting product in the future. I can also use MM budgeting and scheduling with it, too. I use and love Fade In. So much better than Movie Magic, which is what I used previously (I’ve always preferred Movie Magic over Final Draft).
It even has a dual-column A/V template, which is really handy if you do commercial video scripting (although I prefer the way Celtx handles the A/V format). Fade In also imports and exports to Final Draft (among many other file formats), so even if you’re working with people who require a Final Draft file, you’re not stuck having to use it. Aside from Fade In’s seamless functionality, I also appreciate that it doesn’t look like it was time-portaled in from the mid-90s. Irene I used to be a Final Draft Fundamentalist, but when I needed to collaborate with people I don’t see very often, and when I began looking around for ways to write without having to put my beloved laptop at risk in the wild, Fade In and Celtx came to the rescue. I have to admit that Celtx is slowly winning me away from Fade In, however. I’ll miss the $ I spent on Fade In, but Celtx is so easy to use. I’m also a big fan of Scrivener, but I use that mainly for non-screenwriting purposes, probably because I began using it to write and compile ebooks for Kindle.
It’s a monster of functionality! What level of familiarity would you recommend aspiring screenwriters to have with Final Draft? While I’m sure some people would disagree with me, I don’t think aspiring screenwriters need to have much familiarity with Final Draft other than to know it exists. Yes, it definitely is what productions use, but as there is a long way between writing a script and getting a movie made, I don’t think expensive screenwriting software should be an impediment. Is there a chance that you would have to convert your script into Final Draft if the movie goes into production?
So you have to spend a few hours re-entering your script because you’re movie is getting made? That is work I would personally be happy to do. Writerduet allows you to upload a Final Draft, Celtx, pdf, doc etc into it.
It’s my favorite over others because I can see my partners writing in real time. They can see me when I’m in there. So I’ve had the ability to write with others who live far away from me. Maybe other sites allow this now, but they weren’t when I was shopping around/testing them out. The formatting isn’t always perfect in WriterDuet after an you upload (esp. If the previous doc was a pdf etc, but it’s pretty good to get started).
And you can download out of it (once you pay into the paid service, I believe there is still a free trial version) into PDF, Celtx, Final Draft, etc. Very convenient for sharing with others who don’t use Writerduet or have Final Draft yet.
I use final draft and have for years. In general my mantra is if you want to play with the big boys than you have to use their toys.
It really is the go to for production. One of the more memorable moments at Austin’s festival this past fall was watching the FD boys debate another program. They license to entire crews and have to contract with the production that they will support them. That aside, I can tell you as a coverage reader as well as a writer, I can instantly recognize when someone is using another software.
Or worse — WORD. It SHOULDN’T get in the way of a story but when you are reading upwards of 10 scripts a day at times, you get into a cadence of scene breaks and formatting that is automatic in FD and can vary (in line spacing and margins) in other programs — it seems nit picky but it does take you out of the story. When you are an established writer (like Gilroy on Nightcrawler) you can get away with breaking the norm, but in the meantime I say stick with the standard. John I use the free version of WriterDuet and it’s excellent. Definitely the best free screenwriting software around. I had issues with all the other “free” screenwriting programs. Will upgrade to WD Pro soon.
There’s a great quote on the WriterDuet website from Ed Solomon, writer of MEN IN BLACK and most recently NOW YOU SEE ME: “Writer Duet is the most intuitive, most user-friendly scriptwriting software I’ve ever used. And it’s truly amazing to be able to write and share screens with one, two, or many different people at once. I wish I’d had this earlier in my career. I can’t say enough good things about Guy Goldstein and Writer Duet.” – Ed Solomon (Men in Black, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Now You See Me). Speaking as an (DGA) Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager, Celtx makes our job quite challenging. The greatest issue being that it cannot easily export to any other program. So while a writer may find it wonderful (and free), script breakdown for scheduling and budgeting becomes a nightmare.
