Screenwriting.ai is a writing room and a small film studio in one place. This guide follows one story, The Night Station, from a one-line idea to a short film. The other help pages use the same story, so you can follow along from page to page.
The workspace at a glance
| Area | What it's for | Paid with |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Your recent work and where you left off | Free |
| AI Writer | Focused tools that turn a short brief into a developed document | Writing credits |
| Chats & partners | Conversations with six writing partners | Writing credits |
| Library | Documents, conversations, images, clips and imported files | Free |
| Visuals | Images, Storyboards, Film Studio and the film editor | Media credits (film exports are free) |
| Plan & Credits | Your plan, balances, credit packs and invoices | Free |
The two numbers at the top of every page are your balances: writing credits and media credits, with the dollar value of your media credits beside them. Select them to open Plan & Credits.
Your first story in seven steps
- Find the loglineOpen AI Writer, choose The Logline Lab, pick a genre, describe your idea in two or three sentences and choose Develop this idea.
- Read and editThe result opens as a document in your Library. Edit it like any document; it saves as you type.
- Talk it throughThe writing partner beside the document has read it. Ask it to challenge the central idea or strengthen the conflict.
- Go deeperRun more tools: Character Canvas for your lead, Three-Act Outline for the shape of the story. Each creates its own document.
- Find the lookOpen Visuals, stay on the Images tab and create stills of your lead and your key location.
- Plan the shotsAdd the stills to a storyboard, write a caption for each frame, then choose Make a clip to turn frames into video.
- Cut the filmChoose Open in editor, trim the takes, add music and choose Export MP4.
- Idea
- A night-shift radio operator at a remote coastal station starts receiving distress calls from a fishing boat that sank thirty years ago.
- Logline
- The Logline Lab, genre Thriller
- Lead character
- Character Canvas: Mara Quinn, 47, the station's last operator
- Structure
- Three-Act Outline
- Images
- Mara at the console · the station in a storm · a lifebuoy on the rocks
- Storyboard
- Four frames, one clip made from each
- Film
- Four shots, 49 seconds, exported as a 1080p MP4
Your free trial
New accounts with a verified email get 40 writing credits to try the AI Writer and chats, with no card required. Trial credits expire after 14 days and are given once per email address.
Light and dark
Switch between light and dark with the sun or moon button at the top right of any page, or under Account → Appearance.
Quick answers
What can I do here?
Develop a story from first idea to finished short film: write with focused AI tools, talk it through with writing partners, create images and video clips, plan shots on a storyboard and cut them into one MP4.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. New accounts with a verified email get 40 writing credits that last 14 days, with no card required. When you're ready, choose a plan on Plan & Credits.