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The Best Chrome Extensions for Screenwriters

How Can Chrome Extensions Help Screenwriters?
by Millie Dinsdale - updated on May 9, 2023

Whether you’re just starting out on your path to becoming a professional screenwriter or collecting credits as a seasoned industry vet, the right resources can make all the difference. Chrome extensions are a great way to streamline your creative process and bring that cinematic masterpiece in your head to life. 

Chrome extensions are software programs you can install in your Chrome web browser. They allow you to personalize and enhance your browser’s functionality, so you have the screenwriting tools you need. 

There are chrome extensions to help with every stage of the scripting process, from research, planning, and writing, to formatting and editing. While they won’t tell the story for you, they can simplify the storytelling process. 

Here are five of the best Chrome extensions that screenwriters should consider adding to their browsers.

5 Best Chrome Extensions For Screenwriting

ProWritingAid

A writing assistant is an indispensable tool for a screenwriter. ProWritingAid’s Chrome extension has everything you need to produce a polished script wherever you write—you can use it across a wide range of websites, as well as Google Docs. 

The Best Chrome Extensions for Screenwriters_prowritingaid-tool-correcting-script-error

Spelling and grammar mistakes can make your script look unprofessional and lazy. As you write, ProWritingAid’s grammar checker highlights errors and suggests corrections, so you can catch any issues before your script lands on the producer’s desk. 

As well as fixing simple grammar mistakes, the tool also offers more in-depth reports that can analyze aspects such as dialogue. Your audience only has one chance to understand the meaning of a sentence. 

ProWritingAid can help improve the clarity of your dialogue by flagging areas where speech is clunky or convoluted, and recommending changes. The Diction Report can also ensure your script flows well by detecting overwritten phrases. 

Best for: catching grammatical errors and improving dialogue

ScreenplaySubs

If you’re new to screenwriting, one of the best ways to hone your craft is by reading screenplays. Studying the work of others offers insight into how aspects such as formatting, dialogue, character arcs, and plot development come together in a script. 

However, ScreenplaySubs offers something arguably better: the ability to watch your favorite Netflix movies alongside their screenplays. 

The script automatically adjusts its position according to the timestamp of the film. This means you can examine how the elements of a screenplay directly translate onto the big screen. 

The extension doesn’t support all Netflix movies. Once you install ScreenplaySubs, you can check out the movie catalog and browse the available titles. 

Best for: studying screenplays in action

Joplin Web Clipper

Research is crucial if you want to write a believable and compelling screenplay. It helps your characters and the worlds they inhabit feel tangible. It can also prevent inaccuracies and rewrites further down the line. 

Researching can be an extensive process. It’s easy to lose track of resources and feel overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of data and documents. 

The Best Chrome Extensions for Screenwriters_joplin web clipper

Jopling Web Clipper is a useful Chrome extension that can simplify the research process. It allows you to capture and save useful web pages as you go. 

You can organize the clippings into files to help keep track of your findings. The extension gives you the option to clip a whole page, a simplified version of the page, or a screenshot of a specific section. 

Best for: collecting and organizing your research

Jotterpad

Struggling to format your screenplay? Jotterpad is a text editor that transforms your writing into a professionally structured script with the click of a button. 

Your work will need to be written in Markdown or Fountain, a plain text markup language for screenwriting. You can then choose from a selection of industry-standard script formats to bring your story to life. There’s also an in-app dictionary, thesaurus, and a “search and replace” function to help you edit as you go. 

The Best Chrome Extensions for Screenwriters_jotterpad

The Chrome extension allows you to work offline, and sync your writing with Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox. You can export and share your scripts in a range of formats, including Word, PDF, Final Draft, HTML, and rich text. 

Best for: formatting your script to industry standards

Read Aloud

It’s easy to overlook narrative holes or unnatural speech patterns when you’ve been staring at the same script for weeks. Hearing your work read aloud can offer a different perspective and reveal areas of your writing that need fine-tuning. After all, dialogue is written to be delivered aloud. 

Read Aloud is a text-to-speech Chrome extension that can read text from Google Docs, PDFs, Google Play Books, and Amazon Kindle. It’s also compatible with web pages and online publications if you’d prefer to digest research materials audibly rather than reading them.

There’s a variety of voices to choose from, and you can customize the speed and pitch. There’s also a text highlighting tool you can use to flag sections of script you want to rework or ideas you want to come back to. 

Best for: hearing your script read aloud

Armed with these screenwriting tools, your script will be ready to hit the big screen in no time.


Millie DinsdaleMillie is ProWritingAid's Content Manager. A recent English Literature graduate, she loves all things books and writing.
When she isn't working, Millie enjoys gardening, re-reading books by Agatha Christie, and running.

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