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One thing I've noticed since I started writing is the number of screenwriting books that are out there claiming to be the one with all the answers to writing that perfect screenplay. If there is such a thing. They all have these wonderful formulas as to what makes an amazing screenplay. Geez, if they really have all the answers, why aren't they writing the damn scripts? And having movies produced? If you go to Amazon and type in screenwriting books, you'll get bombarded with hundreds and hundreds of books. So I decided to go through the books that I've purchased over the last four years or so. I think it came to a grand total of thirteen. That's quite a lot, but it's still a lot cheaper than paying to do a writing degree or an MA or going off on some ludicrously expensive seminar run by someone who has never written a feature script, let alone written one and had one produced. But I'm going off on a tangent. Back to the books. The first book I bought on screenwriting was Writing a Screenplay – New Ed -- by John Costello. It's been ages since I read it. But I seem to remember that it was relatively cheap and easy to understand. It wasn't bogged down by over analysis where the author tried to make up for their shortcomings as a writer and storyteller by using large words to compensate for their own lack of storytelling skills. 6/10 What follows below is a list of the other twelve books on screenwriting that I've purchased. I've given a brief note on them and a grade out of ten. Of course this is all subjective as with anything. It's just my opinion. The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing Formatting & Selling Your Script David Trottier I think this was the second book I purchased. It's easy to understand and it comprises of six small books. I generally use it for reference should I forget how to format something. It doesn't over complicate things, and try to be anything more. It gets 7/10 because it's easy to understand and digest. Screenplay Syd Field I'd heard good things about this book and its author. So I was keen to get a copy of it. Unfortunately when it finally arrived and once I started to read it. All I can say, what a disappointment. The author does his very best to over complicate things with over analysis. Not to mention, it's a real struggle to get through. Very dense and reads more like a badly structured novel. Many recommend it. I don't. 3/10 Save the Cat!: The Only Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need Blake Snyder True. It is formulaic. And he does try to mold certain films into his beat sheet. But as a starting guide and something you can hang the structure of your story on. You won't go far wrong with this book. It's very easy to read and understand. He doesn't over complicate things with silly jargon and over analysis, making out that he knows some hidden secret. Blake Snyder came up with a formula that for the most part is extremely easy to understand. And unlike a lot of these self professed gurus out there. He's actually written scripts that have been made into feature movies and optioned scripts. Those movies may not have been the best, but he's been there and done it. Definitely a book I would recommend, especially if you've written a couple of scripts already. It'll help point you in the right direction. 8/10 Tales from the Script Peter Hanson, Paul Robert Herman A truly insightful book at how the professionals go about it. Well worth the purchase. With some very motivational stuff. 9/10 The DVD isn't a bad buy either. I watch it every so often just for motivation. 9/10 Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told Blake Snyder The second book in the series. Snyder tries to squeeze movies into his beat sheet. Some of them work. While others in my opinion, don't. If you've bought the first, you may want to buy this one. I think Blake Snyder has good intentions, but I just don't think his thinking behind it makes sense. His beat sheet isn't going to work for every movie. And trying to write every screenplay to a formula and have every scene hit some magic page number just isn't realistic. It is also quite restrictive and holds the writer's creative abilities back. If you've only written two or three screenplays, then you may want to get it. But don't hold yourself to it. Take what you can from it and then put it away. 6/10 Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwiters to Get into... and out of. Blake Snyder This is more of an extension of the first book. Looks at structure and expands on it. I seem to remember enjoying reading it. And if you have the first book. It's definitely worth considering. It's a great shame Blake Snyder passed away. 7/10 The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers Karl Iglesias Very similar to Tales from the Script Very insightful. The author breaks the book into parts. Definitely worth a purchase. 8/10 Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon Heard good things about this as soon as it was released. So I immediately bought myself a copy. And I wasn't disappointed. It takes a humourous look at the industry. There's a couple of chapters that seem like filler. But on the whole a very good read. One of my favorite chapters was How To Handle A WGA Arbitration. Their movies may not be Oscar contenders, but at the end of the day. They work in the industry. Definitely worth a look. 8/10 Writing Subtext: What Lies Beneath Linda Seger Subtext is one of the areas of writing that you can struggle with. And this looked like an interesting read that I thought might shed some light on that area. I think the first two chapters were useful to some extent, but the rest felt like padding. I was hugely disappointed after reading through this. There was nothing insighful or wonderful. If you're thinking about it, don't. Read scripts, keep writing and keep learning through doing, rather than reading. 