All the slugs, sets, characters and locations need to be reentered manually into a scheduling and budgeting program. Celtx claims to have an all in one solution and can provide many production reports, but it simply doesn’t provide the horsepower needed as a day to day production tool. I think that the best piece of software out there right now if WriterDuet. WriterDuet is an incredible piece of software that does all of the the things that final draft does, better, plus an incredible real time collaboration capability.
In my opinion, it’s really the only viable choice for writing partnerships, and perhaps the best choice for single writers. It’s way more fully featured that the free version of Celtex.
It has the PDF reading capacity of Highland, but it’s also cross platform, which Highland isn’t. I have not tried Fade In. The lead developer on WriterDuet, Guy, is also extremely accessible and always has responded to my questions or feature requests. Having used many screenwriting software programs over the years, I was surprised to find Celtx offered many of the features the expensive programs do — yet it is free. The cavet here is they do charge for additional production-level modules yet the direct benefit is anyone can get started in screenwriting at a professional level at no cost.
All of our screenplays have been imported into Celtx since 2010 and I have requested all of my students to do so as well. I highly recommend Celtx for anyone who is writing.
Questions: — Do ALL of these program save in Adobe Acrobat for a standardized pdf? — Can the pdfs of those scripts be “read” in the other programs?
Example: When a Scrivener or FADE IN script’s pdf is sent to a production company, can the production staff member use their software to “read” the cast numbers & # speeches and the Int.- Ext. Locations list? I noticed that David, a DGA, indicated that they don’t all import. Writing with free scriptware is fine for beginners, but when you are seriously submitting, you have to understand that the pdf has to allow for the programming that provides for script breakdown so the production company can identify COST factors like cast size and locations with a couple of taps of the keys.
If the script is being submitted to actors, they want to know how many scenes they appear in and the number of speeches they have to “guessimate” their value to the project. I use Movie Magic. I also use moviemagic.
I love the monthly newsletter I get from them (tips from ‘screenwriter bible’s David Trottier). It imports from pdf and word just fine.
It has a LOT of bells and whistles I don’t know how to use yet. It has templates from all the majors, and all the formats. It is constantly saving for me in a ‘timed backup’ file, so if I forget to save or the power goes out, a recent version is safe.
I’m so happy with it, I’ll likely buy it again. I don’t know why no-one really uses itit’s great! Charu Hi Stephanie I think professional writers cannot NOT think of compatibility with the production office and those who give notes – readers, execs, producers, directors. Here in Mumbai I have been writing a TV show for the last six years in MS Word because that particular production company has its own format and production office requirements. I use FD and Celtx for writing features.
I prefer FD despite its high cost and occasional bugs because I just feel more safe about of my work. (I have this phobia of scripts getting stuck in ‘retrieval hell’ in hopeless recesses of crashed hard disks or ‘cloud bursts’ or getting ‘locked up’ in a free / trail software etc etc etc ? ) But currently am writing a feature for a company using Celtx because the producer has ‘political issues’ with using expensive writing software. One software that I really miss is SOPHOCLES.
Did anybody on this thread use it? It was so good and it’s a pity that they discontinued their service. Larry Charu and Tad, you are the first writers I’ve known of who’ve worked with Sophocles.
I used to use it, and yes, it was really very good. But now I’m stuck with a handful of scenes and sequences that I can’t get back because nothing I know of will open the files. I know — eggs in one basket. I hadn’t heard the FD sabotage rumor, but it could explain how Sophocles dropped into a black hole so abruptly. Although till now I’ve thought of FD as inept rather than underhanded. After an upgrade this summer, FD wouldn’t recognize my “customer number” and now the program won’t open. Their phone helpers agree that I’m entering the right data, and they say they’ll get back to me with even better help.
But as of late fall they haven’t, they don’t. Now I’m back to using Fade In; I’m very happy with it. It exports and imports a variety of file types, including fdx. But I also save everything as a PDF and keep paper copies. I recommend the free version of WriterDuet to my students; they usually prefer the better-known Celtx. It’s slightly buggy on my MacBook so I don’t use it.
