• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

Final Draft vs Writer Duet?

NickClapper

NickClapper

This is a question for the screenwriters on here:

I'm going to start exclusively using paid screenwriting software (there are lots of reasons for this) and I was on the verge of committing to Final Draft when I saw a lot of people talking about Writer Duet, which I'd never heard of. Has anyone used it, and, if so, what did you make of it?

Neither of these pieces of software would cost me more than $150, so I'm not too worried about the commitment, but ideally I only want one of them and thought I'd canvas some opinions!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
WriterDuet is only really worth using if you're working collaboratively with someone. It works surprisingly well (and I've only ever used the free version).

I'm intrigued as to your reasons for going exclusively paid though.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
maz said:
WriterDuet is only really worth using if you're working collaboratively with someone. It works surprisingly well (and I've only ever used the free version).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not planning on writing something collaboratively at the moment but it's definitely something I see as a possibility. Plenty of people seem to have had a good experience with Writer Duet in this department.

I'm intrigued as to your reasons for going exclusively paid though.
Click to expand...

I've been fairly happy with CeltX for shorter and self-shot projects but I definitely wouldn't recommend sending scripts out to agents or producers (or really anyone with a professional eye) if they haven't been formatted in Final Draft. From speaking with people, it seems to be a classic "easy way to dismiss a script" if its not formatted using the industry standard, and, close as CeltX gets, you can always tell the difference.

I've also found that CeltX can be a bit limited in terms of its organisational features and I tend to avoid doing anything on it other than the main text because it's more trouble than its worth. I've used a couple of other pieces of screenwriting software in the past and, again, have found them usable but always formatting in a slightly off-standard manner.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
NickClapper said:
I'm going to start exclusively using paid screenwriting software (there are lots of reasons for this) and I was on the verge of committing to Final Draft when I saw a lot of people talking about Writer Duet, which I'd never heard of. Has anyone used it, and, if so, what did you make of it?
Click to expand...

I've used it. I've given a test drive to most all screenwriting software.
Writer Duet is specifically created as a real-time collaborative tool. So
if you regularly collaborate in real time with another writer who also
has this software then that's the way to go. It's also a fine "regular"
piece of software. I have found all screenwriting software to be identical;
some minor variations mostly to avoid software copyright issues.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
NickClapper said:
Interesting. I've not met many people who use that as their main software. Can I ask what the advantages are? Seems quite expensive.
Click to expand...

Well I got it way back when along with scheduling and budgeting. Works fine for me, never felt the need to change (tried celtex and absolutely abhor it). Everybody seems to want to use FD now and I don't like being everybody else which is why I also won't own a mustang (outside of the 60's and the 70's Mach series).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cryogenic said:
Well I got it way back when along with scheduling and budgeting. Works fine for me, never felt the need to change (tried celtex and absolutely abhor it). Everybody seems to want to use FD now and I don't like being everybody else which is why I also won't own a mustang (outside of the 60's and the 70's Mach series).
Click to expand...

If it ain't broke!

(Although this is what I'm doing in abandoning CeltX...)

I've bought Final Draft. Thanks for thoughts and suggestions, but I figured that industry standard was probably the most important factor for me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top