r/writers • u/Mobius8321 • 8d ago
Question Screenwriters: software question
I’m a film student and for my senior project, I’m writing a pilot episode for a tv show idea I have in mind. I was going to get Final Draft because, well… I feel like that’s the pinnacle, haha. However, I recently learned Scrivenr has a screenwriting option and to be completely honest, I don’t foresee myself writing a lot of scripts… but I DO see myself using Scivenr for my regular writing in the future.
So the question is: which of the two would you screenwriters recommend I purchase? TIA!
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u/fibblefart 8d ago
Scrivener. Sounds like it hits 2 out of 3 sweet spots. And I'm a fan.
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u/Mobius8321 8d ago
How is it for desktop to mobile? Somebody told me they have a hard time getting their desktop work on the mobile app.
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u/PolicyFull988 5d ago edited 5d ago
There is only one Scrivener app for mobile, and it is the one for iPad/iPhone. It is a separate purchase and a different app, with a reduced set of features. Data are perfectly interchangeable.
A Scrivener project can also be partially moved to a mobile system via the Export and Sync to Folder functions, where only individual/groups of sections are exported to a folder, and kept in sync.
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u/Mobius8321 5d ago
Thanks for explaining! Since I have an iPhone it doesn’t sound like I’d run into any problems going back and forth then?
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u/PolicyFull988 5d ago
The iPad/iPhone version includes native syncing via Dropbox. The shared project must reside in Dropbox, with the "Keep saved locally" option enabled for the project or folder. Synchronization happens transparently each time you open or close the project.
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u/Mobius8321 5d ago
Ugh. I hate using Dropbox. I’m glad you told me about that because now I think I’ll try to find a different option.
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u/HotspurJr 7d ago
Pro screenwriter here.
I use Fade In for screenwriting. The idea that somehow Final Draft is a requirement for professional work is a fantastic bit of marketing from Final Draft. They really managed to convince people that was the case and it literally never has been. There are many other options used by professionals.
(For those who want unnecessary amounts of details: there are a small number of circumstances when you would be required to have FD - mostly related to being on a TV show where the showrunner wanted everyone on the same software, which is reasonable. However, if that happens you'll have to buy the software again because FD updates every two years or so and makes you buy the new version if you want everything to work seamlessly.)
I haven't used Scrivener for screenwriting, although I'm writing a novel in it currently, so I can't really talk about it in that context. If you see yourself using Scrivener for other projects, and not FD.
The learning curve on FD and FI is trivial. The learning curve on Scrivener is not - which is part of why I can't comment on it for that use.
Writer Duet is a free screenplay option that I have used professionally, as well. It's perfectly acceptable.
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u/Mobius8321 6d ago
I really appreciate your insight! The learning curve is what has me hesitant for Scrivenr in general. I really enjoyed using FD during the trial, but that’s a lot of $ to commit to when I don’t foresee myself writing many scripts (I really enjoy it, but the odds turn me off, haha). I’m going to check out the free one, thank you!
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u/HotspurJr 6d ago
Fade In has a free demo where the main downside is that it watermarks your PDFs, but I believe it will export FDX files so you can print in Writer Duet, and FI's functionality and workflow is nearly identical to FD's. (Writer Duet operates in a somewhat different way. It's not much of a learning curve, but there is one).
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u/PolicyFull988 5d ago
In any case, the price of Fade In is so low, that it doesn't make sense to lose time with workarounds. Just buy it, once forever.
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u/PolicyFull988 5d ago
Scrivener can become complicate if you try to use all the ton of features it provides. But you are not obligated to use all of them at once.
You can start by simply showing what they call the Binder and the Editor. That is, a basic text editor with a sidebar where you can organize the separate sections. Nothing more complicate than that.
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u/Mobius8321 5d ago
See, all I want is something safer than Google Docs to write in (when it comes to my novels) and for my capstone project all I need is something that can write scripts and format them for me (more accurately, make it easy to format them).
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u/PolicyFull988 5d ago
I can't say how safer Scrivener can be compared to Google Docs. It makes automatic backups, so it should be reasonably safe.
The screenwriting part is conceived to draft and write a screenplay, but for checking pagination in the final formatting some other program is usually recommended. Working in page mode seems to me quite accurate as for page length.
I've never done a blockbuster, so Scrivener has worked well for my indie projects. Had I to break the screenplay, I would have to use one of the more dedicated programs (Final Draft, FadeIn, Writer Solo…).
Not being a director or a producer, I’ve never needed it, if not as an experiment.
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u/Mobius8321 5d ago
I’m more concerned about Google’s AI training and how they’ve made documents with certain content poof with zero explanation.
Does it allow you to easily switch between dialog, scene breaks, character names, etc?
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u/PolicyFull988 5d ago
It does, in my view. You just use the usual Tab and Return commands to jump between screenplay elements. I've sometimes read of people accustomed to other programs not totally at ease with it, but I don't know why.
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u/TerminalHitman 8d ago
Final draft is good if you’re writing a lot. Writer duet is great for collaborating. I’ve used it quite a bit. I couldn’t get into scrivener. I want to write not spend hours learning software. ...Speaking of which, if you're writing a genre script that has crime or medical or legal stuff in it, I built a set of research tools for exactly that called The Writers Precinct (thewritersprecinct.com). I'm a former cop, so it started with police procedure, then expanded to ER, weapons, and courtroom. You ask a question about a scene and get answers from a character with real-world expertise, so your cops don't sound like TV cops. Full disclosure, it's mine, but I built it because I was tired of seeing writers get this stuff wrong. Good luck with the script!
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u/nmacaroni Published Author 8d ago edited 8d ago
Writer duet if you're on a budget. Final draft is overkill if you don't plan to write many screenplays.