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So, I need a new screenwriting tool/software rec

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Vernacula View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vernacula Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 1:00pm
Originally posted by NYCNewbie NYCNewbie wrote:

Hey Verna,

I've just sent you a PM about this.

Paula :)


Thank you so much! I guess the forum says I need to erase some messages before I can reply, so I thought I'd just say it here! :-)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vernacula Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 1:06pm
Thank you Joni, Tracy and manifestly for the recs! I may come crying for help at some point in the next 30 hours. Haha.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote T.E. Bradford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 1:37pm
Originally posted by Vernacula Vernacula wrote:

Thank you Joni, Tracy and manifestly for the recs! I may come crying for help at some point in the next 30 hours. Haha.

As long as you don't mind if I do the same to you. ;-)
Methinks tomorrow is going to be CRAZY. I've never done a final before... Confused
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vernacula Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 8:40pm
Originally posted by T.E. Bradford T.E. Bradford wrote:

Originally posted by Vernacula Vernacula wrote:

Thank you Joni, Tracy and manifestly for the recs! I may come crying for help at some point in the next 30 hours. Haha.

As long as you don't mind if I do the same to you. ;-)
Methinks tomorrow is going to be CRAZY. I've never done a final before... Confused


Of course, bug me! It won't actually be bugging me! I'm using a lot of exclamation points lately! LOL

If you're a pantser like me, the final won't feel that different. That's actually my best piece of advice; treat it just like any other round, but adjust your time down for each thing you normally do. I wrote my two qualifying scripts at the very last minute, but had time to ruminate. Thankfully the genre is usually open, which frees up a lot of mental real estate.

Hit me up whenever you need to! Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vernacula Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2019 at 6:02pm
Originally posted by T.E. Bradford T.E. Bradford wrote:

I actually started with Trelby, and switched to WriterDuet -- which I find MUCH easier, although like Joni I'll probably have to man up and get the paid version at some point. Plus you can download your finished product into multiple file types, which is nice.

--Tracy (the other one). ;-)


How do you get page numbers to show up? And why does my pdf look so weird? Eek!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tim G Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2019 at 6:32pm
Sorry I only know Final Draft which is supposed to be industry standard but doesn’t seem anyone uses it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vernacula Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2019 at 6:45pm
Originally posted by Tim G Tim G wrote:

Sorry I only know Final Draft which is supposed to be industry standard but doesn’t seem anyone uses it!


Ha. I won a copy of it in the early 2000s and never even opened it. And I lived in L.A.! I just swore I'd never become a screenwriter. Sigh. The folly of youth. 

I always number my pages, but only just noticed in the rules it says pages MUST be numbered. I can export as Final Draft and most other programs, so maybe as a last resort someone will take pity on me and upload it, get the numbers on there, and send it back.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2019 at 6:49pm
Originally posted by Tim G Tim G wrote:

Sorry I only know Final Draft which is supposed to be industry standard but doesn’t seem anyone uses it!

I use FD Tim. Bought it eons ago, when it was one of the only games in town. I love it, but it’s pricey to get. That said, the monthly fees on some of the other ones would add up.  

I think it’s amazing there are so many options available now. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote T.E. Bradford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2019 at 7:12pm
Originally posted by Vernacula Vernacula wrote:

Originally posted by T.E. Bradford T.E. Bradford wrote:

I actually started with Trelby, and switched to WriterDuet -- which I find MUCH easier, although like Joni I'll probably have to man up and get the paid version at some point. Plus you can download your finished product into multiple file types, which is nice.

--Tracy (the other one). ;-)


How do you get page numbers to show up? And why does my pdf look so weird? Eek!

Try exporting it in another format vs. *.PDF and see if that works better. I seem to recall the exports being a bit funky. I think I exported to word and then saved as PDF, or some such. I'm going to export mine in a few and I'll add another post if I confirm or find other info...

UPDATE:
Okay - at the bottom of the panel on the left is a download button - it shows a down arrow over a line. It's in the same section as the B (bold) and I (italics). When you click on this, you can select to export the whole document (includes your title page) and format. Select PDF. The formatting should be better and the page numbers will show (except title and page 1).

As a note, I usually put my logline (synopsis) in as the author name so that shows up on the title page instead. Then I have to click on File and go to the title page to make sure the name and address info at the bottom are removed and the spacing looks okay.

Let me know if you still have trouble from there. :)


Edited by T.E. Bradford - 20 Jul 2019 at 7:26pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stephenmatlock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2019 at 7:22pm
I've tried a few of the freeware/shareware tools. Yes, Storywriter was a great little product, but the bean counters must have said it wasn't profitable to do something nice just for the cause of niceness. :(

Trelby drove me nuts. I tried it, and it was so harsh in what it made me do. Yes, there are rules to follow in scriptwriting, but Trelby was like the bed of Procrustes to anything I did.

I know there's MovieMaker (sponsor of these contests!) and Final Draft, but I've found a good inexpensive and easy-to-use product in Fade In. Maybe if I become the professional screenwriter with my own podcast I might choose something more elevatory, but for my quick and dirty work I use Fade In.

The best time to have to choose a new software package and learn it is during a contest, don't you think?

Best of luck!
Pithy sayings are for the apt. For a longer message, you need a condo.

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