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Sam Dreams Maker
Sam Dreams Maker

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How to Write a Screenplay: A Developer's Guide to Fountain Format

#writing #markdown #tutorial #beginners

If you're a developer who's ever thought about writing a screenplay, you'll love Fountain. It's like Markdown, but for screenplays.

What is Fountain?

Fountain is a plain-text markup syntax for screenwriting. Just like Markdown lets you write formatted documents in plain text, Fountain lets you write properly formatted screenplays.

Here's what it looks like:

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

SARAH sits at a corner table, laptop open, typing furiously. Her coffee grows cold.

JAMES (30s, disheveled) approaches with two fresh cups.

JAMES
I brought reinforcements.

SARAH
(not looking up)
I'm in the zone. Come back in an hour.

JAMES
You said that two hours ago.

Sarah finally looks up. She sees the coffee. Smiles.

SARAH
Okay, maybe a five-minute break.
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That's it. No special software needed. The formatting rules are intuitive:

  • Scene headings: Start with INT. or EXT.
  • Action: Regular paragraphs
  • Character names: ALL CAPS on their own line
  • Dialogue: Lines following a character name
  • Parentheticals: Text in (parentheses) between character and dialogue

Why Developers Love Fountain

  1. Version control friendly — it's plain text, so git diff actually works
  2. Editor agnostic — write in VS Code, Vim, whatever
  3. Portable — no proprietary file formats
  4. Convertible — tools exist to convert Fountain to PDF, HTML, Final Draft

Tools for Fountain

  • TaleForge — web-based screenplay editor with Fountain export, plus storyboard view for visualizing scenes
  • Highland — Mac app by John August (co-creator of Fountain)
  • WriterSolo — free desktop app
  • Afterwriting — open-source, runs in the browser

A Complete Example

Here's a short scene that demonstrates most Fountain elements:

Title: The Debug
Author: Your Name
Draft date: 2026-04-03

====

FADE IN:

INT. STARTUP OFFICE - NIGHT

A single desk lamp illuminates MAYA (20s), surrounded by energy drink cans and sticky notes. Three monitors glow with code.

MAYA
(muttering)
It's always a semicolon. Always.

Her phone BUZZES. She ignores it. It buzzes again.

ALEX (O.S.)
(through phone speaker)
Maya, go home. The deploy can wait.

MAYA
The deploy cannot wait. We launch tomorrow.

She types. A test suite runs. Red. All red.

MAYA (CONT'D)
No. No, no, no.

She pulls up the diff. Stares. Then slowly smiles.

MAYA (CONT'D)
It WAS a semicolon.

> FADE TO BLACK.

THE END
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Industry Standard Formatting

When you export Fountain to PDF, it automatically follows industry formatting:

  • 12pt Courier font
  • 1.5" left margin for dialogue
  • Scene numbers can be auto-generated
  • Page breaks follow standard rules
  • One page ≈ one minute of screen time

This is the same format Hollywood uses. A script written in Fountain and exported to PDF is indistinguishable from one written in Final Draft ($250 software).

Getting Started

If you want to try writing a screenplay:

  1. Start with a concept — what's your story about in one sentence?
  2. Write a beat sheet — major plot points in order
  3. Open any text editor and start writing in Fountain format
  4. Use TaleForge's screenplay editor for real-time formatted preview

The barrier to entry for screenwriting has never been lower. You don't need expensive software, industry connections, or a film degree. You need a story and a text editor.

Happy writing. 🎬

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