# Write a take of a scene

> Open an alternate version of one scene beside the original, compare the two side by side, and keep the one that works.

[Try it in Plot](https://app.inkwell.software/projects)

A take is an alternate version of a single scene. Where a draft line branches the whole script, a take stays inside the scene: the rest of the document is shared, and the two versions of the scene sit next to each other for comparison.

1. **Put the cursor in the scene**

   Takes belong to a scene, so they act on the one your cursor is in. Open the draft-line switcher above the page: the takes section names that scene.

2. **Start a take**

   Choose **New take** in that section. The scene is copied into a new take and the page switches to it. Reopen the switcher and the section lists the original and every take of the scene; choosing a row puts it on the page.

   ![The takes section inside the draft-line switcher (1): the original version and each take of the scene, with New take, Compare takes (2), and Promote this take.](https://www.inkwell.software/help/take-switcher.light.webp)

   _The takes section inside the draft-line switcher (1): the original version and each take of the scene, with New take, Compare takes (2), and Promote this take._

3. **Rewrite the scene**

   Write the alternate. Everything outside the scene is the same script, so you can read into and out of it in context.

4. **Compare**

   Choose **Compare takes** from the same section to see the original and the take side by side, with the differences marked. Switch which one is on the page from the same view.

5. **Keep one**

   **Promote this take** replaces the scene on the current draft line with the take's version and keeps the other as history. Or leave both: a scene can carry several takes for as long as you are deciding.

> **Tip: A take is for deciding; Agent Mode is for doing**
>
> Ask the Dramaturg to rewrite a scene in Agent Mode and it works on a draft line of its own, then shows you the result as changes on your page to accept or reject — it does not open a take. Write a take when you want both versions side by side for longer than one review. See [Agent Mode](https://www.inkwell.software/help/ai/agent-mode).

## What next

- [Try a draft line](https://www.inkwell.software/help/getting-started/try-a-draft-line): Open a parallel version of the whole script, rewrite freely, switch back and forth, and bring the better version home when you decide.
- [Draft lines](https://www.inkwell.software/help/version-control/draft-lines): Parallel versions of the whole script: when to open one, how switching works, and how a draft line comes back to the main draft.
- [Use Agent Mode for a bigger revision](https://www.inkwell.software/help/ai/agent-mode): Hand the Dramaturg a goal that spans scenes, answer its questions when a choice is yours, and review what it changed on your page.

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Canonical page: <https://www.inkwell.software/help/writing/takes>