Prefer native apps to create, write and polish your screenplay and other documents? You may switch to the cloud when you learn about these.
Read moreWriteMapper: From Brainstorm to Polish inside One App?
WriteMapper is a new innovative app that integrates the flexible workspace of a mind map with the linear word processing of a markdown editor. While the idea is not new, I’ve never seen it presented in a single package.
Read moreThe Screenwriter's Delusion
A grasp of this concept, and a constant awareness of it, is one of the single biggest boosts you can give to your writing.
Read moreAI Caramba: The Right Way to Think About Artificial Intelligence as a Writer
The Writers Guild of America achieved a breakthrough for ALL workers in its successful contract negotiations regarding AI. They clarify how YOU should think about AI as writer.
Here are links to the articles mentioned in my chat:
Opinion | The W.G.A. Deal Offers a Blueprint on How to Save Your Job From A.I.
These 183,000 Books Are Fueling the Biggest Fight in Publishing and Tech - The Atlantic
AP News Artificial Intelligence Guidelines
I’d love to get your take on this — add a comment below!
WRITE YOUR BIG MOVIE ON YOUR LITTLE PHONE
Can you take your brilliant idea for a movie or series through brainstorming, structuring, drafting and revising, all without using any device other than your iPhone? You can — if you choose your software wisely.
Read moreBEHIND THE SCENES OF SCENE HEADINGS
The simple scene heading, or “slugline,” is often misunderstood, regularly abused, and almost never taken full advantage of. Here’s what to keep in mind.
Read moreOPML: YOUR SECRET TO STORY STRUCTURE
OPML stands for Outline Processing Markup Language. It was created in 2000 as a file format that could easily record and transport links to various audio files. But since then, it’s evolved into a hidden but powerful friend to the writer.
OPML is the undercarriage to just about every outlining application. It enables you to take your project from idea to beat sheet, then take it anywhere you need to go: from Windows to Mac, device to device, outlining software to word processor or screenwriting app. OPML is to structured writing what DOCX is to business correspondence: the standard.
For me, it starts with a mind-mapping application that supports OPML. If you’re not familiar with mind mapping, it’s a technique invented by TK BAZAN to record information in a nonlinear fashion, closer to how the brain thinks. A good outliner based on OPML can do both, so that this:
Eventually becomes this:
You can then export your text into a full-fledged outliner, powerful enough to structure an entire novel or feature. Or into a screenwriting program like Final Draft, or a long-form writing application like Scrivener (which can import OPML directly).
Along the way, the abilities to fold text (hiding detail to reveal the bigger picture) and create hierarchy via drop-and-drop encourage robust structure.
Good mind-mapping apps that understand OPML include XMind, SimpleMind Pro, and MindNode. Outliners include OmniOutliner, Workflowy, Dynalist, and Plottr.
If you’d like to know more about OPML, outlining, and mind-mapping, let me know in the comments.
