You might think that once you have a great idea for a story, typing your script would be easy; just slap your ideas down on the page and send them off to Hollywood where they are magically turned into moving pictures. This is not so. Hollywood scriptwriters follow a very strict format, such that anyone who strays from this format isn’t going to be taken seriously. The problem is that this format is so complex, even if you know what it is supposed to look like, it is still difficult to get your script to look correct. Word processing programs like Microsoft Word are great for essay format, but writing a script requires different indentations and justifications for almost every block of text. Formatting this in Word can be a nightmare, and who can write a decent story when they have to worry so much about the formatting of it?

Final Draft 7 is the solution to this problem, taking the focus off the formatting, and allowing the writer to concentrate on the important part, the story. But this is not just for the seasoned script writer who already knows the format in and out. Final Draft 7 is so easy to use, you don’t even need to know what the standard script format looks like before you start, as long as you follow along in the basic tutorials, which take about 15-30 minutes to go through. The way it works is, a standard formatted script follows a basic pattern: Heading, Action, Character, Parenthetical, Dialogue, Transition, Shot, repeat (some of these elements can be repeated or omitted, but this is the basic pattern). Final Draft 7 knows this, and as you type your script, you use the tab and enter keys to tell FD7 which element of the pattern you are at and FD7 will display “Action” or “Character” in the top tool bar so you know how the text is going to be formatted. So, you start by typing a scene heading, and FD7 will automatically capitalize this for you (as this is standard format). Then you hit tab, and it brings up a “Smart Type” display which gives you a list of commonly used words to describe the time of day like “afternoon,” “night,” etc. You can either select a word with the mouse, or hit the first letter, then tab or enter and it will type the rest of the word for you. Smart Type is probably the second best feature of FD7 (first being the formatting in general) because it learns the names of your characters and scenes as you type along, and allows you to simply type the first letter, then hit enter and it will type the whole word for you. This speeds the entire process up considerably because you don’t have to type PENELOPE every time Penelope has a line. Simply type “P” and hit enter. To see just how easy the program is to use, I completed the tutorials one day, then came back to the program a week or two later, and without looking at the manual typed out a short script in less than 15 minutes, properly formatted and all.

With the time I saved, I celebrated by playing video games, then met with my actors and told them I’d spent hours perfecting it. FD7 also has a ton of different formats, including teleplay, stageplay, and even the format for BBC shows, which is apparently different. It also comes with lots of templates for some popular TV shows like “24” and “Law and Order” so you can see what a real TV script looks like. But not only can you write scripts, you can also type in regular essay format (which I am using right now), novel, manuscript, and treatment.

The file extension for FD7 is .fdr, but the program allows you to save as .txt (while maintaining format, as long as it’s “text with format” and not “text only”), .rtf (rich text format), or .html. You can’t save as .doc, but I had no problem printing with these other formats.

The installation process went smoothly, and activation was fine. I had to register with the paper card included in the box because electronic registration was not working, but this was not a problem, because it only took a day or two, and the patch that was made available for registered users only was not urgent.

If you are thinking at all about writing scripts professionally, or even just for fun, this is a great program to have, simply because it will help you get your ideas onto paper that much faster. If you already write scripts, and think you’ve mastered formatting in Word, this is still a great program, because chances are, FD7 can shave hours off your writing time, and that time can be spent doing more important things like stalking directors you want to pitch your script to, or mailing your script off to every studio in Hollywood. Or, if you’re like me, playing video games.

The software is a product of Final Draft, Inc. (http:// www.finaldraft.com/) and has an MSRP=$229.