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The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide To Writing, Formatting, And Selling Your Script
by David TrottierThe Bible is five books bound into a single volume. -- a screenwriting primer (provides a concise presentation of screenwriting basics) -- a formatting guide (presents both correct screenplay and teleplay formats) -- a screenwriting workbook (the writing process, from nascent ideas to revisions) -- a sales and marketing guide (offers a marketing plan and sales strategies) -- a resource guide (provides contacts for industry organizations, guilds and unions, schools, publications, support groups and services, contests, etc.)
The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script
by David TrottierThe Screenwriter s Bible's 7th edition marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most popular, authoritative, and useful books on screenwriting. A standard by which other screenwriting books are measured, it has sold over 340,000 copies in its 25-year life. Always up-to-date and reliable, it contains everything that both the budding and working screenwriter need under one cover five books in one!
A Screenwriter's Companion: Instruction, Opinion, Encouragement
by Joseph Dougherty Scott Ryan“I was a writer before I knew what a writer was.” -Joseph DoughertyJoseph Dougherty has been a successful playwright and television writer, producer, and director for more than thirty years. He's written for breakthrough series that have changed the way we look at television drama, from thirtysomething to Pretty Little Liars, winning everything from Emmys to Teen Choice Awards along the way.In A Screenwriter's Companion, Dougherty offers insights and advice both practical and nonpractical to writers and would-be writers. Dougherty's voice comes off the page with anecdotes about the writing process, hard-learned tips for survival in “the business,” and reflections on the influences that head led him to a successful career. Honestly, entertainingly, without cynicism, he gives readers permission to embrace the writer they want to be, so they can experience the rewards and satisfactions of writing. Beyond an insider's take on story and structure, dialogue, action and outlining, A Screenwriter's Companion is as much mentor as it is manual. With every insider observation about how to keep a potential producer reading till the last page of a script, there's encouragement to explore your thoughts and memories, things a writer needs to embrace in order to become more than “a pro.” In short, to see writing not as merely a career, but as a way to greater self-understanding.
Screenwriter's Compass: Character As True North
by Guy GalloEver watch a movie, and despite great production value, fantastic action sequences, a great cast, etc, you come away thinking-I just didn't buy it. Chances are it was because you didn't care about the characters. Screenwriter's Compass presents a new way of approaching screenwriting, examining how effective screen storytelling must be grounded in the vivid imagining and presentation of character. Screenwriter's Compass will not offer formulas to follow but instead will give you the tools needed to chart your own path to screenwriting success. It details useful ways of thinking about writing, as well as practical ideas and concepts to help you discover the unique geography of your own imagination and navigate the problems posed by the struggle to express vision, agenda, and story. You'll learn how to root your writing in motivation and voice, to create screenplays that seduce and make your reader lean forward, and, most importantly, identify with your characters.
The Screenwriter's Guide to Agents and Managers
by John Scott LewinskiThe lessons to be learned from this helpful guide show aspiring screenwriters, television writers, and novelists how to catch an agent's eye and develop a successful scriptwriting career. Step-by-step instructions reveal how to get around the "Catch 22" of the trade-that you can't get an agent until you've sold a script. Interviews with prominent agents and managers disclose how the power brokers choose material, what kinds of writers command their attention, and what they expect from the writers they sign on. Tips on how to write a winning spec script, how to word an effective query letter, how to forge a sound relationship with reps, and other invaluable advice fill this insider's guide.
The Screenwriter's Guide to Productivity: How to Get Motivated, Overcome Writer's Block and Develop a Writing Routine That Works
by Script Magazine EditorsAre you an aspiring screenwriter, but struggling to get the words on the page? So many things can come between you and the keyboard: a 9 - 5 job, writer's block, or good old-fashioned procrastination. Writing Routine and Outlook is a collection of articles from Script Magazine that address the many obstacles that independent screenwriters face when trying to hone their craft. Film industry experts provide advice based on their own experiences and useful tips for making writing a part of your everyday life. Getting in the zone to write can be hard, but there are ways to cut down on the time it takes for you to focus up. These articles will teach you how to make writing into a habit, regardless of how busy you are. You'll learn how to find your optimal time of day for creation and productivity, your own writing process, and a work-life balance. By evaluating the way you currently make use of your time, you'll learn how to restructure your days to make the most of them. You'll learn how setting goals and deadlines for yourself can transform your writing experience, how to avoid the trap of waiting for inspiration, and how to select a day job that pays the bills while facilitating your passion. Writing Routine and Outlook also includes tips for boosting your creativity, finishing your screenplay, and turning your procrastination into productivity.
