Page 2 Stage - Review by Darcy Moore

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Darcy Moore
Screenplayers and playwrights come in 2 main categories - those who make money out of their writing, and those who don't. For whatever reason. The vast majority of us are in this second category whether by choice (we may be happy writing the odd script for the school concert) or not.
Being in this second category I've looked long and hard at scriptwriting software, as I have to justify to myself - if not a wife and children in 2nd hand clothes, eating generic brands of food - spending up to $500 on what I thought was after all a glorified word processor.
I downloaded demo and trial versions of Final Draft, Digiscript, Hollywood Screenplay, Scriptware, ScriptThing, Sophocles, and Page 2 Stage (until recently called Screen Writer Studio). I also downloaded Magic Script 2000 (a shareware template for writing screenplays with Microsoft Word 97 or 2000) and Simply Screenplay(a freeware template for MS Word).

Although I discovered the MS Word templates provide some formatting and features that make scriptwriting easier, once I'd used the dedicated scriptwriting software the templates seemed awkward, limited and time consuming. However if the choice was only between one of these and paying out $400-$500, it's not much of a choice for people on a budget.
Fortunately that wasn't the only choice.

Most of the dedicated scriptwriting packages share common features:

industry standard formats, so you don't have to think about margins, paragraph styles etc

intelligent script formatting and progression that assumes Action comes after a Scene Heading and Dialogue after a Character Heading etc

multiple formats, so you can write a stage play, or a script for a sitcom

dynamic drop-down lists for elements such as Character names, Scene Headings, Time, Transitions etc. These update automatically with new entries

automatic repagination and replacement of 'more' and 'cont' when you insert, delete or move script elements

a dictionary (that allows user-defined words) and thesaurus

import/export options

ability to add notes to yourself, your agent or the King of Spain; you can also choose to hide or not print them

overview and scene shuffle - either by an outline view or index cards

import/export options

a cheat option - so you can fake the length of your script in submissions where rigid rules apply

hot keys and macros to speed up input

breakdown reports of characters and scenes

Each package had it's own extras - and strengths and weeknesses. I haven't the space or the time to report in detail on each piece of software here, but I discovered after a couple of weeks of intensive use with one of my scripts (and as almost all had their export options crippled I has the joy of practicing numerous rewrites) that I kept coming back to Page 2 Stage.

was written as a stand alone program under Windows, and uses all the standard Window print and hot key/macro conventions
uses mnemonic program-specific commands (eg Alt-A = Action), and frequently used commands have a hot key available
imports text with intelligent formatting
has a Stageplay format in addition to the standard screen oriented formats (This isn't true of some of the others.)
allows easy reformatting of all style elements - and even the creating and saving of a new or modified style
converts easily and accurately from one format to the other
allows easy access to and manipulation of all dynamic lists
has an auto-text feature that works both with the dynamic lists and normal text, much as does the feature in MS Word (the lists is user-editable)
has 2 overview formats (3 if you count the Go-to-scene menu command that provides a scenes list) - the standard index cards AND Outline view. Both allow shuffling and changing of scene order. Outline view can be expanded fully and edited like the normal scrip mode (though personally I'd prefer to see this format integrated with the normal view, allowing you to move instnatly to any scene)
has comprehensive view options to let you close off one or many scripts elements
has extensive "report" options to help keep the writer on track. It provides a detailed analysis of the composition of the script, and detailed tracking of character dialogue to help maintain consistency.

What stands out most though is its ease to learn and user-friendliness.
And then for some unaccountable reason (that should get the accountant in a lather) it's $79.95.
In conclusion, if you want something for nothing (or next to nothing), by all means download an MS Word template. If you don't want to be distracted by the mechanics of scriptwriting consider a dedicated script writing program. If you want the best and most flexible consider Page 2 Stage. If you can justify spending $100 on something you'll use til The Cows Come Home (released 2020 by Warner Bros, script by Art Will B. Artifice) don't even think about it. Buy Page 2 Stage then treat the wife and kids to a night out. At McDonalds.

Darcy Moore
26 March 2000