Celtx – Your free scripting buddy

If you are looking for a way to write that Academy Award winning film I have found your solution. Writing scripts and planning films, videos, or plays is such a crazy task, and staying organized through the writing process is even crazier. Celtx is an application that manages your new media writing without even opening your wallet!

This freeware application can be used to map out your script from character development, to props, to locations, to sounds, and even wardrobe. Within this nifty little app you can maintain it all.

When you start a project Celtx automatically creates a database from all the information you input during the creative process.

Learn Celtx

When you open up the program you will notice the ability to open the demo file “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” This is a great place to start and the best way I found to learn the program.

On the left side you will see two sidebars, the top is your rundown of everything in your database for your script. In the demo file there are many areas including, Characters, Scenes, Locations, Props, Actors, Wardrobe, Bookmarks, and even the Budget and Schedule.

Within this sidebar you can open new items by double clicking on them. You will see that these items will open in tabs across the top of Celtx, it reminds me a lot of Firefox.

Celtx is used from the very idea of the writing, to the finishing touches.

Getting to Work

When I started writing in Celtx I realized that I had tons of ideas, but was not ready to start scripting yet. I started jotting these ideas down with the text item, by clicking File > Add Item > Text.

You can add content by either clicking the “+” icon above the left sidebar, or by clicking File > Add Item. This will allow you to add something new to the database we looked at earlier. If you want to start writing the script you can click the script icon. This will open a tab for your script within the project. There you can create your scenes and set the dialogue for your script.

You can manage your characters within your script by clicking File > Add Item > Character. This will allow you to go into full detail about the life of one of your characters. It will include their full name, description, age, hair color, eyes, goals plans, etc. You can get down to the dirty details of your characters.

In the same way you created your characters, script, and text, you can create numerous other items. They are categorized within your sidebar and organized by the author. The best way to organize the content is to add folders, this can also be done through the “Add Item” option.

There is so much more

Celtx is an amazingly powerful program that is perfect for writing that script, or mapping out that feature film. Its capabilities are nothing shy of a hundred dollar piece of software. I wish I could go into the little details of using Celtx, but I would be writing forever.

This powerful app can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, or Linux for absolutely nothing! You can find out lots of information at the Celtx official webpage, or their wiki, and feel free to watch their video tutorial.