The Screenwriter's Legal Guide: Third Edition
by Stephen BreimerThis authoritative guide will help both fledgling and established writers to negotiate the best deal, protect their work, and get fair compensation for it. One of the most powerful entertainment lawyers in Hollywood provides easy-to-understand, expert advice on all the legal issues involved in the business of screenwriting. He gives an enlightening explanation of the screenwriter's position in the industry and then provides a thorough discussion of contracts, options, and working with agents and lawyers. This book shows screenwriters what to give up as a lost cause and what to hold out for.
Screenwriters on Screen-Writing: The Best in the Business Discuss Their Craft
by Joel EngelBefore any lights, camera, or action, there's the script--arguably the most important single element in filmmaking, and Screenwriters on Screen-Writing introduces the men and women responsible for the screenplays that have produced some of the most successful and acclaimed films in Hollywood history. In each interview, not only do the writers explore the craft and technique of creating a filmic blueprint, but they recount the colorful tales of coming up in the ranks of the movie business and of bringing their stories to the screen, in a way that only natural-born storytellers such as themselves can. These and other screenwriters have garnered the attention of the movie-going population not only with their words, but with headlines announcing the sales of their scripts for hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars.Anyone interested in writing, making, or learning about movies will enjoy reading this fascinating behind-the-scenes compendium that brings together some of the most prominent and talented screenwriters in modern-day filmmaking. Screenwriters interviewed include:Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost), Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Amy Holden Jones (Indecent Proposal), Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs), Horton Foote (To Kill a Mockingbird, Tender Mercies), Andrew Bergman (The In-Laws), Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands), Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King), and Robert Towne (Chinatown, Shampoo).
The Screenwriter's Path: From Idea to Script to Sale
by Diane LakeThe Screenwriter’s Path takes a comprehensive approach to learning how to write a screenplay—allowing the writer to use it as both a reference and a guide in constructing a script. A tenured professor of screenwriting at Emerson College in Boston, author Diane Lake has 20 years' experience writing screenplays for major studios and was a co-writer of the Academy-award winning film Frida. The book sets out a unique approach to story structure and characterization that takes writers, step by step, to a completed screenplay, and it is full of practical advice on what to do with the finished script to get it seen by the right people. By demystifying the process of writing a screenplay, Lake empowers any writer to bring their vision to the screen.
The Screenwriter's Problem Solver
by Syd FieldAll writing is rewriting. But what do you change, and how do you change it? All screenplays have problems. They happened to Die Hard: With a Vengeance and Broken Arrow-and didn't get fixed, leaving the films flawed. They nearly shelved Platoon-until Oliver Stone rewrote the first ten pages and created a classic. They happen to every screenwriter. But good writers see their problems as a springboard to creativity. Now bestselling author Syd Field, who works on over 1,000 screenplays a year, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make movies brilliant-secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success...or even Cannes. Learn how to:*Understand what makes great stories work*Make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using Thelma & Louise and Dances With Wolves as models*Use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight*Make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does*Recover when you hit the "wall"-and overcome writer's block foreverFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
The Screenwriter’s Roadmap: 21 Ways to Jumpstart Your Story
by Neil LandauFinally, a GPS system for screenwriters!The potentially long and arduous journey of writing a screenplay was just made easier to navigate with The Screenwriter's Roadmap. Avoid the wrong turns, dead ends, gaping p(l)otholes, and other obstacles that result in frustration , wasted time, and wasted energy. The Screenwriter's Roadmap keeps you on track and helps you reach your destination- a finished, professional quality screenplay.Neil Landau, a successful Hollywood screenwriter and script doctor with over 2 decades of experience, provides you with 21 Guideposts, that if implemented, will help you nail down your screenplay's story structure, deepen its character arcs, bolster stakes, heighten suspense, and diagnose and repair its potential weaknesses. These Guideposts are based on field-tested, in-the-trenches experiences that have been proven to work. The Guideposts are augmented by interactive exercises, end of chapter "homework" assignments, examples from the latest blockbusters, as well as over 20 interviews with some of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters and directors, including David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel), David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, Panic Room, War of the Worlds, Angels & Demons), Melissa Rosenberg (The Twilight Saga: Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, Dexter (TV)), and Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich, The Good Shepherd, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). .
