Updated on Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 9:19PM by Taz Goldstein

Writers who’ve enjoyed Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need, will likely be thrilled by the new Save The Cat! ($19.99) app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Those of you who don’t know what I'm talking about should run out, buy this book, read it, and then come back.

…we'll wait…

In his books, author Blake Snyder teaches his system for perfecting the craft of screenwriting. He introduces tools and techniques designed to focus and inspire. He begins by stressing the importance of a powerful log-line, and then guides you in picking the perfect genre. After that, he helps you build a 15 step beat sheet, and then explains how to structure everything on a board with 40 index cards. 

Snyder knows structure, and it shows in his techniques. The Save the Cat! app brings those techniques to the mobile screenwriter.

Let’s check it out!

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Sure they had it in there before, but now they REALLY have it in there.  With yesterday's release of Screenplay 1.1.5, you can now import and export your Final Draft scripts with full FDX support.  According to Black Mana Studios, the FDX data remains intact, and no longer gets all futzed up (my word, not theirs).

Also new is the ability to add multiple paragraphs BEFORE the first scene.  So, if you're aching to precede your masterwork with a quote from Shakespeare, or a recipe for Lobster Bisque, you can now do so with wild abandon. It might also be useful for character breakdowns, explanations of a visual treatments, and other stuff.

The update also improves the FDX importer, and squashes a bunch of bug-a-boos.  So, if you got it, go get it!

If you'd like to read more about Screenplay, read our earlier coverage.

What's that?  You still haven't written that script you've been talking about for years?  Well, no more excuses. It's time to focus up, and get typing... or should I say, tapping. Filter Apps has released ScriptWrite, a new screenwriting tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

ScriptWrite isn't the first screenwriting app for your ithing (that distinction goes to Screenplay by Black Mana Studios). But ScriptWrite sets itself apart by taking a very different approach to dealing with the complexities of script formatting.

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Updated on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 5:11PM by Taz Goldstein

Everyone is pitching something. Writers pitch scripts, producers pitch proposals, and actors pitch themselves.  It's an endless cycle of closed-door appointments and conference-calls. But it's the unexpected meetings that seem to provide the greatest rewards. I'm talking about the chance encounters in the supermarket, at the gym, or in a crowded elevator. The key to success is being able to pitch your wares at a moment's notice. You can't rely on your iPhone, or any other gizmo, for that. It's up to you, and your sparkling personality. But, the iPhone will save the day with what comes next: Followthrough.

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So you've read a few screenplays on your iPhone, and now you're finally ready to write one of your own. Outstanding!  But before you carry that 40-year-old IBM Selectric typewriter with you on the subway, let us suggest an alternative.

Thanks to some pretty impressive coding by the folks at Black Mana Studios, you can now write a fully structured screenplay on your iPhone using their app titled, appropriately enough, Screenplay. And because it's on the iPhone, you can write wherever and whenever inspiration strikes.

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