The Arqo Blog
Craft, process, and what we're learning. Posts about screenwriting, about building tools for writers, and sometimes about the decisions behind Arqo. No launch announcements — just what we're thinking about.
- Engineering10 min read
How we shipped FDX round-trip in four weeks
From 'import mostly works' to 'export is production-safe' — the parser fights, the PDF fights, and the one Final Draft quirk that ate a Thursday.
Arqo EngineeringRead - Craft15 min read
Screenplay outline templates that actually survive a draft
Six outline shapes — beat sheet, index cards, sequences, treatment, mini-movie, eight-sequence — and when each one helps. Free .arq + .fdx + PDF pack at the bottom.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
How to write a logline (without selling your soul)
The logline is not a marketing exercise. It's a structural test. If you can't write yours, the script has a hole.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft15 min read
The Save the Cat beat sheet — a practical guide
Fifteen beats, page by page, with what each one is actually doing — plus where Snyder is wrong and why working writers still use it.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
How to register a screenplay — WGA West, WGA East, US Copyright
What each registration actually protects, what it costs, and which one you want. (Hint: it's not the one most beginners pick.)
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
Screenplay revision marks — asterisks, coloured pages, and why
The asterisk gutter, the coloured-page rotation, the locked scene number. A complete reference for production-ready revisions.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
MORE / CONT'D conventions, demystified
When to use (MORE), when to use (CONT'D), what your software is doing automatically, and the one rule that's actually contested.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
Slugline rules and conventions
INT. / EXT., DAY / NIGHT, secondary headers, sub-sluglines, and the mini-slug that working writers actually use to control pace.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
How to write a cold open
Three structural jobs of a teaser — and how the openings of Breaking Bad, The West Wing, and Whiplash do them in under three pages.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft10 min read
Screenplay vs teleplay format — what actually changes
Acts, teasers, tags, double-spaced scenes, half-hour vs hour, single-cam vs multi-cam. The format differences that matter and the ones that don't.
Isabella VizettaRead - Craft20 min read
How to format a screenplay — the definitive guide
Margins, fonts, sluglines, action, dialogue, transitions, page numbers — every rule in industry-standard screenplay format, with examples.
Isabella VizettaRead