Author: Paul W. Rankin

# Fountain Mode

written by

Paul W. Rankin

help@fountain-mode.org

INT. ABOUT FOUNTAIN MODE - DAY

Fountain Mode is a scriptwriting program for GNU Emacs using the Fountain plain text markup format.

WRITER

So I can write a screenplay in Emacs?

PAUL

Yes! Or a stageplay if you want.

WRITER

But how?

(sheepish)

I only use Emacs for writing Ruby code...

PAUL

Nobody's perfect. Just start writing and Fountain Mode will do the rest. The core concept is that if it looks like a script, it will be parsed as a script.

Core Concept: if it looks like a script, it will be parsed as a script.

PAUL (CONT'D)

There is very little markup - mostly it's just whether words are in CAPITALS or not.

For more information on the fountain markup format, visit https://fountain.io.

INT/EXT. SCREENSHOTS - CONTINUOUS

The writer sits on a La-Z-Boy chair.

WRITER

Okay. That's cool, but what does Fountain Mode look like?

PAUL

A bit like this...

A minimal example.

Full Font Lock decoration.

Using outlining to organize and navigate a script.

Isolating a scene to work on in an indirect buffer.

CUT TO:

INT/EXT. EXAMPLES - MOMENTS LATER

Paul moves to the wall. He places his hands on the floor and walks his feet up the wall until he is doing a kindof handstand.

WRITER

What export options do I have when I'm done?

PAUL

Check out the Nicholl Fellowship sample script exported from Fountain Mode to the following formats...

- plain text

- HTML

- Final Draft

- LaTeX

CUT TO:

EXT. INSTALLATION - NIGHT

The latest stable release of Fountain Mode is available via
MELPA-stable and can be installed with:

EMACS

M-x package-install RET fountain-mode RET

Alternately, download the latest release from
https://github.com/rnkn/fountain-mode/releases/latest

Move this file into your load-path and add (require 'fountain-mode) to your .emacs/init.el file.

If you prefer the latest but perhaps unstable version, install via MELPA, or clone the repository into your load-path and require as above:

SHELL

git clone https://github.com/rnkn/fountain-mode.git

Users of Debian >=10 or Ubuntu >=18.04 can install Fountain Mode with:

SHELL (CONT'D)

sudo apt install elpa-fountain-mode

INT. REQUIREMENTS - CONTINUOUS

Fountain Mode should work on Emacs versions as early as 24.5.

DONALD KNUTH

What about for exporting to PDF using LaTeX?

PAUL

Okay for that you will need a TeX distribution with the following packages...

geometry fontspec titling fancyhdr marginnote ulem xstring oberdiek

WRITER

I really don't wanna install TeX. Surely there is another way to export my script to PDF?

PAUL

Currently the best way is to use node.js and afterwriting. You can install it with...

SHELL

npm install -g afterwriting

EXT. HISTORY - DUSK

See https://github.com/rnkn/fountain-mode/releases

SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. BUGS - EARLY MORNING

PAUL

You can report bugs at...

https://github.com/rnkn/fountain-mode/issues

FADE OUT

THE END