Final Draft Blog

All the tips, tricks and information you need to inspire your writing!
Read interviews with the pros, catch up with industry news, and listen to Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast by Final Draft.

Writing Fellowships: The Wins and the Lessons

March 1, 2021

I’d hate to open this article with a big cliché, but here goes (deal with it): It’s no secret how competitive this industry is. For those starting out, the ladder you’re climbing can feel pretty crowded at the bottom. If the objective is to summit, s...

Afro Horror: Horror and Mental Health

February 26, 2021

For about five years now, I’ve been actively seeing a therapist. It started when I quit an extremely toxic survival job while trying to break into writing. I worked as a manager in a French restaurant. I was overworked and underpaid, which resulted i...

Write On with 'Supernova' Writer-Director Harry Macqueen

February 26, 2021

Supernova is the moving story of Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci), who after Tusker’s dementia diagnosis travel across England in an RV to visit family, friends and places from their past.

Hybridized Classroom Tips for Screenwriting Educators

February 26, 2021

No matter how this pandemic shapes our classrooms, long-distance learning has come of age; hybridized classrooms may be a feature of any so-called normal we as teachers experience going forward.

5 Screenwriting Takeaways From 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday'

February 26, 2021

When did the War on Drugs begin? That’s the question author Johann Hari poses in his 2016 book, "Chasing the Scream". He argues that it begins in the 1930s, when a federal agent named Harry Anslinger joined the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

A Strategy Primer for Writers: Part IV

February 25, 2021

Welcome back to the strategy primer for writers; a series in which we deep dive into workflow and productivity strategies used by successful entrepreneurs and creators to decrease procrastination.

Tiller Russell On 'Silk Road' and Creating Fiction From Reality

February 25, 2021

Tiller Russell is no stranger to delving into the minds of detectives and the criminals they hunt. His storied career as a director, writer and producer includes the hit Netflix docu-series Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. While his lates...

History of TV: Paging Dr. Ross Back to the 'ER'

February 25, 2021

Whether you watched it back in the day or not, you knew the show: ER. NBC’s undeniable ‘90s hit ran a marathon 15 seasons, becoming the epitome of that decade’s “must-see TV” and paving the way for many a medical show to come (you’re welcome, Dr. Gre...

Writer-Director John Swab on 'Body Brokers'

February 24, 2021

Writer-director John Swab's latest film Body Brokers follows protagonist Utah (played by Jack Kilmer); a drug addict who finds himself at the center of true-to-life rehab schemes, where patients are funneled in and out of facilities, allowing rehabs ...