The Screenwriter's Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Marketing Guide for Screen and Television Writers
by Michael HaddadWritten for both new and experienced writers, this comprehensive marketing guide offers advice and tips needed by writers to succeed in the film and television industries. Focusing on the business of writing, it gives writers the unabashed truth about the film industry, and advice on how to get scripts to the gatekeepers of the studios and read by agents. Comprehensive listings of contests, fellowships, grants, and development opportunities from an industry expert provide specific information on securing a healthy writing career. This extensive resource also includes guidelines regarding copyrights, sources for emergency funds, a listing of online resources, information on writers' colonies and retreats, and more.
The Screenwriters Taxonomy: A Collaborative Approach to Creative Storytelling
by Eric WilliamsIn The Screenwriters Taxonomy, award-winning screenwriter and educator Eric R. Williams offers a new collaborative approach for creative storytellers to recognize, discuss and reinvent storytelling paradigms. Williams presents seven different aspects of storytelling that can be applied to any fictional narrative film—from super genre, macrogenre and microgenre to voice and point of view—allowing writers to analyze existing films and innovate on these structures in their own stories. Moving beyond film theory, Williams describes how this roadmap for creative decision making can relate to classics like Sunset Boulevard, The Wizard of Oz and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well as such diverse modern favorites like 12 Years a Slave, Anomalisa and Shrek.
The Screenwriter’s Workshop: Creative Exploration Through Meaningful Critique
by J. Mira KopellThrough a series of carefully designed writing workshops, this book guides the screenwriter through the messy creativity of screenwriting. Drawing on over 20 years’ experience facilitating screenwriting workshops, author J. Mira Kopell provides readers with a path to screenwriting that makes space for reflection, critique, and exploration. Structured around five specific writing assignments, each assignment supports the writer forward incrementally by focusing on a specific set of craft elements needed to then move them on to the next. A key value of the assignments is that they are not exercises but steps in the development of the writer's own screenplay. By using this book, readers can both receive meaningful feedback on their own project and learn to give insightful, focused critiques of their fellow writer’s work. Rather than offering craft as a “to-do” list that promises successful scripts, this book reimagines craft as “tools not rules,” empowering a writer to let their unique story dictate choices in order to support their work and honor their own voice. This book is ideal for students and lecturers of screenwriting, groups of writers looking to form their own workshops, and aspiring professionals wanting to develop their craft.
Screenwriting for a Global Market: Selling Your Scripts from Hollywood to Hong Kong
by Andrew HortonThis book provides the practical know-how for breaking into the global marketplace. It offers specific advice on writing for screens large and small, around the world from Hollywood to New Zealand, from Europe to Russia, and for alternative American markets including Native American, regional, and experimental.
