Learn · Guides

Guides for the writing you're doing this week

Each guide starts from something writers run into, and walks through what to do about it in StoryFlow, step by step.

Meehna Goldsmith and DW FerrellEach guide checked against the studio before it goes out
Start here · 7 stepsBring in the script you already have

You have a draft you've lived with for months, maybe years, and you want a fresh read on it.

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Four paths

Pick the one that sounds like you.

The guides
Your first scriptBring in the script you already haveYou have a draft you've lived with for months, maybe years, and you want a fresh read on it. You're not going to retype a hundred pages to get one. You also want to be sure the right file came in and nothing got lost on the way.DW Ferrell · 7 steps · about 3 minutesYour first scriptFind the moments your story turns onYou know the second act isn’t working, but not why or where. A beat sheet can’t diagnose the problem. Understanding your structure can. StoryFlow analyzes every turn on your own pages and you decide if you agree.Meehna Goldsmith · 7 steps · about 3 minutesFrom draft to productionKeep writing in Final Draft, and keep StoryFlow in stepYou rewrote the second act on a plane, in Final Draft, and now the version in StoryFlow is behind. And the typo you fixed in StoryFlow last week isn't in your Final Draft file.DW Ferrell · 6 steps · about 3 minutesYour first scriptBounce ideas around without losing your voiceIt’s two in the morning and you’ve got questions about whether your first act is working. You don’t want your pages written for you or revised by a machine. What you need is a smart advisor to help you think through the issues.Meehna Goldsmith · 6 steps · about 3 minutesFor producers and executivesSend the script to your producer with one linkYou sent a PDF on Monday, revised on Wednesday, and now three versions are going around. You want everyone reading the same pages. You also don't want anyone reading what you're still working on.DW Ferrell · 7 steps · about 2 minutesYour first scriptStart writing your first pagesThe story is in your head, and the page in front of you is blank. You want to focus on telling the story, not learning new software. Scene headings, names and dialogue all fall into the proper place the way they do in screenwriting software like Final Draft.Meehna Goldsmith · 6 steps · about 4 minutesWriting with a partnerBring your writing partner onto the same pagesYou and your partner pass one file back and forth. Every round, someone's changes land on top of the other's. You want to write in the same pages and see each other there.DW Ferrell · 6 steps · about 2 minutes
The big picture · An article

The ancient art: Storytelling

The oldest maps of story and the newest research put story turns in the same structural positions. The guides show you how to find them in your own pages; the article shows why they are there.

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The article's opening painting