Chrid Great article! I found and use Celtx but didn’t know about the other two. I keep looking for a software package that reads aloud dialog. Years ago I was sometimes lucky enough to find a group of actors willing to read my script out loud and put feeling and character into after they had read the script and the result was an incredible high to hear your own words and spot things that worked or didn’t work well. I highly recommend anyone who can find a community theater or group of actors willing to do that for an afternoon quite valuable!
Anthony This is a subject that could go on and on ad nauseam. Just go take a look on different threads about screenwriting on Stage32. I’d call this the ghost topic.
It will always come back. Personally, I stopped using Celtx because it was a pain to use during the rewrite process. And to be clear I used Celtx since the beginning. There are bugs in the editor which prevent you to have a perfect formatted screenplay, this year I called it quits.
So I put my hands on Scrivener, set it up with two different templates depending on the project. Movie Screenplay / TV Bible And the finishing line so to speak is made on Final Draft and/or Trelby which is remarquably handy for a free software. Anthony Also, one last thing to bear in mind about Celtx. You can get an editor that you install on your computer.
That’s the one I used. It’s a great start I’m not denying it. You also now have the possibilty to do all your preproduction via their web services. I think the tricky part with what they offer you for a fee per month is that it is a closed service.
You can do everything on their web platform but if you want to get out, and put your script, your data, your schedule, your budget on another piece of software, you’re gonna waste a lot of time trying to export things correctly. In effect they discourage you to do that, they want you to stay. So after due considerations ( should I stay or should I go) I said, that’s enough for me. I want to be able to carry my data on any file format I want without any restriction.
So I can deliver them to other people. Hope this will help, but hey don’t take my word for it!
You can try it. John Edwards Hey Steph, Once again, a great and useful post. I used to use Final Draft and discovered Celtx after my laptop was stolen.
I, too, think it’s hard to beat for the money. I’m also a fan of very stripped down software: in fact, I just used MS Word with a screenwriting stylesheet on the past. I think there’s a danger of getting distracted by the bells and whistles (as if writers needed more distraction) and soon we get so caught up with the tool we forget about the work.
That being said, Celtx’s features are incredibly useful and easy to use. For that reason and the cost it is my go-to writing program (after pen and paper). Odocoileus Been a Movie Magic user for 8 years.
Still love it. But I’ve been flirting with Fade In because it has a mobile version that allows smooth transfers between my PC and my Android devices.
For my Android devices – phone and tablet – I’ve been using DubScript. It allows me to write scripts using the Fountain markup language and see them displayed in screenplay format. But Fade In works perfectly with Fountain files, whereas Movie Magic doesn’t quite get to a hundred per cent compatibility. Courtney I still use Final Draft (and will continue to use Final Draft) because I feel it works better than all the other programs I’ve used (including those listed, especially Celtx). Once you get to know Final Draft inside and out, it has all the same functions as any other program out there and a lot more. It’s also more compatible with many of the programs needed for pre-production outside of the writing process which helps take the script form the page and put it further into pre-production without the hassle (MM, SSP, etc).
Honestly, I think it’s all just preference. Paul Thurston I’ve used Movie Magic for years and never looked back.
Ross Good article! With so many options out there, good discussion about tools to help writers increase productivity/quality is helpful! A couple important requirements a screenwriting package needs to provide: First and foremost – storytelling! Index cards and a notebook aren’t terrible, but there might be ways for technology to help. Software designers, I don’t want to figure out a new, complex UI or programming language (I have Maya for that). My needs are very simple: help me lay out and organize my story!
There are many fine software packages out there, but the best I’ve found for this purpose by far is Scrivener. Truly a simple, elegant tool that costs a whopping $50! When the story is up and running, then it’s time to look at other packages – FD is king here, but MM et.
Are right in there, too. Formatting is crucial, and this is where software can really come it in handy. Why formatting is so important is all the breakdown/pre-production work that’s required by other departments. FD and MovieMagic Screenwriter play very well with many scheduling and budgeting packages that every line producer and AD uses.
