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 with "The Shape of Water" Screenwriter, Vanessa Taylor

January 5, 2018

Screenwriter, Vanessa Taylor recently chatted with us about her latest project, The Shape of Water, which she co-wrote with Guillermo del Toro. Taylor takes us inside the process of how the two collaborated on the acclaimed film.

Write On with Liz Hannah and Brian Duffield's Writers for Puerto Rico

November 22, 2017

We chatted with screenwriters Liz Hannah (The Post) and Brian Duffield (Insurgent) about Writers for Puerto Rico, a crowd fund the two started to raise money for those affected by the hurricanes that recently destroyed the region.

Write On with "School of Rock" EP's Jay Kogen, Jim Armogida & Steve Armogida

November 9, 2017

Jay Kogen, Jim Armogida & Steve Armogida of Nickelodeon's School of Rock at the Cat & Fiddle

Write On with Armstrong Creators Kerry Carlock, Nicholas Lund-Ulrich and Nick Rufca

November 4, 2017

We recently chatted with screenwriter Nick Rufca as well as directors Kerry Carlock and Nicholas Lund-Ulrich, the creators of Armstrong

Write On by Final Draft Q&A with Writer/Producer Aaron Ginsburg of "The 100"

October 11, 2017

Final Draft hosted a live discussion with Aaron Ginsburg of The CW's The 100. Aaron shared stories about working on the show, how he began his screenwriting career and answered questions from our audience at The Cat & Fiddle.

Write On with Good Fear Manager and Big Break Judge Scott Stoops on His Love for Screenwriting Contests and How to Grab His Attention as a Writer

June 7, 2017

Scott Stoops, literary manager at Good Fear and veteran Big Break Screenwriting Contest Judge, talks how to hook him in the first 10 pages of a read.

Montages In Screenwriting: When and How to Write a Montage in a Script

May 30, 2017

Technically speaking, montages are more the domain of an editor, splicing together different scenes to illustrate a passage of time. Montages, however, became such a fixture in the cinematic vocabulary that it’s not unusual to find them in screenplay...

Holiday TV Movies: The Busiest Genre You May Have Overlooked

December 30, 2016

2016 is on its way out but there’s still time for you to research a busy and often overlooked genre: Holiday TV movies. While there are those who would scoff at the idea of deliberately striving to work in the world of TV movies, that just means ther...

Five Things Writers Can Learn From National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

December 19, 2016

Like 1983’s Vacation, 1989’s Christmas Vacation was written by John Hughes and likewise based on one of his National Lampoon short stories (this one entitled “Christmas ’59”). A beloved sequel and holiday film, Christmas Vacation has been entertainin...