Screenplays
Inkweaver uses the standard screenplay format — the same one used in film and television. It’s a format created by writers, for writers, and it happens to be one of the best ways to tell a story in a visual medium.
Inkweaver uses your screenplay files directly. There’s no import step. Just save your files anywhere in your workspace folder, and Inkweaver detects them automatically.
Because screenplays are human-readable, text-based files, there’s no coding involved. You have the luxury of being able to focus on what you do best: write.
Choosing a Screenplay Editor
Section titled “Choosing a Screenplay Editor”To get started, you’ll need an editor that supports one of the industry standard screenplay formats: Fountain (.fountain), or Final Draft (.fdx). Most screenplay editors support one (or both), so you have a lot of options.
Fountain
Section titled “Fountain”Fountain is a simple markup syntax for writing screenplays in plain, human-readable text. The Fountain Syntax is easy to learn, and works in any editor that supports plain text.
The best editor for Fountain (in our opinion) is Inkweaver Studio. Inkweaver Studio is designed for writing visual novels, and is the only editor that supports full integration with the Inkweaver workflow. You’ll be able to write your screenplay, and preview your novel, all in one place.
Visual Studio Code is another great choice, and has the benefit of being an excellent code editor as well. If you choose Visual Studio Code, make sure to visit their marketplace, and install the free Inkweaver Language Server. This provides many of the benefits of Inkweaver Studio, like full syntax highlighting and error reporting.
Final Draft
Section titled “Final Draft”If you’re looking for something a little less “code editor” and a little more “word processor”, then an app that supports the Final Draft format may be what you’re looking for.
Final Draft and Fade In are the standards in this category. There are cheaper (and free) alternatives, like Scrivener and Trelby. But the list doesn’t end there.
Anatomy of a Screenplay
Section titled “Anatomy of a Screenplay”Regardless of what editor you use, all screenplays look the same and are made from the same elements, with a few extras that are unique to Inkweaver that allow for interactivity.
Below is an excerpt from an example screenplay. You can click on an element to jump to learn more about it.
Sections
Section titled “Sections”Sections define points in your screenplay that the reader can navigate to, either via links, or programmatically via code.
Note that sections are never displayed on-screen. They only exist as points that a reader can navigate to.
Scene Headings
Section titled “Scene Headings”Scene headings (also called “sluglines”) describe where and when a scene takes place. In Inkweaver, they’re primarily used to decide which background image should be displayed.
Inkweaver does this by comparing the name of the slugline to the name of the artwork files supplied by your artists. You can read more about displaying images in the artwork guide.
Character Headings
Section titled “Character Headings”Character headings are used when you want to add a character to a scene.
They’re also used when finding the artwork that should be displayed for the character. The asset matching used here is the same as for sluglines.
Dialogue
Section titled “Dialogue”Dialog is the text spoken by a character.
Narration
Section titled “Narration”Narration is any text that isn’t attributed to a character. It’s usually used to describe the action happening in a scene, the voice of a narrator or the inner-monologue of the protagonist.
Transitions
Section titled “Transitions”Transitions pick which animations should be used when changing scenes.
Links and Labels
Section titled “Links and Labels”Most of the elements in the example above come straight from the standard screenplay format. However, visual novels are interactive, and require some additional features. For this, Inkweaver introduces links and labels.
Links allow your reader jump between sections in the screenplay.
Links look the same whether you’re using Fountain or Final Draft:
[ Text the reader sees -> #TARGET-SECTION ]By adding sections throughout your screenplay, and links that point to them, you can design routes and branches in your novel.
Empty Links
Section titled “Empty Links”If a link doesn’t include a target, then clicking the link will advance the story to the next beat.
[ I had no choice but to pull the trigger... -> ]Silent Links
Section titled “Silent Links”A link without any text is a silent link. This link won’t be displayed, but clicking to advance the story will follow it instead of advancing to the next beat.
[ -> #CONSEQUENCES ]Labels
Section titled “Labels”Labels are used to hook lines in your screenplay to the work done by artists and programers. They describe what emotions a character should express, where they should stand in the scene, and any special logic that happens on that line.
Labels are words surrounded by angle brackets. These words refer to artwork layers and JavaScript functions, so you’ll need to work with your artists and programmers to know what’s available.
Labels can be placed at the end of the line they belong to, or by themselves on the following line.
CLAIRE <stage-right> <scared>CLAIRE<stage-right><scared>In both of these examples, the <stage-right> and <scared> labels both belong to Claire; either is fine.