Prewrite Review

Overview

Prewrite approaches screenwriting from an unusual angle: instead of focusing on the writing itself, it focuses on what comes before and after -- story development and pitching. The tool lets you build your story visually on a canvas, map character relationships, track emotional arcs, and then generate interactive pitch slideshows that present your story in a format designed to impress producers and executives.

The pitch slideshow feature is genuinely unique in the screenwriting software market. No other tool we have reviewed can automatically transform your story development work into a presentation-ready slideshow. For screenwriters who are actively pitching, this could save hours of PowerPoint work and produce a more polished result than most writers manage on their own.

Prewrite has earned endorsements from respected voices in the screenwriting community, including Angela Bourassa of LA Screenwriter and CJ Walley, which lends credibility to its approach. The tool is still relatively new and building out its feature set, but what it does, it does well. The free tier is limited to one story, which is enough to evaluate whether the approach works for you.

Key Features

Auto-Generating Pitch Slideshows

Prewrite's standout feature. As you develop your story -- defining characters, plotting structure, establishing themes -- Prewrite can generate an interactive pitch slideshow that presents all of this information in a clean, professional format. You can share this slideshow with producers, managers, or writing partners as a living document that updates as your story evolves.

Visual Story Development Canvas

The story canvas provides a non-linear workspace for developing your screenplay's architecture. Unlike traditional linear outliners, Prewrite lets you map your story spatially, connecting characters, themes, and plot points in a way that mirrors how many writers actually think about story structure.

Emotional Tracking

Prewrite lets you track the emotional arc of your story and individual characters across the screenplay. This visualization helps you identify pacing issues, emotional flat spots, and climactic peaks -- useful analytical tools that most screenwriting software does not provide.

Character Relationship Maps

You can map relationships between characters visually, defining the nature and dynamics of each connection. This is particularly useful for ensemble stories or complex dramas where character interactions drive the plot.

Pricing Breakdown

Free Tier: 1 story with basic features.

Premium: $14.99/month for unlimited stories and advanced features.

Pro: Higher-tier plan with additional features (pricing varies).

The free tier's single-story limitation is restrictive but allows you to fully evaluate the tool before committing. The $14.99/month price point is reasonable for active writers who will use the pitch slideshow feature regularly, but it is on the higher side for a tool that focuses primarily on pre-writing and pitching rather than actual script writing.

Pros and Cons

Who Is Prewrite For?

Prewrite is for screenwriters who are actively developing and pitching projects. If you regularly pitch to producers, managers, or executives, the auto-generating slideshow feature alone could justify the subscription. It is also useful for writers who think visually and prefer non-linear story development over traditional outlining.

It is not a replacement for screenwriting software -- you will still need a separate tool to write your actual screenplay. And the lack of collaboration means it is not ideal for writing teams. Think of Prewrite as a specialized pre-production tool that fills a gap no other software addresses.

Editorial Verdict

Prewrite's pitch slideshow feature is genuinely unique and genuinely useful for screenwriters who pitch regularly. The visual story development tools are thoughtful, and the FDX export ensures compatibility with industry workflows. It is a niche tool that does its niche well, but it is not a replacement for actual screenwriting software. If you are actively pitching, Prewrite could be a game-changer. If you are not, its value proposition is less compelling.

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Frequently Asked Questions