Final Draft Blog

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Teaching Beat Board Techniques

July 11, 2024

This article will cover strategies for teaching Beat Board techniques to use as a tool in your classes on scriptwriting. For more comprehensive information on how to use the various functions of the beat board and story map, please check out this vid...

The Differences Between a Rewrite and a Polish

May 21, 2024

Rewriting your script or another writer’s script is one of the primary jobs of a professional screenwriter.

3 Final Draft 13 Features You Might've Missed

April 17, 2024

The latest version of the world’s #1 screenwriting program, Final Draft 13, has been updated to meet the ever-changing needs of screenwriters. With the upgrade are several new features like Writing Goals and Productivity Stats, Emoji support, Typewri...

3 Must-Ask Questions Before You Write a Sellable Script

April 9, 2024

In my article "Big Story, Small Budget," I wrote about how you should be mindful of production costs when deciding what to write because it’s a major factor in why scripts get bought and produced. Generally speaking, the more cost-effective the proje...

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.

Never Lose Your Characters Again: Tips for Tracking Character Arcs While Writing

March 26, 2024

Whether you have one main character or several, tracking their character arcs is not always easy.

How To Use Digressions To Create Natural Sounding Dialogue

March 22, 2024

Many aspiring screenwriters struggle to make dialogue sound naturalistic. Often, the dialogue is stilted and doesn’t sound like the way people actually speak (this can be said of a few professional screenwriters as well). Or the dialogue is just perf...

5 Editing Hacks for Screenwriters

March 19, 2024

Your script should look as professional as possible, or industry professionals will likely pass on your script after a cursory read. In addition to using screenwriting software like Final Draft that formats your script to industry standards, you shou...

Master the Beat Board and Take Control of Your Script at Every Stage

March 12, 2024

Maybe you have a cursory knowledge of Final Draft’s Beat Board or even used it a few times, but you are aware of its various applications. Or maybe you’re not even aware of this outlining tool that’s available to writers.