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Is simultaneous online screenplay collaboration possible?
January 28, 2011 8:34 AM   Subscribe

Is simultaneous online screenplay collaboration possible?

My writing partner and I are finishing up our screenplay's outline in Google Docs and trying to figure the best way to write the scenes.

The thing is: we like to write at the same time, often in the same scene. Software that promises collaboration either locks one of us out at a time (e.g. Adobe Story) or -- good grief! -- deletes the work of one or both of us (e.g. Plotbot).

Of course, we could keep working in Google Docs, but then we'd be missing out on the various tools present in more specialized packages -- and even if we use Google's screenplay template I think formatting will be a struggle.

Any of you collaborative screenwriters found a way to do this?
posted by Jonathan Harford to computers & internet (5 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Etherpad used to be the answer to this, but TypeWith.Me appears to be a decent replacement.
posted by odinsdream at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2011


Celtx might work for you. I'm not sure how it handles simultaneous edits, but it has a pretty robust sharespace.
posted by Shepherd at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2011


Thanks Shepherd -- we gave Celtx Studio a shot, but it doesn't seem to be great for collaboration.

typewith.me looks like it isn't made for screenwriting and doesn't password-protect, which still puts it behind GDocs, I'm afraid.
posted by Jonathan Harford at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2011


FiveSprockets? They tout the collaborative aspect of their software but don't mention if it's realtime.
posted by ostranenie at 10:17 PM on January 28, 2011


The short answer is no. There's currently no software that does exactly what you need.

I know this because I'm part of a team developing software that will. (Our area of interest is playwriting, rather than screenwriting, but the collaborative functionality you're looking for is the same.)

We're not ready to launch yet, but keep an eye on dcdprogramme.org.uk over the next couple of months or memail me for further info.
posted by the latin mouse at 2:28 AM on January 29, 2011 [1 favorite]


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