Screenwriting For Dummies
by Laura SchellhardtSuspend your disbelief—you can make it as a screenwriter Behind every blockbuster film and binge-worthy show, there’s a screenwriter—and that writer could be you! Turn your brainstorming sessions into dynamic scripts with the help of Screenwriting For Dummies. Create believable worlds with relatable characters, gripping dialogue, and narrative structures that will keep even the showbiz bigwigs on the edge of their seats. Once you’ve polished your product, it’s time to bring it to market. This book is full of advice that will help you get eyes on your screenplays so you can sell your work and find success as a screenwriter. From web series to movie musicals to feature films, this book shows you how to develop and hone your craft. Learn to think like a screenwriter and turn story ideas into visually driven, relatable scripts that will get noticed Study the elements of a story, like plot structure (beginning, middle, and end) and characterization (wait, who’s that, again?) Hop over the hurdle of writer’s block, and tackle other obstacles that stand in the way of your scriptwriting career Get insider insight into finding an agent and meeting with studio execs, plus alternative markets for your finished work This updated edition covers the latest trends and opportunities—and there are lots of them—for today’s writers. Let Dummies help you map out your story and put your script on the road to production. Thank us when your work goes viral!
Screenwriting For Dummies, 2nd Edition
by Laura Schellhardt John LoganWrite a great script and get it into the hands of the Hollywood players! So you want to be a screenwriter? Whether you want to write a feature film or a TV script or adapt your favorite book, this friendly guide gives you expert advice in everything from creating your story and developing memorable characters to formatting your script and selling it to the studios. You get savvy industry tips and strategies for getting your screenplay noticed! The screenwriting process from A to Z -- from developing a concept and thinking visually to plotline, conflicts, pacing, and the conclusion Craft living, breathing characters -- from creating the backstory to letting your characters speak to balancing dialogue with action Turn your story into a script -- from developing an outline and getting over writer's block to formatting your screenplay and handling rewrites Prepare for Hollywood -- from understanding the players and setting your expectations to polishing your copy and protecting your work Sell your script to the industry -- from preparing your pitch and finding an agent to meeting with executives and making a deal Open the book and find: The latest on the biz, from entertainment blogs to top agents to box office jargon New story examples from recently released films Tips on character development, a story's time clock, dramatic structure, and dialogue New details on developing the nontraditional screenplay -- from musicals to animation to high dramatic style Expanded information on adaptation and collaboration, with examples from successful screenwriting duos
Screenwriting for Micro-Budget Films: Tips, Tricks and Hacks for Reverse Engineering Your Screenplay
by David J GreenbergScreenwriting for micro-budget films can present its own challenges and this book takes the reader through all the considerations that need to be made to write an effective screenplay for a low-budget film. Drawing on his own experience, case studies from films such as Primer, Coherence and Reservoir Dogs, as well as the perspectives of working screenwriters such as Joe Swanberg and Alex Ross-Perry, Greenberg explores common pitfalls screenwriters face and suggests practical solutions. This book lays the groundworks of the realities of low-budget filmmaking and also talks through the practical aspects, such as story structure and genre considerations. Greenberg makes the process of writing a screenplay for a low-budget film accessible and creative, allowing student and independent filmmakers to tailor their writing for their films. This book is ideal for aspiring screenwriters, independent filmmakers and students of screenwriting.
Screenwriting for Profit: Writing for the Global Marketplace
by Andrew StevensThis book teaches readers how global trends define the marketplace for saleable screenplays in key international territories as well as the domestic market. Veteran writer, producer, and director Andrew Stevens gives you the insider edge you need to write for the global marketplace, sharing his decades of experience producing and financing everything from micro-budget independent films to major studio releases. In leveraging Stevens’ comprehensive experience, you will learn how to determine specific subject matter, genre, and story elements to make the most of international sales trends, and harness the power of these insider strategies to craft a screenplay that is poised to sell.
Screenwriting for Virtual Reality: Story, Space and Experience (Palgrave Studies in Screenwriting)
by Kath Dooley Alex MuntThis book is focused on screenwriting and development for virtual reality (VR). It explores a diverse range of creative approaches to the writing and screen development of VR stories and immersive audience experiences. Contributions from scholars and practitioners combine conceptual and practically orientated approaches for creating fictional and documentary media VR stories. The book evaluates, challenges and adapts existing screenwriting models and practices for immersive storytelling and grapples with the future of storytelling in the era of sophisticated computer visualization, AI and the online social metaverse. The book proposes new VR storytelling models, identifies altered relationships between creators, screen works and their audiences and demonstrates how interdisciplinary practices will be core to the future of screen storytelling.
