u/TheOne_WhoWrites

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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 some rare 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:

Main Window (Editor)

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

Main Window (With Navigator opened)

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

Main Window (With Markers pane, Marker text in the editor)

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.

https://preview.redd.it/iwh5adqidnch1.png?width=1473&format=png&auto=webp&s=37c5f1f566e0d6b690b12584a675b80b7d315d90

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.

Main Window + Editor Window + Quick Tag Context Menu

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.

Main window (With Visible Tags and Quick Tag context menu)

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.

Main Window + Theme Manager Window

Theme Manager: 14 themes, live preview. Classic, Pitch, Pastel, Sunrise, Adaptive. Make your own too. (I will flaunt our other themes with the next pictures)

X Ray Window (Statistics Tab)

X Ray window (Timing tab)

X Ray (Characters Tab)

X Ray (Connections tab, showing selected character interactions)

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 Options

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.

Screenplay Structures

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.

And this software is not unstable in anyway. I have been using this for one of my hotstar project for the past couple of months. But, If you want to use this app, please enable snapshot and enable auto save for safety.

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

[removed]

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 😊