Final Draft
When the industry standard is not the only workflow.
Guides, tools, and templates for every stage
Shape a story, develop a screenplay, and take a draft further. Explore screenplay tools, craft and production guides, worldbuilding resources, and step-by-step help for switching to Inkwell.
Switching
Stay or switch
Find the tool you use now, then weigh the switch, move your script, or compare the two side by side.
WriterDuet
Real-time collab plus history that names moments.
Arc Studio Pro
Cloud-native writing, with versions the room can name.
Fade In
Professional pages, without the _FINAL folder.
Celtx
Integrated AI, reviewable versions, and the room in one project.
Highland
Integrated AI and a complete project history beyond the local file.
Slugline
Integrated AI and a shared, versioned project beyond the local file.
Every alternative
Screenwriting software alternatives
Advisor plus alternative pages for Final Draft, WriterDuet, Arc Studio Pro, Fade In, Celtx, Highland, and Slugline.
Read more8 min read
Side by side
Compare screenwriting software
Capability-by-capability matrices for Plot and Canvas tools.
Read more7 min readFile formats
Fountain and Final Draft: what survives the move
Element by element: what round-trips between Fountain, FDX, and Inkwell, what arrives as action, and what production state does not transfer at all.
Read more5 min read
Getting started
First week with Plot
Step-by-step workflow guides with visuals.
Import a Final Draft screenplay
Step-by-step FDX import with visuals for each step.
Read more3 min readCreate your first save point
Name a moment in your draft, compare what changed, and restore when you need it.
Read more2 min readRun a dialogue pass
Launch the Dialogue Pass skill and accept or reject inline suggestions line by line.
Read more5 min readIncorporate a winning draft line
Review the whole document, confirm Incorporate, and keep the named save point.
Read more4 min readConnect your AI provider (BYOK)
Wire your API key for reviewable AI skill passes.
Read more3 min readCo-write in a writers' room
Invite the room, see presence, and keep named save points under shared drafts.
Read more4 min readExport a submission-ready PDF
Submission-ready PDF from the editor toolbar.
Read more2 min readWriters' room workflow in Plot
Room workflow: parallel takes, named reads, semantic history.
Read more5 min read
How-to
Help center
Short answers for the moment you are stuck: how to do a thing in Inkwell, what a word on the screen means, and why a run did not go the way you expected.
Inkwell
Help center
Short answers for the moment you are stuck: how to do a thing in Inkwell, what a word on the screen means, and why a run did not go the way you expected.
Read moreInkwell
Start here
Your first project, first scene, first save point, and first skill pass — the ten-minute path through the parts of Inkwell that are new.
Read morePlot
From idea to script
Bring in a Word document, develop prose beside scenes, and move a treatment toward a script while keeping its history.
Read morePlot
Writing in Plot
Elements and formatting, slash commands, find and replace, takes, revision colors, production reports, and export.
Read moreInkwell
AI in Inkwell
Skills, reviewing proposed changes, chatting with the Dramaturg, Agent Mode, inline edit, ghost text, and bringing your own key.
Read moreInkwell
Save points and draft lines
Name a moment, explore an alternate version on a draft line, read the changes, and bring back what works with Incorporate.
Read moreInkwell
Sharing and collaboration
Share links, viewer comments, the notes dashboard, members and roles, and editing together.
Read moreInkwell
Account and billing
Plans and quotas, credits, team pools, settings, your data, and closing an account.
Read moreInkwell
Reference
Every keyboard shortcut, every skill, every setting — generated from the product so it is never out of date.
Read moreInkwell
Troubleshooting
What to do when a skill run fails, an import warns, or a feature is not where you expected it.
Read more
Format the scene
Screenplay situations
Rendered screenplay examples, accepted variations, and clear submission-versus-production boundaries.
Phone calls & intercut
Establish what the audience sees and hears, then use clear scene headings or an INTERCUT instruction so a phone conversation stays easy to picture.
See the formatV.O. vs O.S.
O.S. means a speaker is in the scene but outside the frame; V.O. covers narration and voices outside its physical space. See screenplay examples of both.
See the formatText messages
Put readable on-screen messages in action, identify the sender when needed, and use one consistent pattern instead of disguising silent text as spoken dialogue.
See the formatMontage
Signal the montage, organize its visual beats in action, and end it clearly when the reader might not otherwise know where ordinary scene flow resumes.
See the formatFlashbacks
Mark a flashback in the scene heading, run longer memories as a sequence, and return to the present so readers never lose the timeline. With page examples.
See the formatTitle pages & anonymity
Keep a normal master title page with authorship and contact information, but create a separate anonymous PDF whenever the current submission rules require it.
