Book Description
From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script..
Here are easily understood guidelines to make film-writing accessible to novices and to help practiced writers improve their scripts. Syd Field pinpoints the structural and stylistic elements essential to every good screenplay. He presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the script that will succeed.
-Why are the first ten pages of your script crucially important?
- How do you collaborate successfully with someone else?
-How do you adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay?
-How do you market your script?
Customer Reviews:
The Bible.......2007-09-29
If it didn't restate the same elements over and over I think this book would be about thirty pages long, but that aside it really is a fantastic resource. Something has to be said for those teachers who explain things in such a way that you believe you knew it all along (even though you didn't). I believe this is a must for not only screenwriters, but filmmakers in general. The basics can only make us stronger.
Hollywood of the 80s.......2007-08-17
I liked this book. Coupled with Syd Field's Screenwriter's Workbook, I managed to write a first draft of a screenplay. I've never been able to complete a play or screenplay before reading these books! This book gives you the background of screenplays and writing, plus his theory of what makes a good Hollywood screenplay. The workbook gives you a step by step process of writing one.
One drawback is that this book was written in the 80's. Sometimes it sounds so dated. The other drawback is it only explains one type of screenplay, the standard Hollywood 3-act narrative.
Overall, this book was a great help in writing a readable well structured screenplay.
As good as a screenwriters bible.......2007-07-15
If you are looking for a text on formats, this is not the book.
Fields presents a thinking man's guide to screen writing. He writes in an honest style that presents thoughtful ways to compose a screenplay based on experience and knowledge.
He talks about several concepts making up a screenplay and what and why the elements of it are. He teaches the value of preparation and research prior to putting pencil to paper. The defining and detailed examination of the three act paradigm of a screenplay are defined and re-examined throughout the book, adding up to a good grasp of the concept.
Used as a textbook in my class, it was extremely useful and helpful to us beginning students.
Mixed Feelings.......2007-07-12
To sum up my opinion of the book in a short sentence: it's not the most amazing book ever, but I don't regret having read it. The good side of it is that the three act structure and all sound like a good plan to start working on a script. It does help a tonload to be able to cover so much ground in such a short time and with such big lines. I won't deny that. The card system is quite nice too, but you don't need 300 pages to learn that.
The thing that struck me the most was how redundant Field could get. Seriously, there are entire blocks of sentences that you will read over and over again. At first I thought that sounded really bad... I mean, if you're a famous script-writer and all, your writing should reflect that. So I was confused. Then, and I don't know if that saves it or not, I figured that the repetition was perhaps not so bad, since it kept hammering the same basic things in your mind, and since that helps to remember. It's a bit like a class, I guess.
I'm not saying that Field can't write, however, I think he merely opted for a personal style, oral if you want, and I don't think it's any fair to criticise too much on this aspect as other critics did. He's not writing a novel, he's writing about screenplay and he's talking to you.
I didn't buy this because I wanted to write a movie, I was curious about the script as a form of writing. Now I feel secure enough to consider writing a whole movie even though I never intended to, and that's pretty cool, I have to admit.
On the flip side, I have my doubts about Syd Field. Now, maybe I'm a dumb person, but I wasn't able to find a single movie written by him. And he doesn't mention any of his own scripts! He mentions those of others, oh yes, that he does, but I can't recall him mentioning one of his own personal scripts. (My bad and apologies if he did and I didn't see or forgot.)
Syd Field hated "Pulp Fiction" when he first saw it. That's bad. I mean, if you can't see right off that "Pulp Fiction" is a great movie, moreover, as a specialist of films, then I worry. I saw it years ago when I was a teen and it struck me as special even though I was no film specialist. So I don't know. It seems that Field eventually liked it when he was able to put it in his 3 act structure, by dividing the stories as units onto themselves. Fine, but do you need that to enjoy a movie or think it's great? No. In fact, if you are rendered unable to enjoy a movie because of that, then it majorly worries me.
As to the 3-act theory itself, I think it's a great tool to use for structure and for the writing of a movie, but I wouldn't base everything on it more than that. See, I think anything has a beginning, middle, and end, and that you can find those 3 things anywhere. It's too vague to be really meaningful, although it can be useful. I see it as something like construction lines in drawing: you use them, but then you erase them. And I think that's also how Field sees it; he doesn't think of his "paradigm" as impossibly rigid.
Other thing that worried me about Field is that he claims to write biographies for his characters that encompass their parents, grandparents, and, yes, past lives. Alright, that can always give you cool ideas that you'd not think of if it hadn't been for the character's past life as a fisherman in Antarctica, but that sounds far-fetched.
There are other things in Field's style that antagonised me from the beginning. Cliché zen analogies and such didn't do much to make like the text, and repeating the same things without backing them up doesn't convince more.
