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.

7 Differences Between Short Stories and Novels

April 5, 2024

While both short stories and novels share the goal of engaging the reader in dynamic, thought-provoking storytelling, there are several significant differences between the two forms.

Writer/Director Matt Brown: From a ‘Fun’ Start to Freud’s Last Session

December 21, 2023

It was a scratch-off lottery ticket and a stolen car, oddly enough, that set Matt Brown on the path to becoming a writer-director.

Screenwriting Homage Vs. Screenwriting Stealing

April 25, 2023

Many screenwriters like to insert homages to past films into their screenplays, but the king of the cinematic homage has to be Quentin Tarantino.

Take 5: ‘She Said’ shows how two reporters started a movement

November 27, 2022

What does it take to break a story? In the film She Said, two journalists at the New York Times take on the challenge of exposing systemic sexual assault in Hollywood by going after the notorious producer Harvey Weinstein. Based on the article by rep...

'Bones and All' Screenwriter David Kajganich on the many layers of collaboration in adaptations

November 22, 2022

In the center of Regan’s America, a father desperately moves his only daughter, Maren, out of their double wide for the umpteenth time. They have less than an hour to find a new home before the rest of the community figures out their terrible secret ...

Take 5: A hero must rise in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

November 16, 2022

In the latest Marvel Studios film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the citizens of Wakanda are mourning the loss of their king while facing the powerful forces of a new enemy from below the sea and the world powers interested in the Vibranium found w...

Take 5: Writing 'A League of Their Own' series for new and original fans

September 12, 2022

Thirty years ago, a script about the first female professional baseball league was produced and released in theaters. A League of Their Own captured the hearts of countless movie-goers then, just as the adapted TV series of the same name does today.

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: February 19th, 2019

February 20, 2019

Blockbuster cinema titan James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar) has been planning an adaptation of the Japanese manga known in English as Battle Angel Alita for more than a decade.