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.

Director Ryan White on 'Ask Dr. Ruth'

May 2, 2019

Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Two years ago, Dr. Ruth Westheimer — also known as Dr. Ruth, America’s most famous sex therapist — wasn’t on director Ryan White’s radar. He knew who she was — who in America doesn’...

Rising Through the Ranks: Sydney Mitchel

May 1, 2019

Behind the scenes of the popular CBS procedural NCIS: New Orleans, you’ll always find 30-year-old Sydney Mitchel working to keep her boss on track. As the assistant to showrunner Chris Silber, Mitchel has been her boss's gatekeeper and confidant sinc...

Write On with 'The Twilight Zone' Producer Simon Kinberg

April 30, 2019

Simon Kinberg discusses how he and fellow producer Jordan Peele came together to revive The Twilight Zone, the inspiration behind the show's unrelenting twists and how they maintain entertainment and enlightenment in each episode.

All The Write Moves: Endgame

April 29, 2019

Eleven years after audiences first watched Robert Downey Jr. become an armored superhero in Iron Man, the climax of the interconnected story which that movie began has arrived in the form of Avengers: Endgame. While the picture is nominally a direct ...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: 'Avengers: Endgame'

April 29, 2019

Well, it was a big weekend for narrative.

The Screenwriters Coach: Networking

April 26, 2019

Screenwriters hate networking. And now we’re talking about strategic networking? That’s even worse! Networking is selling your soul, sucking up, laughing at bad jokes… Being strategic about it makes you even more of a %&*#.

Tech Tips: Tagging for Writers

April 26, 2019

Tracking characters: it’s at the forefront of any writer’s mind when writing a script. Whether we’re tracking a character’s emotional arc, their interactions with other characters, or how many times they’ve scratched someone’s name off their kill lis...

Wild Nights with Emily' Director Madeleine Olnek

April 23, 2019

Imagine if everything you ever knew about a beloved writer was disproven in an instant.

Career Tips from Screenwriting Career Coach Lee Jessup

April 23, 2019

For the last 20 years, Lee Jessup has been coaching screenwriters on all elements of a successful career. Brand assessment and strategy, effective networking, crafting a memorable origin story that makes writers shine in a general meeting - Lee discu...