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.

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...

Tech Tips: Boneyard In the Beat Board

April 18, 2019

Great scripts aren’t written; they’re re-written.

Tech Tips: Opening Files in Final Draft Go

April 12, 2019

With Final Draft Go, the ability to write scripts anytime, anywhere has never been easier. If you’ve noticed a new look to Final Draft Go, it’s because the app has been updated to make organizing, synching and writing your scripts even easier than be...

Tech Tip: Non-Speaking Characters

April 5, 2019

Non-speaking characters: every script has them, and for good reason. A non-speaking character can be an extra, a background character, or even a character that literally doesn’t speak – maybe their sole purpose is to intimidate others like the re-ani...

Film School Spotlight: The UCLA Extension Writers' Program

February 13, 2019

As with all artists, there is one place writers go for a sense of direction when lost: The basics.

Playwriting for the Screenwriter II: Submissions & Successes

January 10, 2019

Photo courtesy of Julieta Cervantes / www.broadway.com So you’ve written a play! You’ve honed your characterization and dialogue, you’ve kept in mind theatre’s technical challenges, and you’ve generated ideas to creatively inspire an audience. Congra...

All the World’s a Stage: Playwriting for the Screenwriter

December 28, 2018

When it comes to dramatic writing, the allure of the stage is clear. Picture this: every year, approximately 50 thousand scripts are registered with the WGA, and that’s not even taking into the account the number of screenwriters who never register t...

Write on with David E. Talbert

November 15, 2018

Acclaimed playwright and filmmaker David E. Talbert discusses his 25-year career in theater, honing his cinematic skills by learning on the job, and how his experiences growing up influence the stories he tells. David is currently developing an origi...

Reclaiming the American Past, Part 2

November 5, 2018

WHERE ARE OUR JAMES GRAHAMS, WHEN WE NEED THEM? You probably don’t know the name of James Graham right now, though Americans are likely to become more familiar with him in a short time. He’s an extremely prolific and extremely successful playwright f...