3/10 Adventures In The Screen Trade William Goldman If you want to be a writer and even if you don't. This is a wonderful insight into the movie industry. Especially from the point of view of a writer. Definitely worth getting yourself a copy and reading. Perhaps a little dated, but don't let that stop you. Nobody Knows Anything. 9/10 Which Lie Did I Tell? William Goldman Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, Misery, The Princess Bride. Need I say more? It's a little dated now, being written back in the '80s. But there's still quite a lot of relevant stuff in it. He also refers to Butch Cassidy quite a lot. But, hey, it's his book, he can do what he wants. 9/10 Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 Ways to Make it Great William M Akers The author has written a number of feature screenplays and had a few movies made. I've read through it a number of times. It's more about improving your script from the reader's point of view. Making sure that what you've written is as good as it can be I seem to remember. Definitely worth a read if you can get yourself a copy. 7/10 And I think that's it. I generally don't refer to any of the above books now, apart from The Screenwriter's Bible. I tend to work things out for myself rather than rely on someone else's point of view. When it comes to buying books. My only piece of advice would be to check who the authors are and what role they have played in the industry. I have found that more often than not you'll get people who have never had a feature screenplay produced or worked in the industry. And yet they are quite happy to call themselves a guru on the subject and charge writers for their advice. When in fact they've never done it themselves. How can you teach someone how to do something when you've never actually done it yourself? There are a lot of people who are quite happy to take money off writers. Just be careful where you go for this help. But again, I'm going off on a tangent. Read scripts. Watch movies. And write. And keep writing. It's hard work. But keep at it. Don't give up. There's no magic formula for writing a great script.
The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers13/12/2011 _ As it’s that time of year I thought I’d get myself a book on screenwriting. I didn’t want any old book written by someone claiming to know the ins and outs of the business when in fact they know nothing. You get a lot of these how to books on the subject written by people who actually have done nothing themselves in the way of produced credits. There’s quite a lot of self professed gurus out there. I’d seen this book and had wanted to get it for quite a while so decided to purchase it. The book in question is The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider Secrets from Hollywood’s Top Writers. This is the Tenth Anniversary Edition. Karl Iglesias (Author) What you get is twenty-two working writers giving their own personal views on the industry. The content is divided into 6 Parts. PART 1 PASSION: The Urge to Screenwrite Portrait of a Screenwriter Desire Belief Passion Commitment PART 2 CREATIVITY: Summoning the Muse The Creative Process Creating a Writing Environment PART 3 DISCIPLINE: Applying the Seat of Your Pants to the Seat of the Chair The Writing Habit Time Management Writer’s Block Rewriting PART 4 STORYCRAFT: Weaving a Great Tale What Makes A Great Script Screenwriting Basics The Most Important Audience PART 5 MARKETING: It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Your Writing The Hollywood System Networking Getting An Agent Pitching Acting Like A Professional PART 6 THE FOUR PS: Patience, Perseverance, Passion and Practice Each of the above parts contain the writer’s insights into that particular area. I’ve picked three examples of what they have to say. If you’ve been writing a long time, these thoughts should be second nature to you. Ron Bass “My advice is to read screenplays, good ones and bad ones, so you can learn what you don’t want to do, but more importantly, write a lot of stuff. You only learn to write by writing. Write every day. If it’s a burden, you shouldn’t be doing it.” Nicholas Kazan “People’s time would be much better spent trying to write screenplays than going to seminars. Make some labors of love. Write others quickly. Have the idea. Be inspired. Write it. Learn as you go. Watch movies. Read screenplays and write some more.” Aline Brosh McKenna “I also learned from getting feedback, people around you telling you what works, what doesn’t work, or how it affects an audience.” The above are just snippets. But it gives you an idea of what to expect. Definitely worth the money, it’s also very inspirational to see how professional writers broke into the industry. There’s no one way of doing this, everyone’s situation is different. Definitely worth a read. Written by
