There are good reasons to have, and even occasionally use, Final Draft. But if you’re a new writer just starting out, or even a seasoned professional beginning a new project, almost none of them apply to you.

Here are three myths of Final Draft’s necessity:

Myth 1: Only Final Draft Can Make a Submission-Quality Screenplay

You’ve heard the warnings: If you don’t use Final Draft, “they can tell,” and they’ll put your script at the bottom of the pile — or into the circular file.

Like many myths, this one has roots in a former truth. It was once the case that aspiring screenwriters would resort to style sheets in generic word processors to mimic screenplay formatting. But try as they may, crucial aspects of the formatting eluded these systems.

Today, there are many apps that can export and print a perfectly perfect Hollywood screenplay, and Slugline is one of them.

Myth 2: The Studio Will Want a Final Draft File When We Go Into Production

Maybe. But you’ll only face that possibility after lots of hard writing work. We made Slugline because we know that’s the hard part. Slugline is full of great features that help you write. But its most important feature is that it doesn’t have any complicated production tools cluttering up your writing experience.

You may work on your screenplay for months, or even years. There’s no need to spend that entire time wearing your uncomfortable gown or tuxedo, preparing for the possibility of being nominated for Best Screenplay. When that glorious day comes, you can change outfits — just as there are numerous easy ways to convert a Slugline file to a Final Draft document when you’re good and ready.

So write in your sweatpants.

Myth 3: Final Draft Has Features Writers Need

There might be one or two features Final Draft has that Slugline is missing that actually pertain to writing. We’re still in version 1. But the more writers we talk to, the more we see that even in our earliest release, we’ve focused on the features that matter most. Here are just a few, none of which you’ll find in Final Draft:

• Integrated, customizable outlining driven by text.
• Text-based notes that anyone can read or edit.
• A beautiful, retina-optimized user interface with zero clutter.
• The infinite compatibility and portability of a plain-text file format.

Going Pro

When I first bought Final Draft, the substantial monetary outlay made me feel like I was making a commitment to myself as a writer. I was taking the process so seriously that I was willing to spend 1% of my annual salary on it.

Years later, when I paid full price for Final Draft again (because my original purchase was tied to physical floppy disks that I no longer had), I felt the same thing.

But Fountain breaks down the wall at which would-be writers once gathered, scraping together their pennies in the hopes of finally being able to tell screen stories. Fountain turns every text editor into a screenwriting app. And Slugline makes writing in Fountain an elegant, writer-optimized experience.

There’s no longer any software standing between you and writing your movie. But there is an app passionately trying to make the process more creative, rewarding, and streamlined—and that’s Slugline.

It’s all you need to write your movie. And nothing you don’t.

Slugline version 1.0.4 is available now as a free update, and along with it comes the most exciting new feature of all:

Free, Downloadable Trial

If you've been wanting to take Slugline for a test drive, now you can, with a fully-functional 14-day trial. There are no restrictions in the demo version — you can load, save, and work on screenplays of any length. After 14 days, you'll have the option to buy Slugline from the App Store.

The Slugline trial contains all the new features of today's update, which include:

See Page Breaks as You Write

Page breaks appear in Edit mode, as as a subtle gray line. You'll see the page number there too.

We've also radically overhauled our pagination logic to be faster and more accurate.

Character (CONT'D)s

Slugline now automatically adds (CONT’D) after Character elements when that character has multiple successive lines in the same scene. They appear in light gray as you write, and are included in Preview and Print, but are not baked into the Fountain file itself.

Dual Dialogue

Just place the cursor on the second Character or Dialogue element and press ⌘D (or choose Format → Dual Dialogue). This adds a carat ^ to the second speaker's name, which is the Fountain trigger for Dual Dialogue. You can also add or remove the carat manually.

As you write, Dual Dialogue is represented by indenting. When you Preview or print, the simultaneous dialogue is formatted side-by-side.

Our Single Most Important Feature

...hasn't changed at all, and that's our commitment to a simple, elegant writing experience. We'll never compete on long lists of complex, distracting features, because we know that the hardest part of writing a movie is the writing part. We remain ever committed to staying out of your way.

Tweaks and Bug Fixes

• We squashed the bug where hiding Slugline would quit the app. That’s how committed we are to keeping you writing.
• But if you intentionally stop writing for some reason, Slugline will now remember where you left off!
• Check Spelling While Typing (those red squiggly underlines) is now On by default. As always, you can toggle this at Edit → Spelling and Grammar → Check Spelling While Typing.
• Character names can now begin with a number. We’re talking to you, Lawrence.
• We've improved Pagination, with more reliable breaks for Dialogue and Action.
• Lower-contrast page color. From now on, writing with sunglasses on is purely an affectation, sorry.
• The Uppercase command (⌘K) is now smarter. It can cycle back to where you started, even mixed-case.
• End an uppercase line with a colon, press Return, and Slugline will convert it to a Transition automatically.
• No more auto-capitalization... after an ellipsis.
• Auto-completion for [[Notes]]. Type [[ and Slugline adds the ]] for you.
• Emphasis shortcuts now work with no selection. Press ⌘B with no text selected, and Slugline creates the asterisks that make stuff bold, placing the cursor in between.

We're excited about this update, and, as always, it was your awesome feedback that helped shape it. Never hesitate to drop us a line with a bug report, suggestion, or question, via our Contact form, or on Twitter. Now get writing!

John August has made a beautiful video explaining why he prefers writing in Fountain over legacy screenwriting apps. He demonstrates writing in Highland, but of course everything he says applies equally to Slugline.

I love that John has taken the gloves off on the issue of legacy "word processing" apps—and the modern apps that mimic them—being bad for writing.