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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.

Take 5: Writing lessons from the Christmas Rom-Com 'Hotel for the Holidays'

Holiday romantic-comedies are a big business. These films appear on multiple cable channels and streaming services with each one trying to maintain originality while also having to play off similar tropes. Hotel for the Holidays is a new light-hearte...

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Screenwriting lessons from Spielberg’s Origin Story: ‘The Fabelmans’

What was Steven Spielberg like before he became Steven Spielberg? In the new film The Fabelmans, Spielberg tells the true story of what drove one of the best filmmakers in the history of the industry to become the person he is today. This semi-autobi...

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Imposter Syndrome? Here's how to deal with it

I’ve been writing for over a decade and I still think I suck. Maybe not all the time, but most of the time. Sometimes I fear that people will catch on that I'm not good at this writing thing, and all of my dreams will be shattered. And when I think I...

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How to keep writing during the holiday season

The holiday season is a great time for eating, drinking, and reuniting with friends and family, but it’s typically a terrible time for your writing. Plus there are all those favorite holiday movies that are so hard to peel away from! I started to get...

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What is a Beat Board, anyway??

Perhaps you’ve seen images of a TV writer’s room and noticed a whiteboard with a bunch of sticky notes attached to it or handwritten Sharpie notes. Or maybe you’ve watched a behind-the-scenes featurette on a DVD or Blu-ray and noticed a cork board at...

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Take 5: ‘She Said’ shows how two reporters started a movement

What does it take to break a story? In the film She Said, two journalists at the New York Times take on the challenge of exposing systemic sexual assault in Hollywood by going after the notorious producer Harvey Weinstein. Based on the article by rep...

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Take 5: ‘Devotion’ and the art of adapting a true story

Devotion takes place in 1950 at the beginning of the Korean conflict, also known as the ‘Forgotten War.’ In some ways this is true. Rare is the movie that highlights this tumultuous time in our history with the most recognizable example being M*A*S*H...

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Turning Your Personality and Taste Into a Brand

In a highly competitive and constantly growing marketplace, it’s important to stand out if you want a career writing for film or television. Many of the most sought-after screenwriters have memorable or larger than life personalities.

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Take 5: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Like It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation are holiday staples, it’s hard to imagine a Thanksgiving week without Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Written and directed by John Hughes, the film was a critical and commercial suc...

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