Screenwriting : Need Input on Best/Most Widely Used Screenwriting Software by Vicki Brown

Movie Magic = intuitive, easy to use, glitch free

I also use Movie Magic and agree, it's easy to use. And Philip Sedgwick at first glance I thought you said it was "gluten free." Which I'm pretty sure it is.

Funny, Cannon. I'm pretty sure I've eaten gluten while using the software. Love the software and the companies support of film festivals. Run by good folks and always responsive. I can write in MMSW probably 30% faster than FD.

That's good info Philip Sedgwick because I have always been curious about Final Draft. But was talked out of it in another discussion here on Stage32. I originally chose Movie Magic because that is what my film school required. I probably don't even use half its functions because I'm old school and still like to handwrite my notes and plot points with an old fashioned relic...a pen.

And Vicki Brown speaking of it being glitch (and gluten) free, mine glitches occasionally (rarely) where it just shuts down, but it has timed backups and I have never lost any work. It was more frequent on my old laptop, it only happens on my new one when I need to restart anyhow.

Philip Sedgwick and Cannon Rosenau thank you both for the recommendation and the entertainment! I am on a gluten free diet, so that's a plus for Movie Magic. Thanks again!

If you want a writing asst/script coordinator job, master Final Draft. Know it backwards and forward.

FD is the most used software here in the USA/working world of TV paychecks.

I used Movie Magic for years and it is a great software program. I switched to Final Draft because most the people I have worked with and still work with use Final Draft. Both are great!

Vicki, it is true that a huge number of folks use Final Draft. I have been plagued by file corruption issues with it over the years... FD8 and up. This mostly happens when going back and forth between MAC and PC. It is good to have FD and be proficient in it. Have both FD and MMSW. I still write in MMSW and when necessary convert to FD. FD has some strong features, true. However I find the program cumbersome and not friendly.

Dan MaxXx and Dan Guardino thanks for letting me know. I used to use Movie Magic a long time ago so I didn't know what would be the most used, current, writing software. Highland is touted as being Designed, Built and Refined by Writers. Sometimes that's questionable. I didn't jump on the Final Cut (editing) bandwagon, I stuck with Avid and have moved to Premiere. Final Cut was supposedly developed by editors. Thank you again for your input!

Philip Sedgwick Excellent idea. Learning Final Draft would be a must and if need be have Movie Magic as a starter for the screenplay. I'll be on a MAC and not using it on a PC, but could see how that could be problematic. It happens sometimes with my media drives. Thanks for suggestion.

Try test version of Celtx.com, see if it works for you.

Adam Steinfeld wow...I just checked out the site. It's very comprehensive from scriptwriting, to prepping a shoot, to maintaining a budget. I'll definitely look into it more. Thank you!

Fade In is a very decent lower cost software with the ability to import and export FDX (Final Draft files).

Derek Reid thanks for your input and I agree, Creatives are definitely passionate about their tools!

I have always used Final Draft so can only really comment on that. I have found it really simple and intuitive. The back up support has been very impressive - they have never let me down. Lately I have heard good things about Fade In, too.

Tony Clare I appreciate your input from your personal use and what you've heard from others in the industry. I'll have to check out Fade In again. It looked good, but figured I really need to get the industry standard which seems to be Final Draft.

Nick Assunto - Stage32 Script Services I did notice the collaborative aspect of WriterDuet and wasn't sure how that would work. The other collaborators would have to have the software, too, I imagine, so I wasn't sure if it is popular enough. Since it's just me and I'm not in a group of writers (yet) I wasn't sure if it made sense. Now, it being safe in the cloud is a definite plus... Thanks for letting me know...

I have Final Draft. I use it because the industry uses it a lot but I hate it. It glitches just using it to write regularly. Hangs when saving and on autosave and if you're exporting to .pdf, it takes 30 seconds and locks the .pdf up from being opened until you close FD.

Chad Stroman Yikes! Would you suggest writing in something else and exporting it just as a file to Final Draft. I'd hate to be writing and not able to get all my thoughts out, since as we all know, writing is a flood not a stream sometimes.

Chad. I never had a problem opening the PDF without closing FD. Also I never had it hang when saving or auto saving. There is something going on with your system. Maybe you can try reloading it. Just a thought.