See the formatScene numbers & production
How to add, keep and hide scene numbers in Final Draft, when a script needs them, and how A/B scenes and OMITTED keep production references stable.
See the formatDual & overlapping dialogue
Format two characters speaking at once, create dual dialogue in Inkwell Plot or Final Draft, and decide when an interruption works better as stacked dialogue.
See the formatForeign language & subtitles
Tell the reader what language is spoken and whether the audience understands it, then write the readable translation without repeating the instruction on every line.
See the formatInserts, screens & written material
Put the exact words the audience must read in action, and use an INSERT only when the change in visual emphasis is itself important.
See the formatContinuous action & time jumps
Use CONTINUOUS for unbroken movement into a new location, SAME for simultaneous time, and a plain action beat or new time label for an actual jump forward.
See the formatCold opens, acts & tags
Match the target show's current template: some episodic scripts label every commercial act, while many streaming specs use feature-style flow without printed breaks.
See the formatPre-laps & sound bridges
When the next scene's sound arrives before its picture, write it just above the scene it belongs to: a (PRE-LAP) cue for a line of dialogue, a PRE-LAP line in action for a sound.
See the formatSongs & lyrics
Set sung lines apart from speech — italics or all caps, one lyric line per line — and quote only the lyrics the scene actually needs.
See the formatDream sequences
Establish who is dreaming, mark where the dream begins and ends, and show the return to waking life so a dream is never mistaken for the story's reality.
See the formatSound effects & capitals
Capitalize a sound, prop, or action only when it has to jump off the page, and a speaking character's name at first appearance, so capitals still mean something.
See the formatScreenplay example
An original screenplay example with each element explained: scene headings, action, character cues, parentheticals, dialogue and transitions, each shown in place.
See the formatTransitions & FADE IN
Most scene changes need no transition: the next heading is the cut. Write one when the edit tells the story, and treat FADE IN and FADE OUT as a choice.
See the formatSupers & title cards
Write on-screen text word for word, where it appears: SUPER: over the picture, a card of its own over black, and one label for the whole script.
See the formatCar scenes & INT/EXT.
Head a car scene with INT. and the vehicle, use INT/EXT. or I/E. when it plays inside and out, or split it into two headings when production needs them.
See the formatPauses & interruptions
An ellipsis for a line that trails off, a dash for one that is cut off, and an action line, or a sparing (beat), when a silence has to land.
See the format
Submit or hand off
Screenplay opportunities
Dated official requirements, private PDF review, and complete application-packet checklists.
Awaiting next cycle
Academy Nicholl
The current Nicholl pathway uses public submission partners rather than the former direct-entry competition. The 2026–2027 Black List and Writers Guild Foundation windows are closed.
Read moreCurrent
The Black List
Black List hosting, paid evaluation, and opportunity opt-ins are separate decisions. Each named program adds its own eligibility, materials, and deadline.
Read moreAwaiting next cycle
Sundance Development Track
Sundance's Development Track begins with an application packet and the first five screenplay pages, not a full-script upload. The 2027 application is closed.
Read moreAwaiting next cycle
Austin Film Festival
AFF's categories reached capacity before the 2026 late deadline. The reviewed rules require a blind-read PDF under 5 MB and category-specific lengths.
Read more
Build the relationship
Screenwriting agents, managers, queries, and meetings
How screenwriting agents and managers differ, how to find one open to new writers, how to write the query, and what to ask before you sign.
The whole desk
Screenwriting representation desk
Choose an agent or manager, research current sources, prepare a query and meeting, and keep the working brief private.
Read moreAgents vs. managers
Compare screenwriting agents and literary managers by services, working style, questions, and agreement terms—not a tidy Hollywood stereotype.
Read moreFind an agent or manager
Build a representation search from strong samples, live directories, verified fit, careful outreach, and a process you can sustain while writing.
Read moreScreenplay query letter
Write a concise screenplay query with clear project identity, a specific premise, truthful fit, useful context, and a simple request to read.
Read moreRepresentation meeting
Prepare for an agent or manager meeting as a mutual working session: discuss the pages, plan, communication, terms, conflicts, and next decision.
Read more
Measured practice
Industry research
Original corpus analysis and the page-count desk that turns those measurements into a private length check.
Move a scene. See what the story now needs.
Reorder seven scenes, trace audience and character knowledge, and take a repair checklist into your next revision.
Read moreScreenplay dialogue & speaking-cast research
Original analysis of who carries screenplay dialogue, how speaking load changes with cast size, and how scenes divide between solos, two-handers, and ensembles across 994 parsed scripts. A second corpus, Cornell Movie-Dialogs, agrees on the median turn length and adds separate exchange, credit-position and credited-gender cuts.
