A working guide to screenwriting software

This is a piece I’m writing because I want to to read it, which is a bummer because the version I really want to read would be written by someone else. I’m increasingly asked, both by new screenwriters and old hands, which software I would recommend and I realised there’s a dearth of useful comparative pieces on the subject. Screenwriting apps are reviewed sporadically but almost always by tech journalists, not screenwriters. I’ve often found these reviews to be less than helpful precisely because the reviewer has no skin in the game; the apps aren’t being put to long term use by someone who needs to use them to make a living. Mentions are always made of “industry standards”, which aren’t really a thing and focus is aimed at aspects of the software that may be novel but are not ultimately very useful while big glaring tear-your-hair out problems are overlooked. Features over functionality.

So here I am, jabbing out the piece I’ve been looking for. Like I say, I wish someone else had written it because these things are more fun to read than they are to write!

Everything I’m saying here comes from experience. I’ve put these apps through their paces in a real world scenario; nothing was looked at just for this piece, these are all apps I’ve actually used to produce full-length scripts in a professional capacity. Consequently, there are omissions; I’ve never used CeltX, for example, or Montage or a host of other apps that you find when you Google “screenwriting software” but which you’ve never heard of anyone actually…