#I need to get another free trial of that scriptwriting software

[mimiteyy]

finished writing character backgrounds + lore in the journal now to fucking. do some kind of rundown of the story in the actual animation

[max-of-progress]

AAHAHHHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCCCHHH

I would LOVE some tips OML my dad is a scriptwriter but I have absolutely NO clue on how to format it😭 I've written things before but this time I want to actually send it to Riot and see what comes of it I would be so so so grateful for anything at all!!

Thank you SOOOOO much

Of course!!

And omg that's so cool that your dad is a scriptwriter too! He probably can give you better tips, lol, but there's a good amount of stuff online in terms of learning how to format a screenplay.

Studiobinder is a great website that I frequently reference for help with writing, formatting rules, reading published scripts, or just anything dealing with screenwriting in general. It also has a screenwriting software that you can use to write and manage your scripts! I used it at the beginning of college (it was the only software I was aware of) but I don't really use it anymore.

Another free software I used is WriterDuet! It's pretty good, all things considered, and it's got pretty much all you'll need to write a script! I wrote a pilot episode for a TV show and like 80% of a feature film on it with no problem. The only thing is that the free trial only lets you have like 3 documents 😭so I could only write so much.

The software I use right now is Final Draft! It's industry standard so it's got everything. It's pricey though, but you can get a free trial! I was able to get one through my school, but I think you can sign up for one. Right now, it seems like it's 30 days but I somehow managed to get like a year-round one?? I'm not actually sure how I did that-

As for formatting tips, there's a super quick like,, lesson (?) underneath the cut! And I hope you don't mind, but I translated what you had written into the format to help you see how the formatting would work!

Also I wasn't sure if by formatting you meant like screenplay format or story format or something else, but I went with the former. So if it's anything else, let me know and my apologies if so!

Hopefully it's helpful! And if you ever have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! I wish you luck with your writing and sending it to Riot! Can't wait to see what becomes of it and those two bozos (affectionate). 🩵

Sluglines:

- Introduce your scene and are in all caps - FORMULA: [EXT/INT]. (SETTING) - (TIME) - EXT. = Exterior settings // INT. = Interior Settings - TIME is typically either "DAY" or "NIGHT" but sometimes you can get into specifics like "MORNING"/"AFTERNOON"/"EVENING" and so on - Additionally, if a scene is happening right after the other, you could put "CONTINUOUS" instead of writing "DAY" again - When you have a scene that takes place somewhere with multiple rooms (EX: An apartment), you can specify the room by adding it between (SETTING) & (TIME) - For Example: INT. APARTMENT SPACE - BEDROOM - DAY

Action Lines:

- Action lines are where all the action, descriptions, blocking, set dressing, etc happen - Traditionally, action lines are written in the present tense with active verbs. - In the action lines sometimes writers will capitalize SOUNDS or important PROPS to emphasize or draw attention to them - this is a writing style choice (I personally love to capitalize sounds) - Try to avoid having big chunks of action lines - they're typically no longer than four or five sentences - The general rule is that every time you picture the camera shot changes, you create a new paragraph (aka line breaks) - Additionally, I've been taught not to put things in the action lines such as "we see" or state something about the camera doing something (zooming in, panning out, cutting to, etc...) - SHOW don't TELL basically - You will also introduce your CHARACTERS in the action lines as well

Character Intros:

- As mentioned before, character intros happen in the action lines - The first time a character is introduced, their NAMES are capitalized and followed by their age (typically in parenthesis) and/or a little description about them (could be physical but I've been told to lean more into personality because having a set physical description messes with casting, but that's not an issue for this particular project) - For Example: SILCO (40s), lanky in stature and sharp in his face and mind, rolls his eyes and scoffs. - After you initially capitalize their name, you don't have to do so anymore in other action lines - Additionally, you want to make sure you introduce a character in the action line BEFORE they have a speaking line - this is just for the production team's sake to know who's present in the scene - Even BACKGROUND people's names/groups are capitalized (so like: CROWD, PATRONS, TOWNSFOLK and so on would be capitalized in your action lines) - If we're seeing someone for the first time, their name is capitalized

Dialogue:

- My favorite part of the script! - The writing software will make this bit of formatting easy, but it's always indented as shown in the screenshots, and the names are always capitalized (again, something a writing software will do for you) - Sometimes additional text will follow the character name in parentheses such as: - (V.O) = "voice over" <- this is typically for narration - (O.S) = "off-screen" <- this is for when a character is in a scene but isn't in frame - (CONT'D) = "continued" <- typically the software will add this for you if a character speaks again after an action line - You can also use parentheticals (softwares will have a way for you to add them properly) for when you need an actor to do something specific with the line delivery or other - For Example: (sarcastically), (shouting), (between sobs), (shrugging) - Use them sparingly though - sometimes you can put it in an action line prior to the dialogue, you can use italics to emphasize words, or you can put the dialogue in all caps if the character is shouting or other

Other Tips:

