so, every time I think I've done the final polish on my pilot Krackajack, I spot another typo, or unformatted line, or overlooked a missing line break.
I used to use just word back in the day, but recently I had been using celtx. but it's output to pdf has formatting issues, like sometimes the spacing between character and dialogue lines gets reduces to its minimum, making it look all crunched up - but in the editor, the line spacing is fine.
now I could convert it to html and go through the code and fix it by hand, but then I remembered I have Scrivener
but, yes, that itself has pdf conversion issues.
Even if you are in page view, the pdf output is not the same as the page view in the editor. it will show say for example, near the bottom of the page:
character
(parentheses)
a line or two of dialogue
but when you compile to pdf it will output to this:
character
[page break]
(parentheses)
a few lines of dialogue
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so what I've been doing is forcing page breaks early. but then if just one line is changed before that page break while revising, it can throw the whole thing off, leaving you with a page break for no reason after only a few lines on a new page.
it is sooo damned frustrating!
and unfortunately, I don't think pdf edit/ is even available on windows, just Mac, so I can't even directly edit the pdf either
Are all screenwriting apps like this? is Final Draft better? I can't afford it, so moot point really.
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I used to write using celtx as well, but now am working on my scripts using arc studio since their interface is somehow more friendly for beginners (or so I thought)
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Scrivener has gotten a lot better with its script pdf outputting, but it's still not quite perfect. In its defence, it's general writing software with a script format option, not something dedicated to script writing. I was using it when I broke in, and the only people who ever commented on the pdfs being less than perfect were other writers. Industry members only cared about the words on the page.
From what I've seen, WriterDuet outputs perfectly, and you can work on three projects for free. Although I'm not 100% sure if you can output those as pdfs without a watermark until you subscribe to a plan. WriterSolo might also be out there for free still too.
These days, I draft in Scrivener, output in .fdx, import into FinalDraft, and generate a pdf from there. That way I know it's going to be bang on. There comes a point where you have to board the FinalDraft train. I didn't do it until I'd gotten my first assignment and the production company gave me one of their keys to use.
Here's a list of screenwriting software options.
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Save like $100 and pay an editor (best to pick an out of work tv Coordinator) to proof and check formatting.
If you're just writing spec screenplays, don't stress over spacing. All these screenwriting programs are off by a little when you import & export & convert & print.
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WriterDuet is fantastic and cloud based.
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Good tips here! I've always depended on a small army of proofreaders
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I use Final Draft 12 and WriterDuet, Tamara Rees. WriterDuet is my backup. You can work on three projects for free with WriterDuet before you have to sign up for a monthly or yearly plan. WriterDuet is cheap, fast, and easy to use.
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Tamara Rees Final Draft is worth the investment for its formatting features. I just listened to a podcast with a producer, who said his number one pet peeve is poor formatting, followed by grammar and punctuation. Many producers will reject poorly formatted scripts out of hand. For grammar issues, nothing beats a pro proofreader.
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I've been using Grammarly to proofread my scripts. The software doesn't do formatting, but it seems to do everything else! There's even a free version!
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As for proofreading, Tamara Rees, I use the Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Word. If there's a typo, grammatical error, or story issue, it'll stand out. I also read along with the Read Aloud feature.
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Thank you all for your input! Looks like it's a yes for WriterDuet, so I'll check that out soon. And I suppose I'll have to save up for final draft!
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I use WriterDuet myself. But, I'm doing my own proofreading for errors regarding grammar, vocabulary and syntax. I've been doing enough revisions of my own work that I'm used to this tedious part of writing now. lol