AI Prompts for Scriptwriting

Screenwriting is storytelling under constraints — every page is a minute of screen time and every scene must earn its place. These prompts help you structure scripts, write cinematic dialogue, and think visually about story. Tested across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude so you know which model thinks most like a filmmaker.

Results last tested Feb 15, 2026 · Models: GPT-4o, Gemini 2.0, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Grok 2
What you're trying to do Prompt الأفضل لـ
Write compelling one-sentence pitches Logline Crafter ChatGPT
Plan scenes with visual storytelling Scene Breakdown Gemini
Track character transformation across a script Character Arc Mapper Claude
Make screenplay dialogue sharper Dialogue Punch-Up Claude
Outline a full screenplay structure Beat Sheet Builder Gemini
Format scripts to industry standards Format Fixer ChatGPT

Logline Crafter

Write compelling one-sentence pitches

Help me write a logline for my [film / TV pilot / short film / web series].

Genre: [comedy / drama / thriller / sci-fi / horror / etc.]
Premise: [describe your story in 2-3 sentences]
Main character: [who they are and what makes them interesting]
Central conflict: [what stands in their way]
Stakes: [what happens if they fail]

Generate:
1. 5 logline versions using different structural approaches
2. For each: identify the irony, conflict, and hook
3. Rank them from strongest to weakest with reasoning
4. A 'comparison' logline from a produced film with a similar concept
5. A pitch paragraph that expands the best logline into 3-4 sentences
6. The 'elevator test': can you say it in one breath? If not, shorten it

الأفضل لـ: CHATGPT

ChatGPT generates the most commercially viable loglines with built-in irony and clear stakes. Its loglines sound like ones you'd actually hear pitched in a meeting rather than academic exercises.

Tested Feb 15, 2026

نصائح احترافية

A great logline has built-in irony: a fire-fighting pyromaniac, a marriage counselor getting divorced. If your concept doesn't have natural irony, your story might be missing dramatic tension at its core.

Scene Breakdown

Plan scenes with visual storytelling

Help me break down and write this scene for my screenplay.

Scene number: [where it falls in the script]
Location: [INT./EXT. — where and when]
Characters present: [who is in the scene and their emotional state]
Scene purpose: [what this scene must accomplish for the story]
Previous scene: [what just happened]
Next scene: [what comes after]

Break down the scene:
1. The scene objective: what changes from beginning to end
2. Character goals: what each character wants in THIS scene (not the overall story)
3. The opening image: what the audience sees first and why it matters
4. Full scene in proper screenplay format with action lines and dialogue
5. The 'turn': the moment in the scene where the dynamic shifts
6. Subtext notes: what's really happening beneath the dialogue

الأفضل لـ: GEMINI

Gemini produces the most visually oriented scene breakdowns with strong action line descriptions. Its scenes read cinematically rather than theatrically, and it understands the visual grammar of film.

Tested Feb 15, 2026

نصائح احترافية

Enter every scene as late as possible and leave as early as possible. If two characters meet at a restaurant, start when the food arrives and the real conversation begins, not when they walk in and sit down. Cut the throat-clearing.

Character Arc Mapper

Track character transformation across a script

Help me map the character arc for [character name] across my [film / TV season / series].

Who they are at the start: [personality, beliefs, situation]
The inciting incident that disrupts them: [what forces change]
Their fatal flaw or 'lie they believe': [the internal obstacle]
The truth they must learn: [the lesson of the story]
Who they are at the end: [how they've changed]

Map the arc:
1. Act 1: How we establish who they are and what they want (3-4 key scenes)
2. Act 2A: Early challenges that test their old approach (3-4 scenes)
3. Midpoint: The moment that forces them to question their beliefs
4. Act 2B: The consequences of their flaw catching up to them (3-4 scenes)
5. Act 3: The crisis, choice, and transformation (or failure to transform)
6. A scene-by-scene emotional arc chart: what the audience should feel at each beat

الأفضل لـ: CLAUDE

Claude creates the most emotionally sophisticated character arcs with genuine psychological progression. Its arcs feel earned because each beat logically follows from the previous one, and it catches when transformations happen too quickly.

Tested Feb 15, 2026

نصائح احترافية

Your character's flaw and your story's theme are the same thing. If the story is about 'trust,' the character's flaw is their inability to trust. This alignment is what makes stories feel cohesive. Misaligned themes and flaws create muddled scripts.

Dialogue Punch-Up

Make screenplay dialogue sharper

Help me punch up the dialogue in this scene:

[Paste the scene with dialogue]

Genre: [comedy / drama / thriller / etc.]
Characters: [brief description of who's talking]
Problem: [what feels off about the current dialogue]

Punch it up:
1. Cut every line that doesn't reveal character or advance plot
2. Replace on-the-nose dialogue with subtext versions
3. Give each character a distinct speech pattern (length, vocabulary, rhythm)
4. Add one moment of humor, deflection, or surprise
5. Trim every line to its shortest possible version
6. Rewrite the scene with before/after comparison

الأفضل لـ: CLAUDE

Claude has the sharpest editorial eye for dialogue, cutting excess words and replacing on-the-nose writing with subtext. Its character voice differentiation is the most pronounced and consistent.

