Final Draft Blog

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Where Are They Now: Big Break Winner Greta Heinemann Has Since Worked For NBC, Apple and Netflix

March 27, 2023

Screenwriter Greta Heinemann was one of the Grand Prize Winners of the 2017 Big Break Screenwriting Contest for her thriller/horror feature script, "City Under Fire.”

Big Break Judge Jeff Portnoy On Why Screenwriters Should Enter Contests

March 27, 2023

According to Jeff Portnoy, literary manager at Bellevue Productions and a judge for this year’s Final Draft’s Big Break, what makes Final Draft’s competition stand out from other screenwriting contests is its emphasis on outreach and advocacy for tho...

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...

Big Break: Screenwriting Contest for Career Success in Film and TV

March 6, 2023

Is your screenplay or pilot contest-ready? With dozens of screenwriting contests out there, it’s important to consider which ones are worth your time and money. Over the past 20 years, the Big Break Screenwriting Contest has become one of the most re...

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...