Getting started
From blank page to your first scene.
A practical, step-by-step walkthrough of your first session. You will set up a project, write with a partner, see your story, and get it ready for the room, with the pen always in your hand.
Know your way around
Everything for a project lives on one screen, organized into a few simple panels. The story is in the middle, your tools on either side.
Left rail
- Scenes
- Characters
- Versions
Editor
INT. NEWSROOM
Maya leans into the screen.
MAYA
We run it tonight.
AI chat
Scenes panel
Every scene in one list. Set location and time of day, and reorder by dragging.
Casting
Character profiles, reference images, and a voice for each role.
Version history
Automatic versions with diffs. Compare any two and restore in a click.
Focus modes
Zen Mode hides everything but the page. Reader Mode is for review.
Your first session, start to finish
The path most writers take on day one. Move through it in order, or jump to the part you need.
Create or import your script
Every project starts with a script. Begin from a blank page, pick a template, or bring in work you already have.
- Start from scratch, or choose a template for a feature, short, TV episode, commercial, or web series
- Drag and drop to import Fountain (.fountain), Final Draft (.fdx, .fdxt), .txt, or .docx, characters and scenes are parsed for you
- Turn a manuscript into a screenplay with Book to Screen
- Industry-standard formatting is applied automatically as you type
INT. NEWSROOM - NIGHT
Half the lights are off. MAYA REYES, 30s, hunches over a keyboard, the only desk still glowing.
Maya
(to herself)
One more pass. It is almost there.
Build your characters and scenes
Strong scripts come from characters who stay themselves on every page. Give each one a profile in Casting and let the story track them.
- Create profiles with backstory, traits, motivations, and relationships
- Generate a reference image, or upload your own to lock in a look
- Assign each character a distinct, studio-quality voice for audio
- In the Scenes panel, set location and time of day, then drag to reorder
Maya Reyes
Protagonist
- Wants
- To break the story before anyone else
- Fears
- Being right too late to matter
- Voice
- Clipped, dry, never wastes a word
Write with AI in the editor
The assistant lives inside the page. Reshape any line, or generate the next moment when you need a push, and keep only what you like.
- Highlight a line to Enhance, Rewrite, or Fix it in place, or press the AI-assist shortcut
- Aim enhancements at all content, dialogue only, action lines, or a single character
- Generate a scene from a prompt with genre, tone, location, time, and characters
- Smart Rewrite reshapes tone and pacing while preserving your intent and each voice
Maya: I think we should maybe hold the story for now.
Maya: We are not holding this. We run it tonight.
Ask the assistant
When you want a second set of eyes, open the chat panel on the right. It has read your whole script, so the help is about your story.
- Ask for a punch-up, a continuity check, or a fresh beat
- Answers reference your real scenes, characters, and beats
- Drop any result straight into the page with one click
- The model best suited to the request is chosen for you
Make Maya's line in Scene 4 land harder.
See it and hear it
Turn the words into something everyone can look at and listen to. Visuals and audio come straight from the scenes you have written.
- Generate storyboards in a range of styles, with consistent characters and locations
- The Beat System breaks scenes into emotional, visual, and action beats to guide the frames
- Give each role a voice and run a Table Read, with lines highlighted as they are spoken
- Assemble images and video on the timeline to feel the pacing
Storyboard · generated from your scenes
Get it ready for the room
When the draft is solid, turn it into something you can pitch. One pass surfaces what a producer needs to know.
- Run a Production Analysis for budget range, cast and crew, locations, and schedule
- Read market and commercial-viability signals before you pitch
- Export to PDF, .fountain, .fdx, or .fdxt for any pipeline
- Version history keeps every draft, so you can compare and restore anytime
Production analysis
Indie tier- Speaking roles
- 6
- Locations
- 4
- Estimated shoot
- 12 days
Keyboard shortcuts
Once the flow feels natural, these keep your hands on the keys and your eyes on the page.
Beyond your first draft
Once the basics feel natural, these are the tools that carry a finished script the rest of the way.
Work as a team
- Invite your organization and write together in real time
- Roles from Owner to Editor, Viewer, and Guest keep control where it belongs
- Comments and shared scenes keep everyone on the same page
Import and export
- Bring in Fountain, Final Draft, .txt, or .docx, or a manuscript with Book to Screen
- Export to PDF, .fountain, .fdx, and .fdxt
- Files drop cleanly into Final Draft, WriterDuet, and the rest of your pipeline
The right model, automatically
- Each task is routed to a model that fits it, no provider to choose
- New models become available as they ship, with no lock-in
- You focus on the story, not on managing AI
Get more out of every session
Small habits that make the whole studio work harder for your story.
Writing
- Open with a clear logline so suggestions match your story
- Use the assistant to brainstorm when a scene stalls
- Let characters drive the plot, not the other way around
- Read dialogue aloud with a Table Read before you lock it
Workflow
- Save a version before any major rewrite so you can roll back
- Keep details in character profiles instead of repeating yourself
- Generate a storyboard early to align everyone on the look
- Run a Production Analysis before you take it into the room
Your first-session checklist
Do these five things and you will have touched every part of the studio.
Create or import your first script
Add your main character and a scene
Write an opening with the editor's inline tools
Ask the assistant for one improvement
Generate a storyboard frame for a scene
Where to go next
Each craft has its own deep dive. Follow the one that fits what you are working on.
Your story is ready when you are.
Start free and write your first scene today. You stay the boss; we handle the busywork.