The How-I-do-it. (Tools and Configuration I Use for Screenwriting)

I use MS Word, with a downloaded “style template” that adds choices like “Dialogue”, “SCENE HEADING”, “Parenthetical”, and so forth as options into the “Styles” section of MS Word’s “Home” tab which is usually displayed at the top of the MS Word window.

OTOH, this arrangement is years and years old. I remember later going back to search for that template (to add it into MS Word on my wife’s PC) and not finding it. So, reproducing what I have might be an undue burden for you.

THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES, OF COURSE: there are YouTube video presentations that I found, some of which go over setting up MS Word and LibreOffice “Writer” for screenwriting. Also, and sort of as usual, there is a wide panoply of YouTube presentations. In fact, there are “too many” choices; so that choosing one best/good for you is “hit and miss”, trial-and-error. You can start a process that could be made long, long-- a veritable life's work of research by typing “Setting up MS Word for screenwriting format” in the YouTube search box.

AND OF COURSE, Good old google query box can come through. I typed the following query in google:

Screenplay writing -- format techniques

And up popped a succinct and precise description of screenplay format specific details, that would allow you to set up MS Word or LibreOffice Writer for writing screenplays, to wit quote:

The basics of script formatting are as follows:

1. 12-point Courier font size.

2. 1.5-inch margin on the left of the page.

3. 1 inch margin on the right of the page.

4. 1 inch on the of the top and bottom of the page.

5. Each page should have approximately 55 lines.

6. Action/shot descriptions start at left margin.

7. Scene headings (aka slug lines) start at left margin.

8. The dialogue block starts 2.5 inches from the left side of the page.

9. Character names (all upper case) start 3.5 inches from left side of page.

10. Parentheticals start 3.25 inches from left side of the page.

unquote

Note also that there are several good (perhaps better for others and for me later?) capable alternatives to the aforementioned Word and Writer: OpenOffice, Google Workspace, "ONLYOFFICE" Workspace, et al. All of these (perhaps one that is already your favorite for general writing and word processing) would be amenable to the “manual” screenwriting configuration detailed by the above google query.

I emphasize alternatives, because it looks like my current technique is (or will become) obsolete: The MS Word "style template" that I downloaded years ago, works on my old Windows7 PC and seemingly cannot easily be reproduced on my "new" Lenovo-branded PC. Although of course one can use the step-wise guidance above to manually configure MS Word.

AND of course there are many ways to skin this cat. For example, here is the URL of an on-line article, that configures MS Word to have "shortcut keys" for the basic screenplay elements; such as Scene-Slug-line, Action, Character-name, Parenthetical, Dialog, and Transition; rather than configuring custom "Style" box entries for these elements (as does my old, old downloaded configuration:

https://www.awn.com/blog/how-turn-microsoft-word-terrific-screenwriting-program

Such a configuration technique may well be better for most screenwriters, than is the Style-box-driven technique that I downloaded, anyway. It may well be just my own prejudice as a software jock, but, once having invested in MS Word, which seems almost infinitely configurable and has access to the full programming language (that is VBA--visual BASIC for Applications), there is just no excuse for wasting money on an expensive tool like Final Draft.

Although, I have to add, you should do whatever "floats your boat", and enables you as a screenwriter. Whatever it takes. Although for my money, the satisfaction of turning MS Word into your own custom, fit-for-you screenwriting tool, also counts for something. It could make you feel more like a real screenwriter.