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 Is an Antagonist in Screenwriting?

March 11, 2025

An antagonist is a character whose story arc and character arc run in direct opposition to that of the protagonist — the central character driving the plot forward and facing the central conflict of the story head-on. The antagonist is usually the dr...

5 Ways To Win a Screenwriting Contest

March 11, 2025

Maybe you’ve started or finished writing a feature screenplay or television pilot. Perhaps you’re still at the brainstorming stage. No matter what stage of the writing process you’re at, you might plan to enter your script into a screenwriting contes...

What Is Screenwriting?

February 27, 2025

There is a reason why Hollywood is such a driving force in the world — a majority of the world’s population loves movies and television. The enjoyment of the stories we see on the big or small screen comes in many different ways.

How To Write a Screenplay

February 25, 2025

So you’ve decided you want to be a screenwriter and write your very own screenplay for a feature film, TV show, or new media platform. This is a unique skillset, because film and television are visual mediums and collaborative art forms. Because of t...

Holiday Slashers: How ‘Heart Eyes’ Scares Up a Killer Concept

February 13, 2025

Roses are red / Violets are blue / Heart Eyes is the new holiday slasher / At a theater near you

How To Write a Contained Screenplay: 8 Great Scripts With One Location

February 5, 2025

Contained screenwriting can be challenging. Not everyone is wired to tell a story that involves only a small amount of characters and that mostly happens in just one or two locations. But like most creative endeavors, the right kind of limitations ca...

What Editing Can You Teach You About Screenwriting

February 5, 2025

There’s a cliché in Hollywood that a film is made three times: once on the page in the form of a screenplay, the second time is on set when it’s shot with the director and actors, and the third time is in the editing bay. While any filmmaker can argu...

How Sundance’s ‘Rabbit Trap’ Screenplay Took Shape

January 31, 2025

For his feature debut and Sundance premiere Rabbit Trap, writer/director Bryn Chainey took what might seem like an unconventional path to develop the period horror story. After drafting two unproduced features with the goal of trying to fit industry ...

5 Screenwriting Lessons from Golden-Globe Winner ‘The Brutalist’

January 27, 2025

This year’s winner of the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Drama) and Best Performance by a Male Actor for Adrien Brody (Drama), The Brutalist has become one of the most intriguing films to come out of 2024. Writer/Director Brady Corbet’s mid-century t...