MONTAGES - there are several different ways to do these (the way I did it in the script example is my own personal way of doing them), but typically you make note of having a montage in the action lines TITLE CARDS - also are different ways of superimposing text on the screen that you can find online (I personally don't use this a lot so I don't honestly know the "right" way to do it, tbh) BEATS/PAUSES - again, try to show and not tell, but you can definitely just have "a beat" in your action line if you need to either describe a silence or break up some dialogue. However, I've been instructed by professors to put some kind of action instead (For Example: "Vander shifts uncomfortably and glances away" instead of "A beat."). Helps you seem like a better writer, I guess, but it also gives the actors/characters something to do - Read other scripts to see how they format things! For this one specifically, see how Arcane writes its scripts! Try and find PDFs or anything online that might showcase how they go about their formats because different shows will have different formats (For example: Bob's Burgers double spaces all their text for some reason). If you're writing in hopes of sending it to Riot, copying their formatting will definitely benefit you. - But for the most part, the rules for formatting are pretty much the same across the board (Slugline formula, capitalizing character intros, indenting dialogue, having action lines, etc..) it's just depending on either the writer or the show, they might have a different style

ALSO!

I'm so sorry, I'm realizing this now as I'm writing this, but this is a TV SCRIPT so it'll have ACT BREAKS.

Most of the time, TV Shows will specify the beginning and end of an act with "ACT [#]"/"END OF ACT [#]" and there will be a way to do this on a screenwriting software.

They're typically just in the middle of the page, in all caps, bold, and underlined.

Additionally, TV shows also either have a TEASER at the beginning or a COLD OPEN.

This particular script seems like it has a teaser, with what seems to be a flashback, so you would make note of that the same way you'd make note of the acts (of which a TV show usually has four/five of).

I was formatting it like a film, my bad-

But that's about it!

Sorry this took so long to answer and that it's a lot, but hopefully some of it is helpful! And again, if you have any other questions, let me know! I've got a lot of resources and whatnot, so if you need anything my inbox and dms are open!

Good luck with your project! 🩵 Already it looks promising!

[tippenfunkaport]

Inspired by a recent poll, could you tell us a bit more about the software you use for writing and the advantages with it?

Thanks so much!

Can I keep this short is the question...

So, for anyone who didn’t see the post this is referring to, I mentioned on another post that the writing software I use is...

4TheWords for drafting (brainstorming, first draft, etc)

Scrivener for all subsequent stages (editing, formatting, etc)

ProWritingAid for a final look before I submit / post

Longer version (and, like, I could talk about this all day so feel free to ask follow ups but I will try to contain myself)

4TheWords is a fantasy RPG-ish writing game where the words you write defeat monsters, earn loot, complete quests, etc. I have been playing it for five years ish and the game-ification just works really well for my brain. Earning silly little prizes and moving the game plot along keeps me motivated to keep writing when otherwise I would be a useless slug so I do most of my early stage writing on there like drafting, brainstorming, journaling, etc. It is silly but I love it and it basically saved my writing life when I was in a huge slump so they have my undying devotion. The company is also the kind you feel very good about supporting and they are HUGELY queer friendly with a big yearly Pride event with many of the main in-game characters being queer and/or trans. (The closest the game has to main characters are a lesbian couple that just got married as part of the Valentine's Day event last month!)

It costs money but a) there is a 30 day free trial of you want to check it out and b) there is a community pool if you cannot afford the fee as well as frequent sales/deals. (If anyone wants to try it out, feel free to use my referral code when you sign up because then you’ll get some extra crystals and I can send you a welcome present of some loot! If the image link above is annoying, dm me and I will give you it via text for copy and paste.)

Scrivener is very robust writing software that I use for fiction, non-fiction and scriptwriting. I only rarely use it for first drafts (bc I use 4TW for that) but I do almost all my editing / rewriting / formatting / publishing in it. I have been using it for probably about a decade and am still finding new tools and features I didn’t realize it had. I absolutely swear by it. The learning curve can be steep but luckily it’s one of the most popular writing programs in the world so there are a TON of great tutorials out there. (My advice? Just watch a video of something like the top 5-10 features and then play around and look up stuff as you have questions instead of trying to do the whole long tutorial it comes with.)

Disclaimer that I only own the desktop version. There are mobile versions that are a separate purchase from the desktop version but I don't use them.

Biggest selling points of Scrivener to me are:

while many writing services have a monthly fee, Scrivener is purchased exactly once and you can use it for life on your laptop and desktop AND you can get 50% off that one time price with a NaNoWriMo winner code (this alone is enough to buy my loyalty for life)

it’s incredibly versatile for both plotting and publishing and works really for my writing process (which is, admittedly, chaotic and weird) and has near infinite customization. It's esp great for making story bibles, organizing research, and plotting out larger works with lots of cross references and chapters you need to rearrange

as a script writer, Scrivener only cost me a one time fee of $35 and includes all updates and bug fixes until the next major version (which happens like once a decade). FinalDraft is $250 and that only includes the current version (which changes about once a year) to do the same thing. That’s a no brainer to me.

ProWritingAid is editing software. Like Grammarly but MUCH more robust with a lot more reports you can run. It’s not replacement for a human editor (AI editing can only do so much) but I like it as a second pair of eyes before I post or submit something because it does catch a lot of the basics and makes me feel a little better about sending something out. There is a limited free version and the full version can be pricey if you pay the monthly fee but I bided my time until the lifetime subscription went on sale for 50% off and paid once and now I have it to use for life.

There. That was almost short, right?