I hear Celtx does too. Accurate revisioning during the prepro process can be greatly streamlined with a good package. FD is obnoxiously and needlessly expensive, but it is quite the formatting tool. Have to say I’ve never tried Celtx in production. In my case, I do the bulk of story design with Scrivener and format with FD (prehistoric version). Work gets done snappy-like, unless there’s a hitch with the cognitive process. Silvia Hi Stephanie, I have been a loyal Final Draft user since for many years.
I started with Final Draft 4 I think. I am now using Final Draft 8. I still love it and as you mentioned it is the industry standard. That said, I have experienced crashing with FD 8, (I literally almost started crying last night when it crashed). Even though I have it set on ‘auto save’, it still crashed.
I would also like to mention that I am also registered on Celtx. I am especially thrilled with it’s relatively new ability to allow us to ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ our scripts into its program. As I said, Love me some FD! But, I have been very blessed to be able to get my hands on it. If that were not the case Celtx would be my #1 choice.
I tried an Open Office template, early on. It could make scripts, but it lacked full functionality. I finally got a discount copy of FinalDraft through my school and loved it from the start. It’s the real deal.
I’ve never had it lock up, though occasionally it pauses, which may be more a function of my computer than the software. Sometimes free is too expensive. I have no fears of submitting a script file in FinalDraft format.
My feeling is that it’s still the industry standard. And it works.
BTW: agents and others can tell if an RTF file was not created in FD. There’s an easy way to check. Earl Celtx PROS: Runs on Windows. Can be run from flash drive or any browser via Cloud. Able to store multiple versions and various data related to the project in one file.
Navigation window with file & folders capabilities. Can be saved/retrieved directly to/from Cloud. (Multiple versions) Character description templates.
Lots of pre-production tools such as Scheduling, Storyboard. CONS: No onscreen WYSIWYG.
Inaccurate onscreen page numbering. No page locking. No revision page colors.
Allows sentences or dialog to be run on at page breaks. (period or no period) Does not import Final Draft files. Not able to navigate to note locations by clicking on the note. ——————————————————————————————————————- Screenwriter 6 PROS: Error checking. Prints sides.
Navigation menu makes it easy to go to notes, scenes, bookmarks. Colored text. Advanced production features.
Great support! Either by email/web page or phone, I Always got help a timely manner. ————————————————————————————————————– CONS: No Linux or mobile application. Does not import/export Final Draft files. No Full Screen mode. Cannot be run from a flash drive.
Navigation menu does not have file/folders capabilities. ——————————————————————————————————————– Fade in Pro Pros: Runs on Windows. Able to import Celtx, Final Draft, PDF files.
Retina display with OS X. Able to export Final Draft files. EPUB export Adobe Story support. Fountain support. Scrivener support. Constant updates.
CONS: No web version. (Versions – 1.2.464 ) Needs Mac OS 10.6 Intel or better. No tagging/breakdown capabilities. Dictionary/Thesaurus (Online only) Cannot be run from a flash drive.
Navigation menu does not have files, folders or notes capabilities (Like Celtx, Storyist) Wish there were more quick launch icons to create Notes, Synopsis, etc. (maybe Right-Click does this?) Launch icons too small. (at lease on my netbook) So My number one software remains MM Screenwriter 6. (I never totally trust web based only apps, (especially after what just happened to Scripped!). JD I normally use Scrivener, but I was considering using John August’s markup system, just to see how I liked it. Also free, and apparently imports/converts easily to FD, the industry standard. Before that, I used FD (a long time ago).
I was fine with it, but that was apparently before they introduced crashes as an um, “undocumented feature.” Heh. I trust NOTHING to the cloud. Also re the standard: whenever I output a complete draft, I compile a copy in FD mode and CHECK it. Ditto when exporting into PDF. Errors can occur. Adjustments will be made.
I’ll probably get FD again, just b/c it is the standard. Don’t let haste, sloppiness or cheapness hinder the potentially very important eyeballs reading your work! Output to the industry standard (whatever that is where you are) and make sure your work is 100% when it goes out. That’s the trouble with university, they have standardised across the university. However NOBODY in the film industry uses Word as it’s too easy to screw up.