I agree with Dan, I've never had those problems with FD.

Dan's right - I've never had such a glitch - I've gone from FD 6 into FD 10.

Pierre Langenegger and Doug Nelson thanks for weighing in... could be a problem with having an older OS or particular version of that OS. I'll definitely get Final Draft since it's the industry standard.

Do you collaborate with a range of people online - WriterDuet

Do you have no money - Arc Studio Pro (looks amazing)

Otherwise anything.

Highland2 melts and imports PDF beautifully, but it is Mac only.

I even gave the Word Template in Office365 a go the other day. It was serviceable.

It is the screenwriting format which is the industry standard. Once you are working with someone then may be buy what they have.

Craig D Griffiths thank you! That about sums it up... I'll essentially just get started and can acclimate as I work with others, as you mentioned.

Vicki Brown regarding your question around how collaboration works for WriterDuet, you don't install software because it's a web-hosted system. You'll need an account and you'd then need to invite your collaborators to join your project and that will then allow you to all update the script in realtime.

Pierre Langenegger is correct. It has some security and permissions you must setup to get the most out of it.

I am in Sydney, I have a producer in NYC for one project and a director in the UK for another. Therefore it works for me.

Some more context to my FD issues. I use FD11 (had 9 and 10 before that with no issues) on a Windows10 64bit system with plenty of power and memory. As I've used it, it makes me think it might be just FD is poor for Windows and might work well on a MacOS.It doesn't scale to the window correctly like a windows program (there's actually a little gap between FD and the edge of the windows viewing area even when in full screen) and I've seen other MacOS designed software have a similar issue when ported to Windows. It just looks like something that is poorly designed for Windows but that's just my opinion. I used MMscreenwriter2000 back in the early 2000's and it was fine. Used Celtx for fun a few times and it was fine. Might give WD or FadeIn a look if the issues continue.

I'm a Final Draft guy. As long as it can format, I can work around the quirks.

Also, when collaborating I use Writer Duet. I know google drive recently had a plug-in that could be helpful too, but when I tried it - it was too clunky.

Also, call me old school, but I didn't love Highland2 and I really wanted to. Maybe I'll give it another shot.

Craig D Griffiths excellent example of how I can to use WriterDuet as Pierre Langenegger explained its functionality. Chad Stroman I agree that OS and updates vary. Looks like WD may be a good option for you to check. I'll probably invest in WD and FD based on all the input and Erick Freitas your input pushed me to that final decision. WD sounds perfect for collaborating especially as I try to connect and work with others on content development and screenwriting for series and features. Everyone has been so helpful...Thank you!

I use WriterDuet because its web based and I write "on the go" to push out a few pages at a time, then once I've completed the rough draft I use Final Draft bring it all together and polish it into complete screenplay.

Anthony Moore that's a great workflow! I think I'll borrow it...thank you for sharing!

Like I said I used Movie Magic in the past and when I started working with other people in the industry I was more or less forced into switching to Final Draft. However if someone is writing on spec nobody is paying them so people writing on spec can use any software program they want.

I also use Writer Duet. I've used Highland, but found it counterintuitive and Very Buggy! I do have issues with Writer Duet not recognizing I'm using the pro version, always asking me to upgrade when I'm ready to export my scripts to pdf. Also, if your network is at all slow, then and edits can lag or hang since it saves through the cloud. I've sat staring at the spinning wheel of death daydreaming about tossing the computer out the window for more time than I'd like to admit. I've heard good things about Drama Queen, but haven't tried it myself. Hope this helps!

Writer Duet.

Final Draft has been great for me and intuitive to use.

I use Fadein it's pretty cost effective and i haven't had any issues with it.

For what it's worth, I've only used Final Draft to write scripts. It's super robust, and I've never had any technical issues.

I am finishing up my Degree in Digital Cinematography and not only did they give us Final Draft 10 or 11, I was also told that Final Draft is currently the Industry Standard. I wrote my first screenplay on Final Draft 8.

Yup I use Final Draft.

I'm currently working on a 100% free, no log-in, no watermark, in-browser screenwriting software, where you open/save directly from your hard drive. Nothing is stored "in the cloud."

I'm hoping to release it before the summer :) it will be bare-bones, but should be good for people just starting out.