Does anyone use the Index Card feature in Final Draft? I use this feature throughout my writing process. I will enter in a scene summary and since I write two-handed Rom-Coms, I give each card a color to identify who is in the scene: Pink for Female Lead, Blue for Male Lead, Purple when they are together, Orange when Male is w/ secondary character, Green when Female Lead is w/ secondary character. In my Rom-Com Action, I will use Grey or White to indicate a big action piece. Then I click View>Cards Across, I choose 8 or 9 and it gives me a "wall" of index cards that I can easily evaluate if I'm too character dense/sparse and action throughout the script. And, I can easily read the synopsis of that scene. But here's the best part: if a scene rearrangement is necessary--just drag the cards to put the scene in another section of the wall, and it will adjust the script accordingly! WooHoo!

I tried plotting with actual index cards once and it was a mess, mainly because I ran out of wall space. That experience turned me off that process but I can see myself working with the Index Card feature - it just feels more manageable.

There's a great app for the ipad simply called Index Card. It's great for outlining anything and because it's on an ipad, you can take it with you anywhere. I highly recommend it if you enjoy using index cards but hate the space they take up.

I should try one of those - I hate the amount of space they take up. But I do rather like having an A4 page for each sequence, with all the scenes listed on it....

Traci, did you use physical cards before using final draft and how do the two processes compare? I use the same card feature in Scrivner, but I still find that by losing the physicality of the cards I lose... something. I don't know what, but I need to fiddle with the cards - move them around and write little notes down the side. After coming up with my card structure I copy them into Scrivner in the same manner...it seems terribly inefficient...but there we are.

Hi, Mike! :) I have used the 3"x5" lined, color sticky notes to attach to my wall/white board, but, cheese on bread(!), I went through a ton of those! Between deleting scenes, changing the content/color code of scenes, I had way too many pretty, wadded-up paper in the trash. Then as you say, having to transfer everything into software of choice, was just too much for a lazy person (allergic to double work) like me. But, if it works for you, do it! Seriously. When I start a new script, I try to incorporate something new that I haven't tried before, sometimes it sticks and sometimes-- meh, not so much. I totally get why people use cards, it's the same reason I print my script drafts to edit. And I'm sure a large, collaborative group of writers need "the wall of cards," who wants to look over someone's shoulder at a 17" screen for 9 hours a day? BTW--Thoughts on Scrivener? I just started it with this new script. I love it, mucho. ;)

I think there's an embodied cognition thing going on there, Mike. (Hmm. No matter how I word that it comes out sounding possibly snarky, but I really mean it.)

Monique, I interviewed an Academy Award winning screenwriter who uses index cards. In fact, he has a table in his house upon which he lays out the cards. And if they don't fit on the table, then he knows he needs to trim. Yes, that's right: The table provides the physical space into which he believes he has to fit the story. And evidently it works for him seeing as he's won an Oscar. So there's one way in which space limitation for index cards actually benefits a writer, even if it is a pain in the ass.

Mike, I'm the same way. There is a tactile experience of working with actual physical 3x5 inch index cards I need. I have transferred so much of everything else I do to electronic version including reading scripts, editing scripts, but I refuse to give up working with index cards. I scribble notes all over them - visuals, structural notes, theme, dialogue - then arrange and rearrange them time and again. It makes me feel like I'm in 'touch' with my story. I know it sounds corny, but hey, it works for me!

I think index cards are a splendid idea, especially if you have to coordinate with a show runner and other writers on a project that spans dozens of hours. Unfortunately though I've found that this approach doesn't work so well for me. I daresay it's perverse and inefficient, but for major re-ordering -- and cutting, adding, and redrafting -- of scenes, I actually prefer to work directly with/on the 100 or so physical pages of an unbound printed draft.

Alas, I’m not a fan of the index card system. Oh, I can see that it’s great and that it makes so much sense, but I’ve just never got on with them – have no idea why. It’s probably because I do most of my writing either on the bus to and from work, or at lunch times. Bit of a pain to use index cards in those scenarios. However, I really do feel that I should give this system another chance. It is, after all, a great way to see your story evolve visually (and film is a visual medium, after all). One a bit of a side note, has anyone seen any of the DVD extras for Shaun of the Dead? I seem to recall that Pegg and Wright used a flip chart to create the story as opposed to index cards.

"Alas, I’m not a fan of the index card system." Alas, I am like you Sean. However, I see the merits of using index cards and I might play around with the system and see if I can get it working for me (or me working for it!). But I am a firm subscriber to the theory that you have to do what's right for you as a writer. Even without using index cards, I can still turn out a first draft with relative speed so my slightly more amorphous system of writing nothing down and simply going with the story works for me. But I do admire the structure and discipline of using index cards.

First of all, I write along, sparsely, like thirty pages, to get a hint of the way. Then I forget it and get analytical: index cards. When I shuffle them, I go back to those virgin 30 pages and see if I can grasp some of their crudeness. But then it's index cards all the way.

I used to use index cards, but haven't got enough good wall space in my current writing cave. [Plus pushing in all those tacks gave me a bruised thumb - hey, I'm a writer, not a fighter. Sue me for being a wimp.] So I've switched from index cards to coloured Post-It notes. One note per beat or scene. Really easy to move around, discard, rewrite, whatever. Most of my current writing is for TV drama with three [or more] storylines in an ep, so I colour code each one. Makes it real easy to see if there's too much of one storyline or another has gone MIA. I tend to overload the Post-Its with so much text they become unreadable. To avoid this, I try to keep them to a six word limit for each story beat or scene. That really concentrates the mind...

Try and keep it more simpler than this! My God! 1 simple line beat expands to detailed 2-3 lines per beat... Have the most detailed outline on 4-5 pages per feature. Rework them until ready...pin those up. Start writing. Just can't see a lot of many, many, famous oscar winning writers going to such pain to have tons of index cards and colors and all that crap. Could be wrong. Know what works for me. Just gotta do the writing. Prep ahead of everything else.

I don't use index cards either. I come up with my scenes mostly in chronological order, & each scenes is tied to an existing SEQUENCE, so there's hardly any moving around of scenes. Creating sequences 1st removes the need for cards. I use a Word Doc (or plain paper) to outline. But I love seeing other writer's cards! There is something exciting & inspiring about seeing other ppl's work all laid out like that. Where cards come in really handy is when you have more than one writer. The cards become a instant visual shorthand.