Read moreScreenplay Anatomy Atlas
Original aggregate analysis of screenplay rhythm, cast arrival, and dialogue shape across a published feature corpus.
Read moreScreenplay pacing, measured
How a draft distributes its length — action, scene density, and cast arrival across the clock, with a private pacing map for your own pages.
Read moreHow long should a screenplay be
Reader bands, official contest windows, and a private page-count checker grounded in the same measured corpus.
Read moreHow much do screenwriters make
Official WGA floors plus published BLS and Guild earnings figures for the salary search.
Read more
Go deeper
Craft & writing workflows
Screenwriting craft, version control, FDX handoff, WGA-aware workflows, AI skills, Canvas structure, and exercises for building stories.
Plot
Version control for screenwriters
How named save points, draft lines, and semantic changes replace the folder of _FINAL_v4 files — without Git jargon.
Read more12 min readPlot
FDX handoff and production export
Moving scripts between Final Draft, Fountain, PDF, and Inkwell Plot without losing structure — and what to expect on the edges.
Read more10 min readPlot
AI skills for writers (WGA-aware)
Reviewable skill passes that edit the draft in place — not a chatbot that generates your screenplay.
Read more11 min readPlot
WGA-aware screenwriting workflows in 2026
What the 2026 WGA MBA means for working writers: signatories, registration, paid writing steps, AI rules, and the records to keep.
Read more14 min readCanvas
Canvas block editor for long-form writing
How blocks, slash commands, and outlines keep a novel or research binder structured — so you can navigate, revise, and export without flattening the manuscript.
Read more12 min readCanvas
Markdown round-trip in Canvas
Lossless markdown import and export — portability without trapping prose in a proprietary graph.
Read more11 min readPlot
How to break down a screenplay
What a script breakdown inventories — scenes, eighths, cast, locations, day/night — and how to run a private first pass before a coordinator locks the board.
Read more11 min readPlot
How to Write a Screenplay
How to write a movie script, from the idea to a first draft and the rewrites, then the path from spec to representation. A screenwriting guide for beginners.
Read more12 min readInkwell
How to Write a Book
How to write a book or novel, step by step: the idea, the premise, characters, an outline, a writing routine, the first draft, revision and what to do when it is finished.
Read more16 min readInkwell
How to Write a Short Story
How to write a short story, step by step: the idea, the premise, length, the main character, structure, the opening, the ending, revision and where to submit it.
Read more12 min readCanvas
Writing prompts & story ideas
118 original prompts by genre and form, from short stories and horror to journal and poetry prompts, plus a generator that builds a premise.
Read moreCanvas
Character ideas & OC ideas
80 original character ideas by genre, from villains to D&D backstories, plus a random character generator with a look, a want, a flaw and a past.
Read moreCanvas
D&D campaign ideas & session prep
Build a playable adventure from original campaign seeds, then shape the opening, characters, clues and choices in a downloadable prep sheet.
Read more
Do it
Workflow walkthroughs
Three workflows writers ask about first — import, named history, and a dialogue pass — each with a miniature of what you'll see in the product.
Import FDXSwitching
script.fdx
INT. ROOM
MAYA
Structure intact.
Final Draft → Plot
Structure carries over through Import / Export
Save pointsVersion
- Table readnow
- Act 2 notes3d
- First draft2w
Name the table read
Immutable snapshots you control
Skill passAI
Maybe tomorrow we talk.
I can't keep pretending.
Dialogue pass
Reviewable edits in the draft
Try it free
Free tools & demo
Private browser tools with distinct, practical outputs — plus the ghost-text demo.
Plot
Dialogue & cast balance
See who carries the dialogue and how speaking roles share each scene.
Open toolPlot
Character names
Build a cast using US birth records and historical English-language name lists.
Open toolPlot
Character profile
Connect a character’s goals and relationships to choices in scenes. Take your worksheet into the draft.
Open toolCanvas
Fantasy place names
Name kingdoms, countries, cities, towns and worlds. Develop a coherent setting and take editable place briefs with you.
Open toolCanvas
Fantasy character names
Generate a mixed fantasy cast. Keep names, develop character notes and take the complete board with you.
Open toolPlot
Screenplay converter
Open Final Draft or Fountain and take your screenplay out as PDF, Fountain, or plain text.
Open toolPlot
Pacing map
See scene rhythm, action share, and cast arrivals against a published screenplay corpus.
Open toolPlot
Script breakdown
Turn scenes into a breakdown you can review and export for production planning.