Tested Feb 15, 2026

نصائح احترافية

If you can remove a line of dialogue and the scene still makes sense, remove it. Screenplay dialogue is not real conversation — it's the highlight reel of real conversation. Every line must fight for its place on the page.

Beat Sheet Builder

Outline a full screenplay structure

Build a beat sheet for my [feature film / TV pilot / short film].

Genre: [type]
Logline: [one-sentence premise]
Main character: [protagonist description]
Antagonist/obstacle: [what opposes the protagonist]
Theme: [what the story is really about]
Target length: [90 / 110 / 120 minutes or 30 / 60 minutes for TV]

Create a beat sheet:
1. Opening image: the visual that sets the tone
2. Setup: establishing the world and character in their 'before' state
3. Catalyst: the event that launches the story
4. Debate: the character's hesitation before committing
5. Break into Act 2: the moment they cross the threshold
6. B-story: the subplot (usually the relationship that teaches the theme)
7. Midpoint: false victory or false defeat that raises the stakes
8. All is lost: the lowest point for the protagonist
9. Break into Act 3: how they find a new approach
10. Finale: the climactic confrontation and resolution
11. Final image: the visual that shows how the world has changed
12. Page count targets for each beat based on target length

الأفضل لـ: GEMINI

Gemini creates the most structurally sound beat sheets with precise page count targets and clear causal connections between beats. Its structures feel like professional screenwriting outlines.

Tested Feb 15, 2026

نصائح احترافية

Your midpoint isn't just a plot event — it's where the character's approach fundamentally shifts from reactive to proactive (or vice versa). If your midpoint doesn't change HOW the character pursues their goal, it's just another complication, not a true midpoint.

Format Fixer

Format scripts to industry standards

Help me format this content into proper screenplay format:

[Paste prose scene, treatment, or rough draft]

Script type: [feature film / TV pilot / short film / stage play]
Software I'm using: [Final Draft / WriterSolo / Highland / Google Docs / other]

Convert and teach:
1. The properly formatted version with correct sluglines, action, dialogue, and transitions
2. Every formatting rule applied, with a note explaining why each matters
3. Common formatting mistakes in the original and how to fix them
4. Parenthetical usage: when to use them and when they're unnecessary
5. Action line best practices: present tense, brevity, visual writing
6. A formatting cheat sheet I can reference for future scenes

الأفضل لـ: CHATGPT

ChatGPT produces the most consistently correct screenplay formatting and explains industry conventions clearly. Its format conversions are immediately production-ready and follow current standards.

Tested Feb 15, 2026

نصائح احترافية

Format matters more than you think. Readers (producers, agents, contest judges) reject scripts with bad formatting before reading a word of dialogue. It signals amateur hour. Use proper software or have AI convert your work before submitting anywhere.

مقارنة النماذج

Based on actual testing — not assumptions. See our methodology

G

Gemini

Best for scene breakdowns and beat sheets. Creates visually oriented scenes and structurally sound outlines with precise page targets. Less effective at writing emotionally nuanced dialogue.

Results from Gemini 2.0 Flash · Tested Feb 15, 2026
C

ChatGPT

Best for loglines and screenplay formatting. Generates the most commercially viable pitches and consistently correct industry formatting. Can default to formulaic structure if not pushed.

Results from GPT-4o · Tested Feb 15, 2026
C

Claude

Best for character arcs and dialogue punch-ups. Creates psychologically rich transformations and writes the sharpest, most subtext-laden dialogue. Sometimes writes scenes that are too long for their page count.

Results from Claude 3.5 Sonnet · Tested Feb 15, 2026
G

Grok

Best for writing sharp, witty dialogue and comedy scripts with natural banter and comedic timing. Creates memorable one-liners and satirical scenes that feel fresh rather than formulaic. Less focused on proper screenplay formatting standards and traditional three-act structural discipline.

Results from Grok 2 · Tested Feb 15, 2026

جرب في NailedIt

Paste any prompt above into NailedIt and compare models side-by-side.

نصائح احترافية

1

Show, don't tell — literally. In screenwriting, this isn't a metaphor. You cannot write 'she feels sad.' You must write 'she turns away and presses her fist against the window.' The camera can only capture what's visible and audible. AI defaults to novelistic description — always convert to visual action.

2

Every scene must turn. If the emotional state of your characters is the same at the end of a scene as the beginning, the scene has no purpose. Something must change in every scene: a relationship, a power dynamic, a piece of information, an emotion.

3

Your first ten pages decide your script's fate. Industry readers decide whether to keep reading by page 10. Your protagonist, tone, and central conflict must all be established by then. If your script 'gets good around page 30,' it never gets read to page 30.