You can use WriterDuet to output to RTF and then into Word. Some production companies will use Word internally, just as some will use Celtx, or EP or StudioBinder or But the international standard script format is Final Draft.fdx which can be tagged and imported (as a.sex file!) into Movie Magic Budgeting and Movie Magic Scheduling. So that means that whatever you use to write your script, it must be capable of ending up in.fdx. Robert I’ve tried all of the screenwriting programs (and I do mean ALL of them).
I used to use Final Draft but got sick of how buggy it was and paying for updates. Movie Magic Screenwriter is just too old at this point. Celtx is clunky, Adobe Story is clunky, and I wouldn’t trust either of those. I wouldn’t trust ANY cloud based program or website. Scripped disappeared and took all the scripts stored there with it.
Friends of mine use Writer Duet because it’s free but it’s been down a LOT lately, and when it’s down you can’t get your work. Highland and Slugline are sort of cool but they’re not really full screenwriting programs. They’re kind of like half screenwriting programs. I bought Fade In (ONLY fifty bucks!) and have been using it for a while now. So long Final Draft.
WriterDuet creator here, just wanted to address the point you mentioned: AFAIK we’ve had two non-trivial times offline in the past year, and nothing was lost, we were back up in a few hours. I’m working on solutions to avoid that happening again. But there’s an easy solution to avoid Internet problems with WriterDuet: buy the Pro version, which works seamlessly offline. You’re comparing it to paid programs – yes the free version has a limitation, but that should be expected. A lot of programs don’t have fully capable, unlimited free versions at all. You say you’ve tried all the programs, but it sounds like with WD you just took your friends’ experience (which seems like it was good except one or two brief holdups). Give it a try yourself, I am confident you will be very impressed!
I believe the Pro version is hands-down the best option out there. Joseph Lombardo Hello, I’m interested in trying the Fade In software. I haven’t written for many years and so a lot of this is new to me. When I last wrote I did so in Word.
As far as Fade In is concerned I’d like to know if this is a program that I can save on my computer or do I have to save into some cloud somewhere. I really don’t like the idea of my work drifting around someplace. I’ve read up on Fade In and haven’t seen anything mentioning this. Can anyone tell me about this please? I’ve gone from Final Draft 6 to Scrivener to Final Draft 9. As a novelist and screenwriter, Scrivener was the best choice.
It was great for organizing the chapters of my book into folders using a left pane, and then also organize the screenplay on the right pane. This made it extremely easy to convert my novels to screenplay format. Even though I am using Final Draft for the rewrites, I would feel equally comfortable continuing in Scrivener.
The other advantage of Scrivener is you can use it on an unlimited number of devices (my example: 1-work/2-home/2-laptops) where FinalDraft only allows 2 total installations. Ronbrassfield Where’s Movie Outline in this discussion? Very worthy package which has been around about seven years now, as shown by Final Draft v. 9 evidently copying some of its features. I started out with Scriptware, which stopped updating with Windows 95 and does not seem to network, as in “I’m out on the deck with my laptop and I want to work on the script stored on my desktop’s hard drive.” It still works fine, though, given those limitations and it never had installation limits. Movie Magic 6 does the networking just fine, and I believe it will install on three PCs.
Movie Outline integrates character- and scene-building features into its interface and stacks up quite well against the big boys of the marketplace, but it only allows installation on two PCs. I never even considered going to Final Draft after its late-90s crash-prone version upgrade, and some of the users here seemingly could relate, judging from their comments. Its “industry standard” promotion seems to have been most effective in making it the leading seller, though. I always envision Final Draft users as also wearing those black baseball caps with the word “Writer” printed on them.
