Hey, I'm Nirmal. I'm a screenplay writer working predominantly in the Tamil film industry, and my recent project was a prominent web series where I was the co-writer.

About a year back I switched from Mac to Windows/Linux, and one thing I genuinely missed was Beat. For those who haven't used it, Beat is this screenwriting app that just gets out of your way. You open it, you start typing, the structure is right there but it never shouts at you. It's the only screenwriting software I've ever used that actually felt designed for the writer and not for the studio system.

The moment I moved off Mac, I started looking for something similar on Windows and Linux, and nothing came close. Other tools either feel like 2005 enterprise software, or they cost a bomb, or they're Mac only. So eventually I just built one.

It's called ActOne. Fountain under the hood, real-time formatting, scene detection, all that stuff, but the main thing I was chasing is that "Beat feeling". Open the app, start writing, everything else fades into the background.

And yes, it supports Tamil and most Indian languages for both writing and PDF export. I wanted something that actually works for Indian writers, not just English.

It's in beta right now. Not "beta" as in a marketing thing, actual beta, like it has rough edges and I need screenwriters to use it and tell me what's broken, what's annoying, what's missing. Every iteration has been shaped by feedback from people who write.

Quick tour:

Editor

Editor: type plain text, it formats like a real screenplay as you go. Scene headings, character names, dialogue, all colored and indented.

Scene Navigator

Scene Navigator (left sidebar): every scene becomes a card, organized by act, with color tags + storyline tags. Click to jump, drag to reorder.

Markers list

Markers: my favourite. Color-coded notes inside your script. [[marker red: crucial clue]] shows up in the sidebar, filterable by color. I do whole structural passes by filtering on red.

Snapshots

Snapshots: What if you need the scene u deleted two days back? Snapshot automatically makes a copy of your screenplay, every 15 min or anything(based on your settings), or take manual snapshot ones with a comment. This feature saved me multiple times.

Tag Manager

Tag Manager: auto-scans your script for cast using dialogues. And you can add your own tags by selecting a text and press ctrl while right clicking the selection. You can also Export to CSV.

Visible tags in Editor

Visible tags: what production tags look like in the script. Little underlines. Filter on orange "vfx" tags and instantly see every effect you need to design. You also have an option to hide it.

Theme Manager

Theme Manager: 14 themes, live preview. Classic, Pitch, Pastel, Sunrise, Adaptive. Make your own too.

X-Ray (Connections)

X-Ray (Characters)

X-Ray (Statistics)

X-Ray (Timing Report)

X-Ray: statistics (page/scene/character/word counts + estimated runtime), dialogue distribution chart, character connections network graph (Ctrl+click two nodes to see which scenes they share), and a timing report with cumulative runtime. Used the connections graph to realize I was under-using a character and fixed it.

Export Modal

Export Modal (Format Elements for PDF)

Export Modal (Watermark Options for PDF)

Export: PDF, Fountain, FDX, Fade In. Letter or A4, Courier Prime Sans, title page, watermarks, per-element formatting. Diagonal center watermark for "DRAFT — DO NOT DISTRIBUTE" on producer copies.

Insert screenplay structrure.

Structure templates: Three-Act, Save the Cat, Hero's Journey. Insert at cursor or append. I use it as scaffolding for my screenplays.

Want to try it? Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/RgP4tGHZz. Ping me once you're in and I'll get you set up. Don't panic when you enter the discord and it is empty. This is an indie project and this was tested by me and couple of my friends. So, come in and lets build a community together. The Discord isn't just for ActOne btw, it's a community of writers. Movies, screenplays, the craft of writing, share work, give feedback, all that. Whether or not you try the app, you're welcome to hang out.

Happy to answer any questions here too. Feature requests welcome, I built this for screenwriters. so it goes where you guys want it to go.

If you are here in the bottom of this post, you are a champ! Thanks 😊

Welcome to r/WildSouthRaidersPod!

Welcome to the community! We’ve built this sub to be a space for genuine, critical, and informed discussion. Whether you’re here for the latest episode of the Wild South Raiders Podcast or want to discuss life, tech, memes, movies, or the political landscape in Tamil Nadu and beyond, we’re glad to have you here.

