Screenwriting : The Budget Guide To Screenplay Success by Markus McLaughlin

Forget finding an agent. They won't give you the time of day. Try finding a manager (not easy either) by email query or thru the handful of contests which seem to matter. Nicholl is cheap right now and if you can make the quarterfinals or above people will request your work.

You turn out some really good & marketable scripts and an Agent will find you.

I don't make much income from my current job. I hope to get an Office job so I can afford to do more with my quest to be one of the BEST screenwriters EVER!!! I owe it to my late Mother for NOT giving up!!! I have seen SO many films; I study a lot of scripts; I would take an online Screenwriting course if I can afford to; I will invest in a $300 Windows based laptop with MS

Office on it. I use open source LibreOffice at the moment. I am very resourceful, that's one of

my best strengths. Any other advice is appreciated!!!

My 2 cents: If you're going to write screenplays then don't use Office or Libre, Celtx and WritersDuet are two free online screenwriting softwares. I've used both with very professional results.

Anthony, I have do disagree with you, Final Draft is what the pros - myself included - use. There is no substitute. You do have to be willing to spend a little dough on your career.

It's good you're talking about screenwriting, but have you noticed their plots are changing!

What I recommend is, because I have used both celtx and final draft (which basically is not only film but general writing), try to understand the rules of screenwriting - the elements and basic format, then if you want to break them like the suicide squad or wolf of wall street, break them but be sure to give a satisfactory reason to why you broke the rules. That's the greatest rule of filming: understand the rules then reasonably break them...people have beautifully broken the 180 degree rule and more...the goal here is a good story well told.

I personally love the way James Cameron and Christopher Nolan script...they combine treatment with dialogue while still maintaining the rules of screenwriting.

...n now, for you record, there's no Zero budget film. I tried it once with a 90 minutes screenplay I spent good time perfecting, the result I headed up slashing it to 15 minutes, yet took me more than 3 years shooting and still never to my expectation.

Yes, everything else may be free but what comes with the freedom is more expensive than you thought. I had the paper work, equipment and locations. But convincing actors was difficult. They can't leave a paying popped up project to shoot yours!

Sam, I agree that Final Draft is what the Pros use. But Markus asked what to do if you're starting out and broke. I've been there. I had no way to afford FD when I started. I entered as many free and low cost contests as possible. So I know where he's coming from. If he continues in the field, he may eventually pick up a copy of FD but until then Celtx or WritersDuet will do fine. Right now he wants to enter contests, not sell a script to Warner Brothers.

I started on Fade In then moved up to Final Draft. It's pretty great. It isn't free, but it's cheaper than Final Draft. As far as Celtx goes, I liked it for preproduction (breakdowns, scheduling, call sheets) but I hated it for screenwriting.

Markus, there are probably free or low cost screenplay contests out there, but they often don't offer anything significant if you win such as meetings with managers, producers, etc. I'd recommend finding competitions that have their contest broken down into genres where you stand more of a chance than with a general contest where thousands are competing for one prize. ScreenCraft are great at offering genre contests, as are the Page Awards and Scriptapalooza. They also have some great benefits for winners and finalists. Blessings, Monique

Low cost/free festivals & script contests are worth only the price of admission. Agents are free - you write market worthy scripts and win a few real script competitions; the Agents will find you. Forget about the social media - that's for talkers, not doers. Get out there and network in person.-

I used to use CeltX, and it's good if you are not able to afford Final Draft or the other professional ones. I asked for Final Draft as a Christmas gift, I think it was, and my wish was granted. I can't imagine writing scripts without it anymore.

I can't afford a trip to LA or London (UK) yet; NYC is a lot closer to me, I can network THERE! In the meantime, I am using LibreOffice Writer AND WritersDuet Basic. I was able to obtain a partial list of contacts (Production Companies, Actors, etc.) I am hanging on to it when I need to pitch my first two spec scripts online AND/OR in NYC! Please keep on giving advice, any 2 cents WILL

help me SUCCEED! :D

Has anyone ever been turned down a good script because their spec was written in something other than Final Draft? Hundreds of Indie movies are written in Celtx. Concentrate on learning the art of screenwriting, not the tool.

Nobody cares which format software you use. Scripts are regularly passed on because they "suck" and the majority of those are some wacko format that a reader can't wade through. As long as it's generally well formatted - nobody cares what software you use.

Doug is right. What did people do before software? They still had scripts written on typewriters! Format is key.

Well, a practical aspect is production. Final Draft breaks things down well and has great production features -- hence its common use within the industry, many different people handling the original file not a pdf, etc. So no need to convert or re-type when your script goes into development, that's certainly a plus. At some point you may need to switch to streamline better with others, with whatever system is in place. ;)

David - true. I started on a Olivetti portable.

There is a slight noticeable difference between Celtx and Final Draft, industry professionals will notice. Go with Final Draft if you're looking to make a career out of this.