Sydney I started out with a really great program called Sophocles that, unfortunately, went face-down in the soup quite a few years back. I switched to Final Draft which is a good program, but too expensive and yes, a bit buggy. I now use Fade In and have to say if you want a full featured screenplay writing program that is mucho affordable, powerful and updated for free, check it out. It will do everything you need done as a scriptwriter without a lot of bells and whistles that frankly, you will prolly never need. And, as they used to say, all good screenplays begin with FADE IN. Steve Schaefer I’m retired and over the years have written several magazine and technical articles, and am how experimenting with Action & SF novels. Over the years I have tried many author software products, but settled on what works best for me – being MS Word & Excel.
This may sound crazy to writers unfamiliar with the products, but I find they are very useful – maybe because I have used them for so long. I’ll explain how I use them – so other authors will be offered another solution. Excel: I use this to setup a Timeline of events in a story; as most stories unfold over many days, weeks, months, or even years. On the main page I divide up the columns on the 1st row as follows: Under Slug Line, Action, Parenthetical, and Dialog.
Dividing the 2nd row as follows Under: Slug Line: City, State, Country, UTC, Local Date, Local Time, and Location. Under Action: Focus, Group, Item, Character(s), and Action. Under Parenthetical: blank Under Dialog: Blank Additional Columns: Notes, URL Resource 1, URL Resource 2, and Expert Comments.
Word: Google “setting up a script format using MS word” and follow the instruction on how to create document that uses the “Alt” plus another key to format a movie script. This allows you to set each line as needed, and also with automatically jump through Slug, Action, Character, Parenthetical, and Dialog; as long as you don’t want to skip around or use more than one of each type as you write. Since most authors already have MS Office, I believe these two programs work well together and offer a low cost solution to writing. Just like in the graphics industry, there is no one stop shop.
Photoshop is for image work, Illustrator for single page layouts and graphics, InDesign for multipage layouts, etc. With Scriptwriting, I’d make similar distinctions. You need something for 1) outlining / arranging scenes 2) writing the actual scenes 3) collaboration (sending out, highlighting, adding notes etc) I don’t think there is a software that does all three well. Some try all three, but something is always buggy or crudely made. My recommendations are an individual solution for each step. 1) Outlining Remember, Pixar spends 3 years outlining and 1 year scriptwriting.
‘Numbers’ by Apple is best for that extensive work. It’s a spreadsheet software like Excel, only free and better. At a certain point you need to create a horizontal axis to align scene cards on, or to match them to whatever story beats (Snyder, Truby etc) you want to hit along the way. There aren’t many ‘offline yet portable’ row and column options where you can enter anything along a flexible x and y axis, even add images. The alternatives are actual post-its on your wall, or cloud services which don’t work offline. 2) Everyone who has been involved in any kind of production workflow knows that it’s best to eliminate file conversion.
Something always goes wrong. Stuff gets lost or corrupted all the time. For writing, Final Draft is the thing, because you can start and end there, no matter how many rewrite/sharing versions in between. Everyone serious has it. And come on, it’s not expensive.
Ask a freelance designer shelving out 50 bucks a month for the standard set of work tools. And for the crashing of FD: hitting ‘command (or apple) s’ every 5 minutes like a nervous twitch, and general file versioning have to become your friend. If after a writing day you haven’t saved 3 versions, one at 12, one at 4 and one at 8, you’ve got a problem lined up in the foreseeable future. If one version becomes corrupted, you have one not too old to fall back on. In hectic work environments, saving a copy every hour is good.
I know people in the 3d world who save a new version every ten minutesor after each setting. There is no way around versioning. Files will get corrupted. 3) For sending around stuff and commenting, there is no way around Adobe Acrobat (PDF). Whoever can’t read/comment it with their software can get the free Adobe Reader.
But it’s a one way street. I haven’t seen a software able of converting a PDF back to a really intact editable version. Something always goes wrong during conversion. PDF is the only serious format for reading, sharing and collaborating, but then this ‘viewing and commenting’ version is useless and it’s back to the live Final Draft version. Hope that makes sense.
I’m not a pro writer but an Information Architect and perfectionist when it comes to planning and production control. (can you tell?). I used Celtx free version for many, many years, and I liked it for writing. I found the additional features a bit clunky, but I used them as I wanted to do everything in the same software. When everything changed with the paid version, I hung on to the free model for a while.