Open toolPlot
Screenplay diff
Compare two drafts and see the changes by screenplay element.
Open toolPlot
FDX Inspector
Open a Final Draft file and inspect its elements, revisions, and production details.
Open toolPlot
Screenplay analyzer
Read your draft’s scene, dialogue, character, and pacing signals together.
Open toolPlot
Fountain validator
Find formatting issues before you import or share a Fountain screenplay.
Open toolPlot
Table read planner
Plan the cast, running order, and timing for your next table read.
Open toolPlot
Representation planner
Build a brief for approaching agents and managers with your work.
Open toolPlot
Writing goal planner
Turn a page or word target into a writing schedule you can follow.
Open toolPlot
Rehearsal sides builder
Choose a role and scenes, then prepare sides for rehearsal.
Open toolPlot
Screenplay outline extractor
Pull scene headings and story structure into an outline you can use for revision.
Open toolPlot
Screenplay length checker
Place your page count against format ranges and plan the next rewrite.
Open toolPlot
Screenplay title page generator
Fill in the title, credit and contact, see the page as it prints, or make a title-only copy.
Open toolPlot
WGA minimums explorer
Look up published writing minimums by deal family and writing step.
Open toolPlot
Ghost text demo
Type a line, pause, and try an AI continuation in the live editor.
Try demo
Start from
Templates
Downloadable Fountain and Canvas starters — open in Inkwell when you are ready.
Canvas
Cornell notes template with a worked example
Turn a lecture, reading or writing workshop into questions you can answer from memory. Download a free Cornell notes worksheet with cues, notes and a summary.
Get the templateCanvas
Literature review template and synthesis matrix
Organize a literature review around themes, evidence and disagreements. Download a free outline with a source matrix and a worked synthesis example.
Get the templateCanvas
Annotated bibliography template and example
Write useful annotations with a source citation, summary, evaluation and relevance to your question. Download a free worksheet and a worked example using a real source.
Get the templateCanvas
Novel outline template with a chapter example
Plan a book from its central conflict to a chapter-by-chapter outline. Download a free, editable novel worksheet with an original worked example and a revision checklist.
Get the templatePlot
Character profile template for fiction writers
Download a character profile worksheet that connects goals, beliefs, relationships, and scene evidence to a defining choice and its consequences.
Get the templatePlot
TV script template for a pilot episode
Download a TV pilot template with a teaser, five acts, and an optional tag. Replace the scene prompts and adapt the act breaks to your story.
Get the templatePlot
Movie script template with a screenplay example
Download an editable feature screenplay starter with a title page, scene headings, action, dialogue, and a short original opening sequence.
Get the templatePlot
Screenplay template for Google Docs and Word
A free screenplay template for Google Docs and Microsoft Word: a Word file in standard script format, with a style for every element and steps for both apps.
Get the templateCanvas
Screenplay beat sheet template
Outline the choices and consequences in your screenplay with a reusable beat sheet and a worked example of one story's turning points.
Get the templateCanvas
Table read notes template
Capture what the room actually revealed: scene-level friction, lines worth protecting, recurring questions, revision decisions, and owners for the next pass.
Get the templatePlot
Short film script template
Download a short film script template with a title page and a complete example short: one location, two characters and one decision. Replace it with your own story.
Get the templateCanvas
Research doc — Canvas starter
Headings, callouts, and citation placeholders for long-form research.
Get the templatePlot
Script outline template for Act II
Download a scene-by-scene script outline template for the second act, from the first step into Act II through the midpoint to the low point, with a prompt for each stretch.
Get the templateCanvas
Technical spec — Canvas starter
API or feature spec outline with decision log blocks.
Get the templatePlot
TV series bible template
Build a TV series bible that separates the pitch from the working continuity record: premise, engine, world rules, characters, season arcs, episode ideas, and canon changes.
Get the templateCanvas
Script coverage template
Write evidence-led script coverage with a logline, synopsis, evaluation rubric, strengths, risks, verdict, and next action tied to the exact draft you read.
Get the templateCanvas
Screenplay rewrite plan template
Turn notes into a rewrite plan: diagnose the current draft, rank problems by blast radius, map affected scenes, revise in passes, and define what the next draft must prove.
Get the template
Every tool
Free Screenwriting & Storytelling Tools
Free browser tools for screenplay conversion, analysis, breakdowns, pacing and table reads, plus character and worldbuilding tools. No account needed.
Browse the toolsEvery template
Free script and screenplay templates for film and TV
Free script templates for Word, Google Docs and Plot: movie, TV pilot and short film screenplays with worked examples, plus outline and coverage templates.
Browse the templates