Screenwriting : Screenwriting software? by Desiree Argentina

final draft is what I use and I think its the best

http://www.writerduet.com It's free but has premium membership of one time $99 fee. I was looking for a way to write in multicam sitcom format but wanted an alternative to Final Draft. Writer Duet converted all my celtx stuff which was huge. There are also many other features that I haven't even explored yet. Hope this is helpful. CAH

Final Draft. Final Draft! It costs money, but just like anything in any other industry, it's an investment. A mechanic has to shell out a few clams to get a toolbox. An artist needs to spend money on paint, brushes, canvases. Final Draft is your toolbox. You'll see a lot of people say "there's no functional difference between CeltX, Highland (which has an "export to fdx" [final draft format] option) and the like". And, by and large, there isn't... you CAN write a script in CeltX just as well as you can in Final Draft. Here's the thing: there's a presentational difference. Executives read hundreds of scripts a month, and pretty much all of them are written in Final Draft... so when a script comes across their desk that isn't, it's IMMEDIATELY recognizable that "this isn't written in final draft" and that can be a mark against you. Final Draft is $100. It's not cheap, but it's not the most expensive thing in the world. $100 is a fairly low cost if you really believe in your craft, and the features and updates make it more than worth it!

It's been interesting to hear John August and Craig Mazin discuss the topic on the SCRIPTNOTES podcast in recent years. It seems that most screenwriters in their circle are moving away from Final Draft and into apps like Highland/Fountain (John August) or Fade In (Craig Mazin). I prefer Slugline, also built on the Fountain Markdown language Highland uses. The truth is that the script format is fairly simple and highly standardized, so you can write in just about any app you like, and that file can easily be converted if/as needed with Highland.

I use Movie Magic Screenwriter. It's super user friendly. I also have Final Draft but always find myself using MMS :)

I love Celtx mostly because of the IPad app and how it works with the web. Plus the CARDS app which instantly links to the web as well.

I think it really boils down to your comfort level. If all you are doing is writing spec scripts, then any one of the several script writing software programs work just fine but each has its own idiosyncrasies. Final Draft seems to be the most prevalent program used industry wide.

I use Adobe Story. Haven't had any problems with it.