Also, and maybe I'm dumb, but I would have started the book with the form of script-writing. That's the first thing you look at when you consider writing a script! That's what I bought the book for, originally. Very little of the book is consecrated to that, and it's among the final chapters.
So what's the result of my reading this book? Well, I feel like I could start working on an actual movie script right now, and that alone isn't so bad, but I don't know that another book couldn't have done the same. The read itself wasn't too bad, although the redundancy can get seriously annoying. I also felt like the chapters weren't properly delimited, like you'd talk of a topic in this chapter and 4 chapters further, you find yourself reading about the same thing again.
I would recommend that to anyone who's interesting in scrip-writing, but be careful. It does give you a good basis for working up the spine of a script, and that's what the book was written for, so even though I gave it only 3 stars, I'd still recommend it (for lack of a better, since I never read anything else on script-writing).
Repetitious and Ramblings.......2007-05-28
I bought this book on a recomendation and appeared to be the best on the shelf. Syd Field has a very irritating writing style that is filled with convoluted ramblings and repeats himself quite often. There is a difference between driving a point home and repeating yourself and Syd appears to have used the copy/paste method as every page or so he states the same thing over and over and over again using the same wording. At first it seemed like he was just trying to drive a point home but after reading about 30 pages and having read the same sentance about 40 times it just got frustrating.
With that said, there is some great information in this book but you have to fight through it. The great information may be worth it in the end but really, he needs an editor/publisher that will stand up and tell him that it needs to be fixed.
This really can be a great book and is packed with useful info - but I have docked the rating because you have to force read and deal with near constant repetition.
Book Description
The up-to-date, acclaimed guide to writing and selling screenplays to today's film and TV markets. This is the new screenwriter's bible.
Customer Reviews:
Still Unbeatable.......2007-04-27
I'll go straight to the point: the part on character creation and development is worth all the books published about the subject in the last twenty years. The simple-straightforward-logical method displayed here is simply unbeatable.
This is really an old book, but don't make the mistake to think of it as outdated. Sure, it's kind of weird read things as "recent films like Rambo" but all the eighties movies that he mentions and uses as practical examples are totally time tested.
Also, I would pay its full price for the single analysis of The Karate Kid included. Laugh if you want. I'm sure you will learn a lot.
A final thought: There are two kinds of "how-to" books. The ones that should be called "how-should" (yeah, that ones that tell you how a good script should look judging by the subsequent movie, i can do that too) and real "how-to's", that guide you step by step with a logical process so you can learn.
Obviously, Hauge's book stands proud among the last ones. Thank you, Mike, wherever you are.
I love this book.......2007-04-17
I just finished taking a continuing education course on script writing at my local college and this book has been very helpful with supplimenting what I learned. It is packed with all kinds of info and is very easy to read. There are several good books out there and this is one of them.
AWESOME Book for anyone who wants to learn or improve your Screen writing.......2007-03-31
I purchased this book and Mike's Hero's Journey DVD and he has a great way to explain the magic of screen writing, his advices and examples are clear and helps you apply right away to your screen writing. I enjoyed very much reading his book and seeing his DVD. I highly recommend any book or materials from Mike to anyone that might be aspiring to become a screen writer or wants to improve your screen writing techniques.
The best first book on screenwriting without a doubt.......2006-12-24
First of all, I feel I have to say that English is not my mother language, but never mind; I have read this book easily. To be honest, I've just read only a first half of the book; the second part - An Analysis of The Karate Kid - I was not interested in.
However, the first half (which is about 160 to 170 pages) gave me the full insight of the ingredients of a good screenplay and how to obtain them. Although the book is not perfect, I think that after reading it you can easily write your first screenplay with the confidence.
These days I am reading Ray Frensham's Teach Yourself Screenwriting which (in my opinion) has more extensive approach to screenwriting, although it is more concise written. However, the knowledge gained from the Writing Screenplays that sell helps me great to absorb the material from that book very easy.
So, if you want to start learning how to write screenplay from the beginning, first read Writing Screenplays That Sell, and you will not regret. On the contrary, you will be very satisfied with that decision. After that, you can read any book you like or immediately start writing you first screenplay, whatever you wish.
How great is this book? I've bought five copies!.......2006-11-02
If my house were burning, and I could only rescue ONE screenwriting book of the 60 that I own and (yes) have read, it would be Michael Hauge's "Writing Screenplays That Sell."
While it is terrific for the beginner, I had already written three scripts before reading this book, but the advice and guidance in this book focused me so well that I now judge my writing experience as "pre-Hauge," and "post-Hauge." Post-Hauge, I have had five scripts reach Semi-Final stage in the Nicholl Fellowship, and three have been optioned.
I have also bought this book as gifts for five friends, including my son, who said that they wanted to learn how to write a feature script.
You won't go wrong following the advice in this book.
