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Looking for a Sign
So, this is my first time competing in NaPlWriMo, though I competed in NaNo last year and SF earlier this year (Won both :]) anyway. My play is going to be somehow related to the following quite:
"If you're looking for a sign, this is it. Do it. It will be amazing"
I'm not entirely sure how that will relate yet, but I wont know until I start writing, will i? Haha, so, any opinions on this?
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Final Draft is great. I used to use word when I first started writing plays in college and it took FOREVER to format. If i had a deadline, I had to build in time to format! It was annoying. Final Draft is really quite easy to use and the keystroke commands make it easier too. It's also customizable I've heard, but I stick with the templates they give (and they give about a whole mess of them for lots of different script styles--not just plays).
It might be a bit out of your budget, but if your high school has a bookstore, maybe they could order you a copy and you could get it at a school rate. Or if you know anyone going to college right now, have them check at their college bookstore. I got my last version of Final Draft when I was in college and it was a couple hundred cheaper to buy it through the school than off the shelf somewhere else.
I agree - MS Word is fine. I have a template I use that suits me well. To be honest all you need is a style for dialog, and one for directions. Might be different for film scripts, but if you look at any published theatre plays you'll soon see there is not much to it.
And remember, good formatting never made a hit play. It's all down to the words you type in.
Everything in life should be as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler - Albert Einstein
I write in MS word all the time. A playwriting teacher gave me a play template for MS word years ago and that is all I ever use. No fancy software involved. I think it is very user friendly and easy.
Microsoft Word is great for making business documents. It's absolutely lousy for making scripts. I'd recommend Final Draft, although it's by no means the only script writer out there.
Also, I'm looking for software to help with the writing process since I'm not yet familiar with the format in Microsoft word and CeltX doesn't use the right format according to my theatre director.
"If you're looking for a sign, this is it. Do it. It will be amazing."