Scrivener for MAC: Made for OS X Bigots
- Playwriting Format Software
- Playwriting Software Online
- Free Playwriting Template
- Celtx Free Screenwriting Software For Mac
First off, I'm going to be right up front with you—I'm a Scrivener for MAC bigot, I'm an affiliate for their software, and even if you don't buy MAC Scrivener via this site, if you're a serious author, go buy it … please. You'll thank yourself later, trust me.
More full disclosure—I regularly maintain a Scrivener Coupon Discount Code post on this site. It contains coupons ranging from 20-25% off of Scrivener and sometimes more.
For Scrivener's birthday, Literature and Latte even ran a 40% off discount on the retail price of Scrivener, so check that post if you like to save a buck like I do.
Oct 16, 2020 WriterDuet, Celtx, and Amazon Storywriter are probably your best bets out of the 6 options considered. 'Real-time collaboration tools' is the primary reason people pick WriterDuet over the competition. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that helps you make an informed decision. There are many such softwares available for Mac users and you can go through the following given list of the top 10 free script writing software for Mac for your reference.
There I said it. Now, let me tell you why, especially if you're a MAC bigot like me, you'll love Scrivener for MAC OS X.
You Will Love Scrivener for MAC
First, the software was designed and tailored for MAC platform users. Scrivener is a native Mac application designed by the Mac-lovers at Literature and Latte and, according to L&L built using Apple’s Cocoa frameworks.
Writers of all kinds, creeds, habits, and quirks use Scrivener. According to L&L, it's used by Novelists, short story writers, screenwriters, playwrights, comedians, lawyers, academics and students alike. The list of ways you could use Scrivener to write are probably endless.
And since it was designed for the MAC platform, the Scrivener MAC version has some sweet features that the Scrivener for Windows version, sadly, is missing. I know the folks at L&L are working to catch the Windows version up, but that's another post...
This post barely scratches the surface of all of the awesomeness in the MAC version of Scrivener.
Scrivener for MAC is a One-stop Writer's Workbench
Most of us authors are more than just writers. We research, make notes, outline, rearrange and edit text, documents, chapters, sections, and multiple books in a series. Maintaining all of that information, I can tell you first hand, is seriously challenging.
I like to call Scrivener for MAC an author's workbench in a box.
I use Scrivener for MAC OS X to:
- Gather, store and organize research
- Outline chapters, sections and multiple books in a non-fiction series
- Outline, plot, and create the four part story structure for my novels
- Write uninterrupted in Scrivener for Mac's full-screen writing focus mode
- Drag and drop documents, scenes, chapters, sections and even entire books to rearrange ideas and events in the binder (Outline section)
- I even share my Scrivener files with co-authors, editors, and reviewers in Dropbox
- And so many other indispensable features I can't list them all.
Also, don't forget that you can download to some ready to use templates for your scrivener program which really helps out a lot when getting organized and ready to write.
![Free Playwriting Software For Mac Free Playwriting Software For Mac](/uploads/1/2/9/3/129313757/385157364.jpg)
Scrivener for MAC is Great for Organizing and Research
As both a fiction and non-fiction author, I love having all of my research, notes, and inspiration right next to where I'm writing my book or novel.
From my entire outline, including chapters that I can drag to rearrange in the binder, to storing book cover images, character inspiration images, and research documents in folders outside of published book's folder, the Scrivener for MAC's binder is insanely useful as an organization and brainstorming tool.
If I want a new chapter, I simply create a new folder. A new scene in a novel, I create a new document. An entire new book in the series is as easy as creating a new top-level folder in the binder.
In fact, I've created a four part story structure template for myself that I simply duplicate in the binder at the beginning of any new novel project. That alone saves tons of time.
Scrivener for MAC Makes Writing a Breeze
Let's be honest, you can write in any text editing program. What you can't do with those is skip all of the steps of copying, pasting, editing, and compiling to the many formats that ebook publishers require.
Inside Scrivener I can write on one scene at a time in Scrivenings mode or I can work on an entire chapter by selecting them on in the binder. In full-screen mode I can write for hours uninterrupted by social media distractions.
And all of that work is already in my self-publishing tool, ready for me to edit, compile and publish it, ready to go.
Let's be honest, how many of us authors have a foolproof system set up to make sure that we never lose any of our hard written words?
Not many. Even as a 20 year IT veteran, I've been bitten by this one. (Lost my entire laptop—It's another story)
Now, religiously, in Scrivener for MAC I set up my project backups to happen automatically. And in the Scrivener preferences you can set automatic features like:
- Backup on project open
- Backup on project close
- Every time you manually save you can force a backup (though this is a little overkill in my ex IT opinion)
- And now, with the new IOS version, you can back up locally before syncing with your Scrivener IOS devices.
- You can tell Scrivener where to keep your backups (I recommend another drive outside the one that your Scrivener project file reside on. I've made that mistake—not funny)
- And you can tell Scrivener how many of the most recent backups to hang onto.
Scrivener for MAC Will Help You Edit Faster
Let me tell you what I used to do before I started using Scrivener for MAC's pretty powerful editing features.
First I would write my draft in Scrivener, then I would export it to a Word doc, because that's what most editors were used to editing in. They would make their 'track changes' edits, then I'd go into that doc, accept all the changes and then hand cut-paste all those back over my individual scene documents inside Scrivener.
The horror!
So one day, my writing buddy, Lise, and I decided to require our editors to edit directly inside Scrivener for MAC. Needless to say there was some resistance. 'How will we track changes?” was the most common objection.
Well, Scrivener has a thing called snapshots. It works on a document by document basis. That means we can take a snapshot of every one of our documents before an editor edits them. And for them to make changes we have them use a revision mode and a color specific to them to edit with. For deleting, we have them format with a strikethrough.
