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.

What Genre Is My Screenplay?

March 27, 2023

Knowing what film genre you’re writing in is important for several reasons. Whether or not you’re playing into genre conventions or defying them, it’s useful to know what tropes have frequently appeared in certain kinds of films. Also when submitting...

5 Tips To Revising an Old Screenplay

March 20, 2023

Whether you’re an aspiring or professional screenwriter, chances are you might have more than one underproduced script in your arsenal. Although it’s good to be looking forward and to keep generating new concepts for new screenplays, sometimes an old...

Big Break Winner Michael Morra on his Inspiration, Style and Biggest Writing Regret

March 10, 2023

When Michael Morra started receiving notifications that his screenplay, About McKenna, was advancing in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest he was both excited and curious. With each email, he was advancing to the Top 10 then winning the ...

5 Steps to Preparing for a Screenwriting Contest

March 9, 2023

Every year there’s a new wave of screenwriting contests that a writer can enter in the hopes of getting more eyes on their spec script. Some of these annual contests, like the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest, show winning scripts to A-lis...

Rising Through the Ranks: Laura Mannino is pitch perfect

November 16, 2022

ATX TV Festival’s season 11 pitch competition runner-up Laura Mannino is still riding high after her experience pitching her comedy Bodice Rippers to a panel of studio and network execs during the live competition.

A Big Break Success Story: Otter Space by Benj Thall and Andrew Levine

October 7, 2022

In 2020, screenwriting team Andrew Levine and Benj Thall’s Family/Animated feature Otter Space placed in the Top 5 of their category, thus beginning their journey to making Otter Space the podcast a reality. The writing duo credits Big Break as essen...

Selecting Your Script Genre for the Big Break® Screenwriting Contest

June 15, 2022

The Big Break Screenwriting Contest is an annual competition that has helped launch the careers of numerous film and television writers. Their scripts have been optioned, sold, and some writers have even secured high-profile representation. If you ha...

The Business of Screenwriting: Working with the right manager or agent

June 9, 2022

I’m a professional screenwriter who has been working in the film and television industry for fourteen years. Since I first broke into the business I’ve been repped by five managers and three agencies. Surprisingly this isn’t uncommon in the entertain...

Big Break® Screenwriting Contest: Anonymous reader shares 5 most common mistakes to avoid

June 6, 2022

For six years I’ve been a reader for Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest. The annual competition has thousands of writers enter with the hope of launching a screenwriting career (in both film and television). Every year finalists and winner...