Customer Reviews:
Develop Your Funny Bones.......2006-12-17
Watch Mama's Family? Like to learn from one of the masters of writing comedy? Gene Perret is one of the best and this book helps you learn what he knows: comedy writing takes practice.
Persevere and complete these exercises and pretty soon, what first seemed "impossible" becomes doable and then, fun.
This book gives a lot of writing exercises, tips and tricks of the trade that you can use to write funny. A very good buy!
Comedy changes but it's all the same........2005-07-22
I just finished Gene's book and I have to say I came back impressed. You certainly learn a lot about how comedy is truly thought out and there isn't as much 'ad-lib' as you think out there. The only thing I found wrong with this book was how dated it was. The book is abound with references to late 70 and early 80's comedians like Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller, and Gene writes the book from a joke writer's stand-point - somebody who writes jokes to sell to the big-time performers, a practice that is hardly utilized today; therefore, some of the advice on how to sell you jokes can be skipped over. However, as dated as the book is, the method of comedy writing really doesn't change, whether writing for someone else or writing for your own stand-up act (like me). Sure, styles may change - Bob Hope and Dane Cook are FAR from similar - but the method behind the madness really doesn't change that much. Gene very seriously goes into what makes a joke funny and gets you to actually THINK about a joke instead of waiting for it to come to you, which is impossible. Definitely a good read from a master.
Step by Step Writing Comedy.......2002-07-04
This book generates good ideas...but you have to do the exercise to be creative. Published in 1982 but it still provides basic principles of comedy writing in year 2002 and beyond.
Don't be fooled.......2001-09-10
Don't be fooled by the release date of December 1990. The actual date of the book is 1982. He talks about Happy Days and MASH and comedians we don't here of any more such as Phillis Diller. If you can handle comedic examples from past TV shows etc. then the book is good. The actual exercises are first class and he does have good advice for the beginner. May you be funny! (or June)
Don't be fooled.......2001-09-10
Don't be fooled by the release date of December 1990. The actual date of the book is 1982. He talks about Happy Days and MASH and comedians we don't here of any more such as Phillis Diller. If you can handle comedic examples from past TV shows etc. then the book is good. The actual exercises are first class and he does have good advice for the beginner. May you be funny! (or June)
Book Description
Have you ever received a rejection letter stating your characters were one-dimensional? Did the editor simply jot a note at the top of your manuscript declaring your characters to be light, slight, and trite? Are you ready to breathe life into your characters and make them so authentic they leap from the page? If so, 10 Steps to Creating Memorable Characters is the book you need. Follow the 10-step process and you will learn to create multi-layered, realistic characters through the use of worksheets, instructive narrative, exercises, and examples. By the end of this informative, helpful book you will be ready to put your newly created and unforgettable characters into a novel.
Customer Reviews:
It's a 'must' for any public library lending collection.......2007-04-11
Writers serious about learning how to create and develop memorable characters will relish 10 Steps to Creating Memorable Characters: A Writer's Workbook. It packs in forms, checklists, and exercises to help both screen and fiction writers develop personalities, teaching the basics of building multi-layered protagonists and showing the foundation keys to possible success. It's a 'must' for any public library lending collection strong in writer's guides, as well as for many a high school or college-level collection catering to student creative writers.
Customer Reviews:
A Well Needed Blueprint.......2005-02-09
Short. Simple and Sweet. The editorial review above is dead on. I've been writing screenplays for five years and have read most of the "definitive" books on story, structure, theme, premise etc. etc.. This book should be the first book any aspiring screenwriter should buy. In easy step by step instructions the author not only explains but illustrates the basic elements of what makes a screenplay, how to do it, how to find your protagonist/antagonist, how to create the needed conflict and how to string these together to create a coherent story and script. She doesn't waste a lot of time on specific genre or nuance like most screenwriting books do. If you follow her steps you will have a script when your done. It won't win an oscar but who's first script does? Highly recommend for beginners and the advanced alike. Finding a tool that clarifies the elements of story structure, design and character dynamics is always welcome in my life. Sometimes simple is best!
Book Description
John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood’s most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all of his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby’s own unique approach for how to build an effective, multifaceted narrative. Truby’s method for constructing a story is at once insightful and practical, focusing on the hero’s moral and emotional growth. As a result, writers will dig deep within and explore their own values and worldviews in order to create an effective story. Writers will come away with an extremely precise set of tools to work with—specific, useful techniques to make the audience care about their characters, and that make their characters grow in meaningful ways. They will construct a surprising plot that is unique to their particular concept, and they will learn how to express a moral vision that can genuinely move an audience.
The foundations of story that Truby lays out are so fundamental they are applicable—and essential—to all writers, from novelists and short-story writers to journalists, memoirists, and writers of narrative non-fiction.