When I switched from FCP 7 to the Adobe cloud, I thought I might try Adobe Story to keep workflow simple and minimize cost (Story is included in the cloud). Story is OK for writing, but the other features are clunky and buggy and seem not to be developed from a production POV. Still struggling along with it because I am a Adobe cloud convert, but I wish it worked better. I know of several people in the industry who insist you need Final Draft.
Major studios/production companies they insist use FD and when they need to do breakdowns, plan a budget, whatever, a FD file is a must. Not a PDFS file. But I currently can’t afford it. It cost more than I make a week. If you are an a indie producer who does everything yourself, directing, editing budgeting, it probably doesn’t matter what you use. But no one wants a producer refusing to read something b/c you only had a PDF copy and not a Final Draft file to send them.
Which I guess can actually happen. Jonathan S None of this takes into account AV scripts, the TV documentary (and commercials) two-column format. FadeIn sort of does it, as does Celtx (but you can’t see it).
The only halfway satisfactory dedicated software was the now discontinued Final Draft AV. Which was buggy and crashy and inflexible. But at least it existed. Word tables are disastrous, as Audio and Video move out of sync all the time and formatting just goes all over the place.
So – an appeal to all developers – give your software an edge that all the other programmes don’t have, and include a decent AV format. In all honesty, for all the bells and whistles these softwares have, I almost always end up drowning in mountains of paper notes and I still haven’t finished a single project in 25 years of writing because I’m too disorganised if not too fussy about HOW I organise. Frankly I find the organisational tools in these softwares to be somewhat disorganised in and of themselves with a billion tweekable windows that get in the way of each other (a complaint I have about all software, to be honest), although CeltX and Fade In definiatly are the best of them for what I need, and even then, I can lose myself all too easily and end up glaring at the monitor as if it is in some way responsible.
What do I need? Ah, just a moment. Yes, I am hoping a passing software developer will read this coment. I need fixed windows and symetry. That is a fixed work space in the middle (I don’t care about autoformatting, we don’t need that crap,) above the workspace is a fixed window with the hook, eg “This is a story about a failed scientist who has spent the last 15 years trying to make good on his backup plan of writing for a living. While his style is good according to everyone else, he thinks it’s crap and can’t organise himself for toffee!” Below the central work space would be a fixed window for notes. On the left a fixed window for scenes or chapters, depending on what I’m writing and on the right a fixed window for characters and temprements.
To give me something with millions of customisable windows often ends up with me spending hours trying to find the most esthetically pleasing form for the best possible organisation. Wayne I had the same issue with a project. Had notes everywhere. So I put them on notepad and separated each section with zero’s. Thats my system. And saved all the work on several files. Then put them in a folder.
Then make a back up. A master copy of the story. Then made key indicators of where everything should go. After removing the areas. It will build up.
Then when you finish. Handle the formatting.
As for all the paper notes. Put all related notes together. Then allighn them into the storyline. Copy type the result. Move onto the next one.
It does take time. Hope this helps. I am a software junkie. I try all of the software that I can get my hands on. However, I use Final Draft because in the end most people have that software and instead of exporting a Final Draft file from another program I feel like I might as well just start and end in the same one. I also don’t think it’s all that expensive as far as software goes, but that is just my opinion.
I do enjoy Highland, but as a Writer/Producer that is often finding ways to do my own films, I find it handy that Final Draft has the tools I need built in for breakdowns, reports, and tagging. I love the site and look forward to many more years of reading. Vikram Hi Stephanie, I am a complete newbie to film script writing, but would like to get the right software at the very beginning (so I don’t get forever put off). I have a set of questions, if you mind answering. I’ve nudged towards the Slugline for the Mac (yet to purchase it). 1) Is exports and imports from FDX and PDF possible with Slugline?
2) Is various other languages options available on Slugline or any other software (such as Hindi)? 3) And finally I like to start of with Treatments or Outlines, does Slugline have this option? (Do you recommend any other software) Thanks, Vikram.