Quick Start Tutorial

This short tutorial is aimed at the first time user, it's goal is to get you an industry standard formatted page of a screenplay (or TV, Stage or Radio script) in less than twenty minutes. During this tutorial I will use the term "Script" to encompass any formatted Screenplay, Stage Play, TV Show Episode, Film Script or Radio Script, because as you will see later you do not have to decide which format your work is destined for until you want to print it.

Let's get started then. Firstly launch Practical Scriptwriter and select "Start a New Project" from the Project Management screen (or click "Open File" if you already have it running.

A Project file contains your script along with and character notes, plot notes and other relevant information. Your Project name does not have to be the same as your script title. The project name is used as a default script name if you have not specified a title for the script, You will see how to do this later.

Once you have entered your working title you will see the menu of Optional Wizards. These are provided because not everyone starts a project from the same point. Some writers will work on a set of characters first, or rough out the plot and structure. You may also wish to work at a text level with Theme, Synopsis and Location. (Don't worry if this means nothing, simply put it's an overview of the script in plain text that will outline your project for those reading it).

For the purposes of this tutorial, we'll imagine you have two characters, a rough plot and you just want to get writing. Select "Enter the Cast Members" and Add two names - "RED" and "GRANDMA" in the spirit of our Little Red Riding Hood sample project.

This screen also allows you to add, remove and change character names. Renames and Removes will also trigger find/ replace operations to keep your script up to date with your cast list. As a general rule, character names should be a single word, "RED" for "LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD". Choose one name and then stick to it throughout the script. You can access the Cast List using the main toolbar button "Cast" at any time during writing.

Finished entering characters ? then select click OK and Skip the remaining Wizards for now.

You are now in the main editing window, at the bottom right is the main text input area:

Obviously, the content of these four Scene Parts is what makes up your script. The aim of this software is to get these Scene Parts entered as quickly as possible and, more importantly, to allow changes and restructures to be made easily without worrying about how they affect the layout.

More detailed guidelines about how to use these various parts is beyond the scope of this tutorial and may also be affected by the media you are writing for. Radio play Scene Direction is by definition different to Screenplays Scene Direction and is made up of mainly sound effects. Transitions are a visual cue and are not relevant for Radio scripts.

Two excellent resources you may want to investigate are The BBC Writes Room and Raindance

Back to the software. Lets add a Scene Header for a scene in Grandma's cottage in the daytime. Click into the first text box and type "I", the software will auto complete the matching "INT" for Internal, you can keep typing "INT" or press Tab to move to the location, or if you are prefer mouse control just select "INT" from the list. Enter a location of "GRANDMA'S HOUSE" and a time of day "DAY" and click OK or press return. You should have a Scene Header like this in the area above the text input boxes:

1 INT - GRANDMA'S HOUSE - DAY

Notice the location will be forced into upper case, no need to worry about that. When you format your script all elements are displayed to an industry standard. Auto complete takes a short time to become familiar with but when you do it does save time.

As it is usual to follow a Scene Header with some Scene Direction, the software has presented you with Scene Direction panel. If you wish to write another type of Scene Part, click the relevant button.

The currently selected Scene Part is grayed out, clicking on a different Scene Part will show the corresponding edit panel.

Enter a brief Scene Direction and press enter, you will now be presented with a Dialogue edit panel. If you wanted to add another paragraph of Scene Direction just click the Scene Direction button and type it in. Remember, rty to keep your paragraphs short as this helps readability.

When you are finished entering Scene Direction and you have the Dialogue edit panel displayed you can select the name of the Character or just start typing and Tab when the auto complete finds the required character. Enter some dialogue and click OK. Parenthetical Scene Direction is not part of the Tab order and you will have to position the cursor with the mouse if you require it.



The Black Plus signs next to the character name is a short cut to the Character edit screen.

When you will need to edit a Scene Part. Simply click on the Scene Part and it will bring up then corresponding edit panel. Simply make your changes and click OK.

You can also drag and drop Scene Parts to change the order. If you need to insert a new Scene Part, click on the Scene Part and Click Insert After



Then select the required new Scene Part to be inserted.



Then continue as described above.

When you are ready to see a formatted version, click Format and select the required format from the drop down menu.



Practical Scriptwriter supports UK A4 and US Letter paper sizes, each format has a default paper size which can be changed manually, if required. The script will reformat on screen to the new paper size. If you need to alter the margins use the Format Options screen where all aspects of the printed format can be altered. The default formats have been choosed to comply with a wide range of organisations and are designed to "get you work read".

The Green Draft format is designed for those of you who like to print off a copy of your work and review it away from the computer. This format prints out a compact version to save your paper and printer ink.



If this tutorial has worked you should now know everything you need to in order to produce correctly formatted industry standard scripts. Also, you will be able to change them quickly without worrying about breaking the format.

Practical Scriptwriter is the only writing software that separates the Content from the Format. We hope you find it useful. It also has plot notes and character notes to help you structure your work. We will cover these in future tutorials.

Enjoy your writing !