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So, I need a new screenwriting tool/software rec
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alexdsut View Drop Down
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Points: 1053 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote alexdsut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2019 at 10:59am
Originally posted by lisafox10800 lisafox10800 wrote:

I'm very happy with the Movie Magic Screenwriter software. I'm NOT techie and it's pretty foolproof.

I've been meaning to try this out. Might take it for a spin for Challenge #2! I actually don't think I know anyone who has used it though, so it never came up in any past discussions I've had. Good to hear you've had a positive experience with it! 
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Originally posted by alexdsut alexdsut wrote:

Originally posted by lisafox10800 lisafox10800 wrote:

I'm very happy with the Movie Magic Screenwriter software. I'm NOT techie and it's pretty foolproof.

I've been meaning to try this out. Might take it for a spin for Challenge #2! I actually don't think I know anyone who has used it though, so it never came up in any past discussions I've had. Good to hear you've had a positive experience with it! 

I was terrified once Amazon Storywriter went away. I played around with this new software before one of the comps last year and it was really easy to learn. Of course, I haven't tried any of the real bells and whistles, but for the basics, it's perfect.
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Originally posted by Vernacula Vernacula wrote:

I've always just used Storywriter (which is gone now). I know, I know...it's kindergarten level, but I loved that it was dead simple and intuitive. I don't like to think about anything but writing or futz with bloated software. So, I'd appreciate any and all recommendations for the best replacement given my past preference and lazy tendencies.

I'm currently looking at Trelby as a download, and StudioBinder as a cloud-based solution. I lean toward online-based tools. Please help! This will be my first comp without my beloved, dumbed-down, goofy Storywriter. Thank you in advance.
 
I have Scrivener and Movie Magic for my production software on my main home computer.  I just had to bite the bullet and get WritersDuet because 1) I've been using the free one for ever and 2) I travel for work and didn't want to learn another program since I like WD.  So WD will be my go-to on my travel chromebook.
 
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Pick what works for you, and try to do so before the comps!

I've used Trelby (as I've said earlier), WritersDuet, and Scrivener for writing scripts.

Trelby was just too harsh: YOU MUST DO THIS NEXT PART BECAUSE OF THE RULES. If you know screenwriting/scriptwriting, I suppose it's easier, but for a newbie, it's like having Sister Mary Martha smacking your knuckles at every single mistake.

WritersDuet looks good, but I found it hard to keep track of where my "stuff" was. Cloud or local? I got out of synch at one point.

Scrivener I love for long form writing (novels), but I did not like the scriptwriting feature. Way too may non-keyboard functions--that is, I kept having to take my hand off the keyboard to use the mouse.

I still love Fade In, and have paid for the upgrades as needed. (I think there was a jump between versions that required a new license fee, but boy howdy it is worth it.)
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Originally posted by lisafox10800 lisafox10800 wrote:

I'm very happy with the Movie Magic Screenwriter software. I'm NOT techie and it's pretty foolproof.


I got a copy of this in 2002 or something like that.  Might get a new version to see if I like it better than FD (for my 3 screenplays a year  Confused )
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Originally posted by Random Random wrote:

Originally posted by dcontarato dcontarato wrote:


Somehow it never crossed my mind to try the screenplay template provided by Scrivener, which I own and use for long projects - I love how it lets me organize all my material in one place. Does anyone have any experience with using Scrivener to write screenplays? I’ll try it out.

Moving forward, if the Scrivener option doesn’t pan out, I think I’ll consider a paid subscription to WD.


Never thought of that.  I have FD whater-the-latest-version is, which was using way too much CPU on my machine and gets used twice a year.  I also have Scrivener, which I use for long projects, though my 'notes' still go in Word because I use the headings to sort things.  I should probably get better at sorting things in Scrivener and bite the bullet.  Particularly given my opinion of Microsoft.

Won't be too many more years and they'll make you use their recurring revenue products for office, like Adobe.

Thanks. Just gave a try at scriptwriting mode on Scrivener and it isn't quite as intuitive as other tools like WriterDuet - basically to switch between scene heading, action, dialogue, etc. one needs to either click some drop down menu or use a combination of TAB and ENTER to change item (this latter mode is actually not bad as it can replace mouse work, when one gets the gist of it). The options are all somewhat "hidden" in text at the bottom right corner of the editor, odd design choice compared to the pretty icons I've seen in WriterDuet or screenshots of other software packages...

It is nice to have the corkboard to organize/outline the scenes and all the other amenities that Scrivener provides (inspector, notes and so on for each scene, Finder-style folder view with reference material, etc.). Could definitely be useful to organize longer work, which is after all the main value proposition of Scrivener.
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dcontarato View Drop Down
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Originally posted by stephenmatlock stephenmatlock wrote:

Pick what works for you, and try to do so before the comps!

I've used Trelby (as I've said earlier), WritersDuet, and Scrivener for writing scripts.

Trelby was just too harsh: YOU MUST DO THIS NEXT PART BECAUSE OF THE RULES. If you know screenwriting/scriptwriting, I suppose it's easier, but for a newbie, it's like having Sister Mary Martha smacking your knuckles at every single mistake.

WritersDuet looks good, but I found it hard to keep track of where my "stuff" was. Cloud or local? I got out of synch at one point.

Scrivener I love for long form writing (novels), but I did not like the scriptwriting feature. Way too may non-keyboard functions--that is, I kept having to take my hand off the keyboard to use the mouse.

I still love Fade In, and have paid for the upgrades as needed. (I think there was a jump between versions that required a new license fee, but boy howdy it is worth it.)

Thanks! Had a similar feeling about Scrivener when I tried to type out a few scenes with it tonight. As I posted in my reply to Random above, there is an option to just use TAB and ENTER to change between heading-action-dialogue etc. with little mouse work, which becomes not bad at all after a while.

I'm sold on WriterDuet for the competition, it just worked great for me in the first round (the quality of the output, or lack thereof, will be my responsibility only).

I did some research today on FadeIn and liked what I saw, including the price tag - I have a hard time justifying the $250 for FinalDraft at this stage. Certainly an option for the long run.
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dcontarato View Drop Down
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Points: 979 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dcontarato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2019 at 2:20am
Originally posted by rossinny rossinny wrote:

I think for anyone just dipping their toe into the water of screenwriting, the free version of WriterDuet has everything you need and is extremely intuitive to use. If you're in it for the long haul, sounds like Final Draft might be well worth the investment. I'd say I'm somewhere in between at the moment!

Dipping my toes is exactly what I'm doing, and as you say I found WD a great and simple option for that!
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Points: 1199 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Emmageek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2019 at 7:55am
Since I have MM on my home base computer and Scrivener, I do use the Scrivener for the corkboard and organizing feature.  I like to visual see things - especially during the prewriting stage when my ideas are mostly scenes in my head and no real place in the story at that time.  
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I am using Scrivener and love it. I already own it and it's like half or less the cost of Final Draft (which I used about 10 years ago). It works great and has a lot of features for big projects! It's also good for transcribing interviews. =)

Full disclosure: I am on an old Mac (2009) running High Sierra. When I upgrade to a new machine, the version of Scrivener I used for this challenge won't work (2.8.1), so I will have to upgrade (>3.0). I fully expect the new Scrivener to work as well as this ancient one.

I had no idea there were as many screenwriting options out there!
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