Final Draft Blog
All the tips, tricks and information you need to inspire your writing!
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What is a "Vomit draft" and do you need to write one?
Everyone hates the dreaded first draft. The thought of forming a single coherent sentence – let alone 90 pages – is enough to conjure so much anxiety that you’d rather not write anything at all. This is why many people recommend writers starting thei...
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7 ways to enhance your dialogue and find your voice
When you think of masterful movie dialogue the names Aaron Sorkin, Quentin Tarantino and Nora Ephron come to mind. It’s a specialty in screenwriting to craft the words that characters say that are both believable and yet like how no one else talks.
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Connectivity in Storytelling and Flow Lines
When you watch a movie or TV show, you’ll notice that within the larger story there are various subplots.
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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: ‘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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What ‘The Santa Clause’ franchise can teach us about story
Over the course of the last 28 years, Tim Allen has donned the red suit and appeared on the big and small screen as Santa Claus in the Disney IP The Santa Clause. Built on the premise that a corporate toy executive is legally bound to become Santa, t...
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The Bricks of Breaking In: Writer Ray Utarnachitt On Finding Your Own Path
A passion for writing can spark itself in so many different ways. For Ray Utarnachitt (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), it was making kung fu movies with his brother and cousins in junior high that lit his passion for writing. Inspired by his first family-...
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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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