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.

Five Takeaways: The Hunt

March 31, 2020

Your weekly break-down of a popular movie or television episode to see what a screenwriter—or any writer, for that matter—can take away from what’s on screen: what worked, what didn’t, and how you can use what’s popular to craft better stories.

The Fast Five: Drive-Ins, Dog Sports and Free Trials

March 30, 2020

We’re all indoors with plenty of time to kill, so why not use this situation as an excuse to teach yourself some new skills, and finally finish that screenplay or film project you put down for one reason or another? And if you’re not in the mood for ...

7 Hacks for Writing Your Script from Home

March 27, 2020

Working from home appears to be the new norm for the next while, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Even if we’ve written at home for years, now we might also be wrangling kids 24/7, plus our lives and day jobs in our formerly (hopefully) serene wri...

Week 2: Lee Jessup on What Writers CAN Do Now

March 27, 2020

This week Lee discusses the latest updates on agency layoffs, online pitching trends and answers your questions from social media.

3 Tweaks to Un-Muck Your Script Notes Process - Part 1

March 26, 2020

Death. Taxes. And script notes.

From Concept to Congratulations: The Big Break Journey

March 25, 2020

Todd Goodlett has been “on cloud nine” since finding out that his original script, The Arsonist’s Handbook, was the TV Grand Prize Winner in the 2019 Big Break Screenwriting Contest — a feat, he says, he once never imagined, and that has already take...

Weekend Movie Takeaway: Screen Narrative Evolution In the Time of COVID-19

March 25, 2020

Well, going to the movies is out for now...

Five Takeaways From Episode One of Netflix's ‘Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker’

March 23, 2020

The Fast Five: The Digital Pitch Era Has Arrived

March 23, 2020

It’s an interesting time as everybody in the industry begins working from home and meetings shift to the virtual world. Television festivals scramble to adapt as well and have started launching digital marketplaces to still give exhibitors a chance t...