Amazon Launches Online Screenwriting App

Amazon seeks more than just novels; it is, in case you didn't know, seeking "the next great movie idea." It is soliciting scripts and concept videos, and as a way to draw in screenwriters, it has launched a free screenwriting app called Amazon Storywriter. Storywriter is an Internet-based app, so anyone with a supported browser can use it. In addition, Amazon will store an unlimited number of scripts imported into and written on the platform.

Amazon announced the new tool today, and stated it has an "open-door script submission policy", meaning anyone with an original script can submit it for consideration. At the moment, Amazon is seeking drama scripts. Says the company, henceforth it will stop taking a free option on scripts sent to the AmazonStudios.com domain.

Those who use Chrome have the option to install an app that makes Storywriter available offline, as well. You'll need an Amazon account to access the tool, which automatically formats and saves scripts as they're written. Amazon is still accepting scripts for non-drama shows and movies, and doing so at a time when Netflix has launched its first feature-length original movie.

A quick look at the tool reveals it is very simplistic in design, but robust in features, doing what screenwriters need it to do without an ugly interface or unnecessarily complex tools. Existing scripts can be imported, and new scripts can be exported for use in other applications. Common elements, finally, are on the right side of the display, making it easy to highlight text and then apply a specific element of formatting to it.

SOURCE: Amazon