Average customer rating:
|
Rewrite: A Step-By-Step Guide to Strengthening Structure, Characters, and Drama
Paul Chitlik
Manufacturer: Michael Wiese Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Screenwriting
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Parenting
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Play & Scriptwriting
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1932907394 |
Book Description
Professional screenwriters know that the rewriting process is what separates the money-makers from the neophytes.
Book Description
AS A NEW SCREENWRITER, WHERE DO YOU START?
Selling Yourself as a Scriptwriter in Hollywood is your most important resource as you begin your career as a professional screenwriter.
LEARN THE HOLLYWOOD LITERARY MARKETPLACE
New screenwriters need to learn the playing field before getting into the game.
ABOVE ALL ELSE YOU MUST LOOK PROFESSIONAL
This easy-to-read manual teaches new screenwriters state-of-the-art spec script format and selling techniques.
LEARN PROFESSIONAL TRICKS-OF-THE-TRADE
Many of the tools needed by new screenwriters are readily available—if you know where to find them.
BE AWARE OF THE DOs AND THE DON’Ts
No-nonsense warning of the common and not-so-common mistakes made by new screenwriters.
GETTING YOUR SCREENPLAY KNOWN IN HOLLYWOOD
After your screenplay is finished, learn how to uncover potential buyers and how to access reputable agents.
A PRODUCER OR AGENT WANTS TO READ YOUR SCRIPT
What should you send? What shouldn't you send? Learn how to create an effective submission package.
SCREENWRITING CONTESTS & FELLOWSHIPS
Are they useful? Which ones are best? There are some great opportunities offered by Hollywood’s major players.
The Peterbrook Series
Average customer rating:
|
Soul of Screenwriting: 16 Story Steps
Keith Cunningham
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Screenplays
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Screenwriting
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| British & Irish
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 082642869X |
Book Description
Books on screenwriting are full of information. And sometimes there are breakthroughs on the information level. The Sixteen Story Steps model presented in this book is such a breakthrough. It is a new, more detailed understanding of dramatic structure based on the universal storytelling functions a screenplay must fulfil if it is to be complete and create a powerful dramatic unity onscreen. The Sixteen Story Steps makes the hidden structures of Act II, the underground springs and tectonics of that vast terrain, visible to the screenwriter in a way they never have been before. This is an objective advance. But what really makes a great screenwriter is not something on the information, or "head" level. There is no secret formula, no trade secret a screenwriting guru can promise you, that you can apply mechanically to have a winner every time. If that were all it took, every movie would be a hit.
There is something fundamentally incomplete, if not misleading, in trying to teach screenwriting in terms of models that are thought of mechanically as templates into which to fit your story idea. It is especially misleading to try to learn from a few "perfect" examples, like Chinatown, Witness, Terminator 2, or Titanic. It is the easiest thing in the world to take a finished product that has already been a smash success and extol it as a perfect model. One simply ignores the process: what it took to get there! Screenwriting is a long journey. Even the most gifted screenwriters get lost along the way. Getting lost, too, is part of the process. Therefore, to treat the resulting movies as models of perfection while ignoring the process is a rather mean self-deception.
What the writer experiences in the act of writing has never been taken into account--but, after all, this is where the screenplay comes from: the writer's here-and-now experience while working on the story. Information: left-brain concepts and techniques about how to handle plot structure, character development and orchestration, the dynamics of scenes and sequences--is all necessary. But it is what we do with the information that makes for really good screenwriting. In The Soul of Screenwriting, Keith Cunningham demonstrates that good screenwriting is more than hitting the big "plot points" with exciting action. Good screenwriting also has integrity and authenticity. It has a "voice," and because it has a voice it speaks to the audience. To gain a voice, the writer needs the heat of creative imagination: passion, commitment, enthusiasm, a drive to know the truth of the characters, a drive to get to the core of the dramatic conflict without resorting to escapism. These are qualities of the heart. The keystone premise of this book is that screenwriting can indeed be, in Carlos Castaneda's phrase, a path with heart.
Books:
- Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop
- Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters
- Sisters
- Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner
- Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
- Tales of Terror: 58 Short Stories Chosen by the Master of Suspense
- The 3-Hour Diet (TM) Cookbook
- The Audrey Hepburn Treasures
- The Big Lebowski
- The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 (Complete Hammer's Slammers)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Texas Real Estate
- Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear
- General Greene, Great Commander Series
- History: Fiction or Science
- Indigo Dreams: Relaxation and Stress Management Bedtime Stories for Children, Improve Sleep, Manage
- Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality And Spirituality
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures
- Specialty Occupational Outlook: Trade & Technical
- Insecure Times: Living with Insecurity in Contemporary Society
- The Prentice Hall Directory of Online Business Information 1997
The Screenwriter's Workbook (Revised Edition)
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script
The Screenwriter's Problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems
Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives
