Film and theater scripts use special formatting that’s more complicated than the formatting used for novels and most other forms of prose. If you have your sights set on the lights of Broadway or the Hollywood hills, specialized scriptwriting software will save you a lot of time and even more headaches.
The industry standard scriptwriting program is Final Draft (official website | Amazon) and I recommend it for all serious scriptwriters. However, if you’re new to the biz and don’t want to shell out for that excellent but expensive program while you’re learning the ropes, there are other good scriptwriting programs you can use instead.
These include:
- Arc Studio (Windows, Mac, iOS, web; free and subscription options)
- Beat (Mac – free, iOS – paid; open source)
- Celtx (Windows, Android; free and subscription options)
- Fade In (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android; paid)
- Highland 2 (Mac; free and paid options)
- Slugline (Mac, iOS; paid)
- WriterDuet (web; free and subscription options)
The popular novel-writing programs Scrivener (Mac, Windows, iOS; paid) and Storyist (Mac, iOS; paid) also offer templates for scriptwriting.
Did I miss your favorite tool? Tell me about it in comments!
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Image credit: Felix Mooneeram