John August

Search Results for: index cards

New Final Draft version 7.0 is…marginally better

Formatting, Geek Alert

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My screenwriting software of choice has long been [Final Draft](http://www.finaldraft.com), which is 90% great, 10% maddening and significantly better than any of the other programs I’ve tried — and believe me, I’ve tried a bunch. This past month, Final Draft came out with version 7.0, which was the first major update in a while.

On the plus side, the new version is stable. It hasn’t quit on me, and it hasn’t had the same [refusing-to-launch problem](http://johnaugust.com/2004/when-final-draft-wont-open-under-os-x) the last version had. It doesn’t choke on the previous version’s files, which is a problem I’ve encountered every previous integer-level upgrade.

One nice new feature is the ability to split a document window, so you can see two parts of the script at the same time. You can show one of the panels in scene-navigator view, or as index cards — which can now have two sides. On a big screen, keeping the left panel open to the scene navigator lets me click through to specific sections quickly.

Splitting the screen is helpful, but hardly revolutionary. Many Mac programs — including Microsoft Word — have had split windows for over a decade. Final Draft runs into familiar problems with this setup. If you make a selection in one panel that extends into the region shown in the other panel, the program freaks out. Caveat selector.

I never use Final Draft’s index cards. While in theory it would be great to reorganize your script just by moving some cards around, real life screenplays never work that way. Scenes aren’t Legos, and they can’t be flopped around willy-nilly. In my opinion, better choices for outlining are [Omni Outliner](http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnioutliner/) and [Pyramid](http://www.mindcad.com/). Each of these has free demo versions.

Final Draft 7 is apparently better at exporting .pdf files. That may be new for Windows, but if you’re using Mac OS X, I’d highly recommend using “Print…” and “Save to .pdf” instead. That way, you have all the options of the print dialog box, and you’re guaranteed to get just what the printer would.

There are other features I wish Final Draft had, such as XML export for the web, a clipping bin, and less-aggressive Smart Lists. But on the whole, the program works well for what I make my living doing. And for screenwriters lucky enough to have an honest-to-goodness movie on their hands, the production features alone are worth the price. Final Draft does a very solid job locking pages and tracking revisions, which makes sending out colored pages considerably easier than it has any right to be.

Should you buy Final Draft? Probably. Should you upgrade? That depends. If you’re happy with version 6, there’s really no pressing need. Version 7 isn’t bad, but it isn’t a huge improvement.

How I Write

First Person, Writing Process

Since I was asking other screenwriters to explain their process, I thought it was only fair to explain my own.

I wrote my first real script — or at least my first attempt at a script — on Microsoft Word on an Macintosh SE30. This was probably 1991. I don’t know if there even was screenwriting software like Final Draft at that point. I wrote everything up through GO on Word, then made the switch.

These days, I’ll write longhand, or type, or a combination. I strongly believe in not having a set routines or rituals, because they often become excuses for not working: “I would write, but I have to have a brand-new blue pen and natural sunlight streaming through that window over there.” I’ll do index cards if something is especially complicated, but usually a short outline will suffice. I generally don’t write in sequence. Rather, I’ll write whatever scene appeals to me at the moment. A lot of times, I can write a short scene while waiting at the dentist’s office. For all the fancy software and books about it, on a fundamental level, writing only requires focus and something to write on.

I can write any time of day. Nothing is better or worse for me. If I can get two hours of serious writing done, I consider it a sucessful day. But I don’t beat myself up if that doesn’t happen.

A lot of times when I’m first starting a project, I’ll go away by myself for a few days. To Vegas, San Diego, Hawaii, wherever. I won’t take a computer. Instead, I’ll just take a bunch of notepads. I’ll write scenes longhand, then once a day, fax them back to Los Angeles. My assistant then types them up and faxes them back. It’s a good system for me, because it keep me from editing the work too early in the process. Working this way, I can write 17 pages in a day. It’s exhausting, but very helpful to achieve that critical mass in such a short period.

Tyger Williams on How I Write

First Person, Writing Process

first personThe process of finding my way into a story is different each time. It depends on the subject matter, how innate the material is to me and my sensibilities, or just depending on where I am in my own headspace at the time. I usually try to find my way into the character, or whatever cool set pieces or beats are going to make me really excited and make it fun to write. Some projects require more research, some less. But all of them require a great deal of procrastination.

I generally start with a beat sheet, which I develop into a short outline. It’s all very sketchy at the start. I use a program that allows me to lay my entire story out in blocks (sort of like index cards) so that I can see what it looks like from beginning to end. It also allows me to color the blocks separately so that I can track the protagonist beats, action beats, sub-plot beats, etc. Once I have the outline I make a list of the scenes that I want to write each day. (sort of like a director’s shot list) Sometimes I write in sequence, sometimes not. Often I’ll do dialogue on a tape recorder, just to hear how it sounds and then rewrite it later.

A typical day at he office varies for me depending on whether I’m developing ideas or writing a draft of a script. When I’m drafting I approach it pretty systematically. I budget out my days. Six pages a day, five days a week. Four weeks to a first draft. I usually get in the office around 10:00 a.m. and will write until 1:00 p.m., or at least until I have four pages done before lunch. Then I’ll write again from 2:00 to 6:00. During this time I will write another two pages and loosely revise the day’s work, in addition to returning the necessary phone calls. Now this is all ideally speaking. There are times when I spend the whole day in the office trying to figure out what I’m supposed to write and won’t get it done until I get home and the family’s asleep. Either way, I try to make the day’s pages or I know I’ll have to play catch up later. I only put myself through these paces in order to get a first draft done, and the rewriting/editing phase is considerably more flexible.
***
Tyger Williams, a product of southern California, attended the University of Utah and Long Beach State University, where he studied Film, Television, and Marketing. After interning as a story analyst, he tried his hand at screenwriting. The immediate results were an unintended comedy, the semi-autobiographical film everyone writes, and his first produced film, MENACE II SOCIETY. Williams has most recently worked on NIGHT TRAIN: THE SONNY LISTON STORY, as well as a remake of the 1970′s blaxploitation film FOXY BROWN, and GRIDIRON GIRLS, a dramedy about life in the world of women’s professional football. He has also developed various television pilots and is currently adapting the Marvel comic character Brother Voodoo into a series for the Sci-Fi channel.

Todd Graff on How I Write

First Person, Writing Process

Todd Grafffirst personThe first thing you need to know is that I write longhand, on legal pads, which makes me either a romantic or a dinosaur or both. When an idea starts percolating in my head, I jot notes everywhere: matchbook covers, snaking around all the white areas in a magazine ad, etc. Bad movies seem to get my juices flowing, and I’m forever ripping up popcorn containers, scribbling on their oily, white insides with the tiny wallet-clip pen my boyfriend bought me for Xmas (a far more useful present than the gym membership).

These notes all make it onto individual index cards. As time passes, the pile of cards grows, until all that’s missing is the connective scene-tissue between all the jotted down sequences.

When it’s time to write, I procrastinate as much as the next guy. I find I have to sneak up on it — like I sit down to work, knowing I absolutely have to be somewhere in an hour. That way I can’t fuck up too much at any one time.

I also take long showers, where I don’t let myself leave until I’ve had at least one valuable idea about the script. Solved one problem. My hot water bills are always an accurate gauge of how blocked I am.
***
Todd Graff wrote and directed CAMP. As a writer and
producer, his other credits include BEAUTICIAN
AND THE BEAST, ANGIE, THE
VANISHING and
USED PEOPLE.