Screenplay writer

Write on the left in plain text. The right side shows the script laid out the way the film industry expects: twelve-point Courier, wide margins, dialogue in a narrow column down the middle, and about one page for each minute of screen time.

How to write in it

You do not pick a style for every line. The writer works it out from what you type, using the open Fountain convention that most screenwriting software also reads:

• A line starting with INT. or EXT. becomes a scene heading.
• A line in capital letters with dialogue under it becomes a character name.
• Text in brackets inside dialogue becomes a parenthetical, such as (whispering).
• A line in capitals ending in TO: becomes a transition, such as CUT TO:
• Everything else is action.

Press Tab on an empty line to drop in a character’s name; press it again to cycle through the cast. Wrap words in *stars* for italics and _underscores_ for underlining. Put private notes in [[double square brackets]]; they stay out of the printed pages.

Page breaks done properly

When a speech runs over the end of a page, the writer adds (MORE) at the foot and the character’s name with (CONT’D) at the top of the next, and it never leaves a scene heading stranded on the last line. You get the same page count a producer will see.

Common questions

Can I open my script in other software? Yes. “Save file” gives you a .fountain file, which is plain text. Final Draft, Highland, Fade In, WriterDuet and others can import it.

How do I get a PDF? Press “PDF”. In the print window choose “Save as PDF” and set margins to “None”.

How long is my film? The rule of thumb is one page a minute. The breakdown panel shows the page count, a running time estimate and how much each character speaks.

Is my script private? It never leaves your device. That also means there is no cloud copy, so save a file after each writing session.