John August

Weekend Read

Pretty much everything is on sale

Apps, Bronson, Highland, Weekend Read, Writer Emergency, Writer Emergency Pack

Every fall, we put many of the products we make on sale. Typically, it lines up with Back to School or Labor Day, but the notions of “time” and “seasons” and “school” don’t seem to match the actual experience of 2020.

Still: bargains!

Through **Sunday, September 13th** all of the following are half off —

The upgrade to [Highland 2 Pro](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2/), now just $25 USD. ((Both Highland 2 and Weekend Read are free to download. The upgrade is an in-app purchase, with prices varying a little bit internationally.))

The upgrade to [Weekend Read](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/index.php) is $5.

[Bronson Watermarker PDF](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/bronson/index.php) is just $10.

[Writer Emergency Pack](https://www.writeremergency.com) is $10 on [Amazon](https://amzn.to/335GGYL) and in [our store](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/writer-emergency-pack-single-deck).

We’re also clearing out the remaining stock of our game [One Hit Kill](http://onehitkillgame.com) from our Pennsylvania warehouse. It’s a great card game for just [ONE DOLLAR plus shipping](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/one-hit-kill-core).

Hiring a coder

Apps, Bronson, Geek Alert, Highland, Los Angeles, Weekend Read

We’re bringing in a new person to help us update some of our older Mac and iOS apps. Maybe that’s you!

Requirements:

– Experience with Mac and iOS development (either professionally or on your own)
– Familiarity with web APIs
– Proficiency in Swift
– Ability to read (and understand) Objective-C

For the right candidate, it should be an interesting assignment. You’ll be rewriting existing Objective-C code as Swift, and bringing a 2019 perspective (and technology) to previously-solved problems. You’ll be working beside Nima Yousefi, who coded Highland, ((Fun fact: Highland 2 is almost entirely Swift, except for some very low-level stuff dealing with PDFs which goes all the way back to the original Highland.)) Weekend Read and a lot of other useful apps for writers. He’ll show you the ropes and help guide you through the process.

This is a contract gig, maybe 40 hours of work altogether, but there’s always the possibility of future projects. We’re looking for someone in Los Angeles who’s available on Tuesday and Friday afternoons for some in-person discussion.

The right person might be transitioning from another field, a college student, or someone on a gap year. You can look at this as an educational experience, intern-like, but definitely paid. If you’re a hobbyist coder considering becoming an indie app developer, it would be a good introduction. That’s how Nima got started.

Interested? [Drop us a note](mailto:assistant@johnaugust.com) to introduce yourself and your work. Please include links to stuff we can check out, especially Github and sample code.

I’m on the App Store

Apps, Bronson, Highland, News, Weekend Read

app store article with photoThis morning, Apple posted a profile of me and my software company, Quote-Unquote Apps. If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, you can [read the piece here](https://itunes.apple.com/us/story/id1396871930).

Or just open the App Store app and I’m on the front page.

Yes, it’s a little frustrating that the article is accessible only through the App Store app. I get why they do it — they want exclusive content about apps available right where you get them, just like airlines have their own in-flight magazines. But it feels weird to have a link that only some readers can open.

When you agree to a profile like this, you don’t get a lot of control. I didn’t see the story or the photos until it posted. But I’m happy they emphasized the team that makes it possible. Nima Yousefi is our master coder. Dustin Bocks designs everything to pixel precision. Megana Rao keeps on top of support issues and finds new scripts each week for Weekend Read.

While this profile mostly focuses on Weekend Read, in reality it’s Highland 2 that occupies most of our time. Since it debuted in May, Highland 2 has become our biggest hit by far. It’s also the most important app for me as a writer, since I use it nonstop for scripts, books and blog posts like this one.

If you still haven’t checked out Highland 2, [today’s the day](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2/).

And if you’re a screenwriter nervous about making the jump, definitely check out our new PDF on [Switching from Final Draft to Highland 2](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2/library.php).

Wait for It

Episode - 332

Go to Archive

Arlo Finch, Film Industry, Follow Up, Formatting, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Weekend Read, WGA, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss suspense and its function in all genres, from thrillers to romcoms. They examine suspense of the known and of the unknown and the techniques available to construct it.

We also answer listeners questions about registering scripts with the WGA, how to overcome creative paralysis and unconventional sluglines.

Links:

* [The WGA’s page](http://www.wga.org/members/workplace-matters/sexual-harassment) regarding sexual harassment
* [The Wedding Planner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wedding_Planner), [Die Hard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard), [Three’s Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three%27s_Company), [Man Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Up_(film)), and the [old ketchup commercials](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoLoyg3JKRQ) are great examples of suspense
* Thanks to [Katie Dippold](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1767754/), who pitched the idea for this episode
* [Weekend Read](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/) has many of this season’s awards scripts posted for your reading pleasure
* [Flipflop Solitaire](http://www.flipflopsolitaire.com) by Zach Gage, who also made [Really Bad Chess](http://www.reallybadchess.com)
* Slate’s podcast, [Slow Burn](http://www.slate.com/articles/slate_plus/watergate.html)
* [The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!](johnaugust.com/guide)
* [The USB drives!](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-300-episode-usb-flash-drive)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Find past episodes](http://scriptnotes.net/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Travis Newton ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_332.mp3).

**UPDATE 1-8-18:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2018/scriptnotes-ep-332-wait-for-it-transcript).