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.
Write On: Cruel Summer's Showrunner Elle Triedman
Spoiler Alert: This podcast interview may contain spoilers about Cruel Summer. With an excited fanbase and even more exciting plot twists, the drama/thriller series Cruel Summer is back for Season 2 on Freeform. Final Draft sat down with showrunner E...
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The Bricks of Breaking In: Showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker On The Power of Teamwork
For showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker (Abbott Elementary, Harley Quinn), their interests in writing came in very different ways. With Halpern, it was a competition to write a Seinfeld spec when he was just 16 where the winner had the ...
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Character Archetype: The Femme Fatale
The femme fatale is a notable character archetype in cinema history. Think Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct or Amy Dunne from Gone Girl. A true femme fatale is as captivating as she’s conniving, and desirable as she is deadly.
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How to Harness Dan Harmon's Story Circle to Tell Better Stories
Loosely based on / inspired by the Hero's Journey story structure, Dan Harmon's Story Circle has gained a sizable following in recent years, particularly among writers of episodic television. But even feature script writers can benefit from using thi...
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Write On: Wednesday Creators Al Gough and Miles Millar
The surprise hit and breakout role for Jenna Ortega as the titular character in Netflix's spin off of the Addams Family, Wednesday, was just as exciting to create as it is to watch. "The writer's room started the first week of lockdown, so writing a ...
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Plot Device Cheat Sheet: How to Use Deus ex Machina
Every writer knows the meaning of the word "unmotivated." Some days, it's just an uphill slog to find the energy to even approach the keyboard, much less get actual words on a page.
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The Great’s Tony McNamara on Making History Characters Feel Modern
Power. Sex. Identity. And comedy? Huzzah! Season 3 of The Great is finally streaming on Hulu and we’re heating up the borscht! If you haven’t seen the show, it’s about Catherine the Great’s (Elle Fanning) marriage to Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hou...
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History of the World, Part II Showrunner on Mel Brooks: ‘I Get Chills Every Time I Say His Name’
Editor's Note: This interview took place before the 2023 WGA strike. The year was 1981. Not sure if I should admit this, but I’m old enough to remember going to the movie theater, not the kind with stadium seating, but the kind with sticky floors and...
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Final Draft Creates Template to Remove Barriers for Differently-Abled Writers
Films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, CODA, Inside Out, Champions, and Silver Linings Playbook all have something extraordinary in common: they include a spectrum of neurodiverse characters of differing abilities.
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What’s new in Final Draft 13?
WRITING GOALS &
PRODUCTIVITY STATS
Set goals and get valuable insights to take your work to the next level
TYPEWRITER
A new typewriter-like view option improves your focus
EMOJI
Craft more realistic onscreen text exchanges and make your notes more emotive
And so much more, thoughtfully designed to help unleash your creativity.
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