Screenwriting from the Inside Out: Think and Write like a Creative
by Margaret McVeighThis book provides aspiring screenwriters with a practical and informed way to learn how to think and write like a “creative”. It stands apart from, yet complements, other screenwriting “how to” books by connecting the transdisciplinary academic fields of screenwriting, film studies and cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Using a stepped approach, it shows the writer how to understand that how we think, shapes what we write, so that we may write better.
Screenwriting Fundamentals: The Art and Craft of Visual Writing
by Irv BauerScreenwriting Fundamentals: The Art and Craft of Visual Writing takes a step-by-step approach to screenwriting, starting with a blank page and working through each element of the craft. Written in an approachable anecdote-infused style that’s full of humor, Bauer shows the writer how to put the pieces together, taking the process of screenwriting out of the cerebral and on to the page. Part One of the book covers character, location, time-frame and dialogue, emphasizing the particularity in writing for a visual medium. Part Two of the book focuses on the narrative aspect of screenwriting. Proceeding incrementally from the idea and story outline, through plotting and writing the treatment, the workshop-in-a-book concludes with writing the First Draft. A unique emphasis on the visual elements of storytelling because the camera is always present—the screenplay must act as a guide for the director and the editor. A "workshop in a book" approach that walks the reader step-by-step through a screenplay—focusing on character, location, time frame, visual components, and transitions—with plenty of exercises that generate material for the narrative writing process. A process-oriented approach, combined with a lighthearted tone and approachable style, that allows the reader to ease into the daunting task of writing a First Draft and takes them all the way through to the end— First Draft in hand.
Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay that Sells!
by Kate Wright Arthur HillerWhile most screenwriting books focus on format and structure, Kate Wright explains how to put story at the center of a screenplay. <P><P>A compelling story, complete with intriguing characters and situations created with these screenwriting tricks of the trade can become a box office blockbuster film. Screenwriters will learn: - Developing themes within the plot - Using structure to define the story - Creating memorable characters - Establishing moral dilemmas and conflicts - Achieving classic elements of storytelling in a three-act dramatic structure - Mastering different genres .
Screenwriting Poetics and the Screen Idea
by Ian W. MacdonaldA new, original investigation into how screenwriting works; the practices, creative 'poetics' and texts that serve the screen idea. Using a range of film, media and creative theories, it includes new case studies on the successful ITV soap Emmerdale, Hitchcock's first major screenwriter and David Lean's unfinished film, Nostromo.
Screenwriting Tips, You Hack: 150 Practical Pointers for Becoming a Better Screenwriter
by Xander BennettScreenwriting Tip #99Voice-over usually feels like scaffolding. You know-something you left in there when you were constructing the first draft, but really should have torn out after it served its purpose. Screenwriting Tip #120Always remember that funny trumps everything. Your script could be written in crayon with your name spelled wrong on the cover, but if it's genuinely funny, none of that matters. Screenwriting Tip #156The easiest way to write kick-ass protagonists is to make them incredibly good at what they do. Confused at the outline stage? Stuck in the swamp of Act Two? Don't know who your protagonist is or where she's going?You might feel like a hack. But don't worry-you're not alone. Even the most experienced writers feel like this at times. Sometimes we just need a few short pointers and reminders to set us on the path again.Xander Bennett worked as a script reader in the trenches of Hollywood, reading and covering hundreds of mediocre screenplays. After months of reading about heroic Sea World trainers, transgendered circus detectives and crime-fighting chupacabras, he couldn't take it any more. Xander started a blog called 'Screenwriting Tips, You Hack', a place designed to provide short, witty tips on screenwriting for amateur writers all the way up to journeymen scribes.This book is the evolution of that blog. Dozens of the best scripts (along with many brand-new ones) have been expanded into bite-sized chapters full of funny, insightful, highly usable advice. Let Xander's pain be your gain as you learn about the differences between film and television structure, how to force yourself to write when you really don't want to, and why you probably shouldn't base your first spec script around an alien invasion.