Here’s an example of a synopsis, which is enabled by starting a line with an = sign: Here’s what I love about this: in Editor mode, you have three ways of writing text that is hidden in Preview mode: The Preview view, which translates what’s written in the Editor view into the screenplay format that you’ll want to export or share. The Editor view is the behind-the-scenes view where the writing gets done. For me, the killer feature is the Editor vs. So, what about the writing? Does it make it easier to write a screenplay? When I want to actually map something or use notecards, I prefer the physical versions. I do all of my outlining, beat boarding, story mapping, and script noting outside of Final Draft, usually in Word docs. Many of the new features are things that I have no interest in - things like beatboards and story maps and ScriptNotes. I never feel lost in the software.Ĭompare that to Final Draft, which still has a design aesthetic that reminds me of the early aughts - the icons are dated and the colors are not particularly pleasing.Īnd Final Draft has been getting progressively more cluttered and cumbersome over the years. And it’s not just aesthetically pleasing - it’s very intuitive and easy to use. You can’t quantify delight, but it’s delightful to use. It feels good to write a screenplay in Highland. It’s a great introduction to how to use the program. ^^^ That’s a screenshot of the screenplay tutorial that ships with Highland 2. The impression that I get from everything in Highland is that it’s the result of thoughtful consideration by smart people, even when I disagree with the design choices. It has everything I want to see and nothing more. My first impression of writing in Highland 2: I feel like someone designed screenwriting software for exactly how I write. I’m using the Pro version but the free version includes most of the features of the Pro version. I hope they can improve the user interface and modernize the software, because I want there to be multiple great choices in the marketplace.įor the past week, I’ve been using Highland every day, working two-three hours per day on the first draft of a comedy screenplay. I’ve used it for over a thousand hours (maybe a few thousand?) and it has served me very well. It helped me write hundreds of pages of scripts, including all of my films, several plays, and many many sketches. Final Draft was never a joy to use, but it got the job done and I could ignore all the clutter and work around the idiosyncrasies and get my writing done.Īnd while I am pretty critical of Final Draft, I should say that it has been a big part of my life and work since I started using it. Last year, I upgraded from version ~7 ((I honestly can’t remember what version I was using.)) to version 10. I’m going to share some of the things that I love about Highland 2 (just going to call it Highland from here on out) and a few things that I don’t love.Īs background: I’ve been using Final Draft since 2011. Not book writing software so not good for books at all.This isn’t meant to be an in-depth review of every single feature.Very complicated to collaborate and all the collaborators must own a copy of Final Draft.The price is higher than all other apps. Auto draft only saves every 15 minutes, not every keystroke.The most tools, options, and templates for screenwriters.Revision history saved to a local folder on your computer.Collaboration with others that own Final Draft.You can drag these scene cards into the story map Beat board which is basically a virtual corkboard. Story Map shows the length of your script in pages, as well as your current position among those pages.Also for different graphic novels, half-hour sitcom, or one-hour TV drama Script templates such as Cole Haag or Warner Brother, Dramatists Guild Musical template.Navigator window for scenes, script notes, characters, and tags (script day, location, makeup, cast members, etc).Formatting tools specific to screenwriting.I emphasize “serious” because it costs a whopping $250 and it’s incredibly packed with features that will only be needed if you’re writing a screenplay that’s actually being picked up. I guess it’s a little unfair to list FinalDraft here in comparison with the other apps, it’s not necessarily book writing software but rather screenwriting software.īut, it is the top pick for serious screenwriters. Plus, editing and co-writing is complicated and can only be done with other people who have purchased FinalDraft. You really need to watch some videos to understand how to use the features. FinalDraft is not our top pick overall for best writing apps because it has a very outdated and confusing interface.
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