Community Posting Requirements To ensure the quality of our discussions and prevent spam, we have established minimum account requirements. To create a new post on this subreddit, your account must meet the following criteria:

• Account Age: At least 90 days old.
• Combined Karma: A minimum of 300.
• Note: These requirements apply only to creating new post submissions; all members are free to join the conversation and comment on existing threads regardless of these thresholds.

Our Community Rules Please familiarize yourself with our guidelines:

1. No Racism, Sexism, or Casteism: Any such content is strictly prohibited and will lead to a permanent ban.
2. No Homophobia: Supporting homophobic ideas results in an instant ban.
3. No Bullying, Harassment, or Threats: While light roasting or sarcasm is welcome, bullying or threats will result in post/comment deletion and a ban.
4. Sexual Content: NSFW content must be marked accordingly. While satirical NSFW posts are welcome, content intended to harass others is not.
5. No Blind Ideology (Kannism): Bring facts to back your arguments. Blind support (Kannism) is prohibited and will result in post deletion.
6. Unhealthy Arguments: Take personal arguments regarding specific posts or comments to DMs. If an argument is healthy and doesn't involve personal attacks, it is welcome here.
7. No Self-Promotion: Self-promotion of any sort is not allowed.
8. No Low-Quality Spam: Avoid screenshots, popular stolen memes, and WhatsApp forwards. If you wish to post such content, consolidate it into one detailed post rather than spamming individual ones.

Community Participation

• Profanity & Discourse: We believe in open, adult discourse. Profanity is allowed, but personal abuse is not.
• Report, Don't Engage: If you see content that is low-effort, spam, or exhibits mindless fanboyism/trolling, please use the report button so the mod team can handle it.

Thank you for helping us keep this space substantial, interesting, and high-quality!

— The Mod Team

Hey everyone,

Taking a quick break from our usual discussions to address the elephant in the room.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a massive surge of new accounts flooding the sub, mostly TVK supporters. Look, we’ve always been a sub that values open debate. We’ve allowed posts criticizing the DMK and other parties because we believe in letting people have their say. If you have a valid point or a critique, by all means, post it.

But what we are seeing right now is just low-effort, blind fanboyism. There are no arguments, no logic, just mindless spamming and throwing vitriol at anyone who disagrees.

We need to remember what this place is actually about. This is a space for discussion, not just politics. We talk about life stories, technology, memes, satire, movies, songs, and everything left-leaning—both here in Tamil Nadu and across the world. We also dive into the topics from the Wild South Raiders Podcast when needed. This isn't a fan club or a WhatsApp forward group. It's a space for actual human connection and discourse.

We’re not going to turn this place into a breeding ground for mindless trolling. To be clear, we aren't policing your language. If you want to use profanity to get your point across, that’s fine, we have thick skin. But there is a massive difference between using strong language and just spewing personal abuse.

From here on out, the mod team is going to be extremely strict. If you’re here just to spew venom or if you’re clearly incapable of engaging in a civil discussion without resorting to brainless abuse, you will be banned. No warnings, no second chances.

To the rest of you, please keep using the report button. We can’t see every single comment the second it’s posted, so if you see someone clearly violating the rules, tag it. We’ll handle the rest.

If you’re here to debate and contribute to the community, welcome. If you’re just here to spam, you’re in the wrong place.

- The Mod Team

Seriously, what was that voting? For a state that keeps calling itself intellectual, this is honestly embarrassing. This was not people thinking and voting. This was a pure herd mentality. Just blindly following hype without even questioning anything.

And TVK is exactly what you get out of that kind of mindset. All noise, all hype, zero clarity, zero substance. People saw some flashy faces, flashy promises and immediately jumped on it and called it ‘change.’ This is not change. This is just poor judgment on full display.

You all wanted change, right? Fine. Now deal with it. Let’s see how this plays out over the next four years. This is exactly what you voted for.

Saavunga da! I am shifting to Dubai for a few years. 🙏 Arivulla samoogaththula thaan ennaala ennoda kulanthaigala valarkka mudiyum.