When we get our edits back from the editor, we snapshot the entire directory structure of the book again, and that way we have a before and after document level backup that we can roll back or forward to if something goes wrong.
Now, editing and reviewing changes is faster than ever and we shave tons of time off of our production schedule.
Scrivener for MAC is a Self Publisher's Dream
Though the lines are blurring quite a bit, us indie authors are still very much SELF publishers. And what that means is that we have to do the heavy lifting of delivering our manuscripts to the various ebook publishing houses ourselves.
Honestly, I don't know how any indie author does that without Scrivener for MAC. Unless they have Scrivener for Windows.
Now, don't get me wring, compiling in Scrivener for MAC isn't as easy as pushing buttons. However, once you get the hang of it, you can spit out fully packaged ebook, epub, .mobi, .pdf, even .doc files for the various ebook publishing houses.
Scrivener for MAC is a Show Pony
Here's a small list of some of the awards that Scrivener for MAC has won:
Buy Scrivener for MAC!
If you already went and got one of the Scrivener Coupons on that post, then here's the direct link to purchase the MAC version of Scrivener from Literature and Latte's store.
without any restrictions in the number or length of projects or in the duration of usage
DramaQueen FREE is the freely available basic version of DramaQueen. It is the version into which the test version automatically transforms after the test duration expires.
Even DramaQueen FREE offers substantial advantages over what are to date the two most popular script writing applications Final Draft and Celtx.
Many good reasons for DramaQueen FREE:*
Perfect Formatting
Playwriting Format Software
With DramaQueen FREE you can format your script either individually or exactly according to the official rules of the Writers’ Guild.
Perfect workflow with Final Draft
Final Draft documents can be imported into DramaQueen with all their formatting and can be exported again from DramaQueen. DramaQueen transfers all text elements from and to Final Draft:
- Characters
- Locations
- Script Notes
- Scene Titles
- Scene Summaries
DramaQueen Free users can work effortlessly together with Final Draft users.
Free export into all popular file formats
DramaQueen FREE allows to export all texts into Word and Final Draft documents (among others), while preserving the formatting. If a document is to be exported from Final Draft or Celtx while preserving correct formatting, the only option is PDF.
Smart-Import of scripts (even from PDFs)
DramaQueen has the best script import which is currently on offer anywhere. The DramaQueen Smart-Import, which is already included in FREE, recognizes a script’s division into scenes. The formatting is automatically processed to adhere exactly to the international script formatting standard. A scene outline is created. Even scripts in PDF form can be imported in this way to be edited in DramaQueen.
Working with steps
DramaQueen FREE allows to structure a story into Steps.
Drag&Drop-Navigator
DramaQueen FREE offers a substantially better integrated Overview view to “grab” and move steps or scenes. Each step or scene is displayed neatly in one line. The Overview panel also offers room to give each step or scene a one line summary.
Platform independent
DramaQueen works on the Mac exactly as on Windows and even Linux. Handling, features and look are compatible on all three platforms and the text layout is absolutely identical on each (unlike in some other highly popular professional software). With this DramaQueen guarantees the highest user comfort in working across different platforms and operating systems.
Ideas panel
The ideas panel in DramaQueen FREE allows to collect and edit all ideas and research material for a story in one place.
Full screen mode
All panels in DramaQueen have a full screen mode, where the rest of the user interface auto-hides. This enables distraction-free, absolute focus on writing a plot, treatment or script, outlining or collecting ideas – all while making best use of screen space.
Auto-formatting a script
Besides formatting with short cuts, tab-key and popup selection, DramaQueen FREE has an additional option for script formatting that automatically recognizes the type of entered text. The benefit of this mode is that it seamlessly integrates into the flow of writing without additional steps like pressing control keys. The text of the script or selected ranges can even be auto-formatted afterwards with just one click.
Wide ranging layout and numbering options
While layouting the texts DramaQueen FREE offers i.e. a huge selection of fonts, font size, alignment, line spacing, glyph spacing, accentuations (bold, italic, underline, strike through, text color, background color), indents & spacings, page break and¶graph flow, paper size & margins, position of numbers, page headers & footers, formatting options for the different script elements… The numbering of the steps and scenes can be locked or individually set.
Playwriting Software Online
Page preview
From the first moment, all texts in DramaQueen FREE are layouted in page preview. The text rendering quality is on par with the Adobe Reader or even better. The display of text is always identically with export or printing, following the “what you see is what you get” principle. When a DramaQueen document is opened or printed by different users, the page preview will match for all of them (independent of operating system, software version or printer hardware). This makes communication much easier, because the last line on page 77 is indeed the same one for everyone. More about page preview and text rendering on our blog.
And of course: DramaQueen FREE is completely free of charge!
* DramaQueen FREE is – like the PRO and PLUS versions – constantly in development towards an open, free basis for the development and writing of (movie) stories.
Free Playwriting Template
Product description
Celtx Free Screenwriting Software For Mac
- writing of a plot, outline or script (decision for a text-level per document)
- outlining in steps or scenes, parts or chapters (depending on text-level and document type)
- Overview panel with Drag&Drop
- Ideas panel
- smart-import of scripts from PDF, Word, Final Draft, TXT, RTF
- free export of all texts into Word, Final Draft, PDF, RTF
- unrestricted printing of all texts
- page display for the text (WYSIWYG)
- full-screen mode for all panels
- notes linked with the text
- footnotes
- 4 different ways of formatting the script (including Auto-Formatting)
- SmartType feature (auto-completion of characters and locations while typing)
- each scene on a new page
- spelling, grammar and style checking while typing
- dialogue book, reports, statistics
- extensive layout and formatting options: Font size, line spacing, headers and footers, page margins, page number position
- inserting images
- no restrictions in the number or length of projects or the duration of usage