Dr. Linda Seger Subtext. An area of writing that alludes a lot of writers. What is it? How do you create it? Where does it come from? Can it be learned over time? These are questions a lot of writers will ask themselves. This book attempts to help the writer discover what subtext is and how to use it in their own writing. The book is divided into eight chapters detailing certain areas. Chapter 1 subtext: a definition and exploration This is a good introductory chapter with some good examples of when and how subtext is used to convey to the audience what a character means or doesn't mean through the course of dialogue. This chapter alone probably explains enough about what subtext really is and how to use it through dialogue. Don't make your characters say exactly what's on their mind or how they're truly feeling. Make them dance around a subject area without being forthright about their opinions and true feelings. Using examples as a way of explaining how subtext is used is a great way for the writer to learn. Two examples are used here. A conversation taken from Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Casino Royale (2006). These are both great examples to learn from and give the reader a sense of what subtext is and how to use it through dialogue. Chapter 2 expressing subtext through words: character information and back story This chapter starts off with Dr. Seger discussing character bios and how they're introduced. She uses an example from Fatal Attraction (1987). This is a great movie, but does this example fit in today's writing? “She must be in her thirties, but she dresses younger, and gets away with it.” Either she's in her 30s or she isn't and the rest comes across as slightly unfilmable. Better to show rather than tell. Does Dr. Linda Seger write screenplays? Does she have any produced credits? For seasoned veterans of the industry, they can get away with this. But for up and coming screenwriters, probably best to show this through action and dialogue. Then the rest of the chapter again deals with dialogue which probably could have been added to the first chapter. Nevertheless, some useful examples, especially the one from Pride and Prejudice (1996). The characters are not being direct with their questions and answers which makes for a far more interesting conversation on page 47. Not sure about the Indiana Jones reference on page 45. This feels like too much analysis is being made of the example and dialogue. The majority of theater goers go to the flicks to be entertained. They don't leave the theater wanting to write a twenty page dissertation on what worked or didn't work for them. In film school, YES, analyzing certain movies, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Eraserhead, Apocalypse Now, 2001 A Space Odyssey, etc, is to be expected. However 99.999% of the general populous that goes to the flicks do not analyze films. They go to the movies to be entertained. Chapter 3 techniques for expressing subtext through words Simile A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds. Innuendo An indirect implication. Double entendre An ambiguity with one interpretation that is indelicate. Are the above really subtext? This chapter delves into description, names and metaphors. Are these really subtext? This really feels like filler. The name of a character may have a double meaning. An easy example would be the girls from the old James Bond movies. Let's see, 'Pussy Galore'. What does that name tell you? Is there really subtext there or is it just a play on words as to what her character is really like and that she'll end up in the sack with Bond sooner or later. There's no subtext in names. Also the constant use of Psycho as an example and this over analysis of Avatar. A metaphor is a metaphor. Metaphor = A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity. This chapter very much comes across as filler. Chapter 4 expressing subtext through gestures and action This is a good chapter. Sometimes what a person does or doesn't do isn't always what they mean. How a person reacts isn't always the truth. The body language and behavior of a character and characters in a situation. May not necessarily be their true character. They may act and behave in such a way to fool their enemy or the people around them. Definitely worth a read. Chapter 5 creating subtext through images and metaphors Not too keen on this chapter. As mentioned previously, a metaphor is a metaphor. Metaphor = A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity. Of course an image can also be used as a metaphor. A guy stuck in jail stares out a window and watches a bird fly through the sky. Make your own assumptions as to what he might be thinking. That's a metaphor. This chapter feels again like filler. The fact that music of a movie is brought into it and described as subtext. This feels like a cheat. Music in a film creates ambience and atmosphere whilst an audience watches the movie. There's no subtext. There might well be anticipation of what's to come possibly or not. But a movie's soundtrack is certainly not subtext. Granted, sounds may foreshadow certain moments to come in a movie. But again, is this really subtext? Again, the same movie examples seem to be used. There must be other examples to use other than Psycho. It's a superb film, but honestly. Chapter 6 expressing subtext through the genre This last chapter comes across as an advert for Avatar. Again this kind of analysis might be good for film school. But the average joe who goes to the theater will neither think like this during the movie or after the movie. It could be argued that this kind of analysis is reading way too much into the movie and what it actually means. Did James Cameron think about these things when he was putting the film together, it's possible. Who knows? You watch a movie to be entertained, not to come out with a degree. Chapter 7 writer alvin sargent ruminates about subtext ---- Chapter 8 afterword ---- When people go to the flicks for two hours. They go there to be entertained, maybe to learn something, but mostly they go to be entertained. They don't take along a notepad and pen and over analyze each piece of dialogue and every scene and every bit of action. They go to be entertained. Movies = Entertainment This book would probably sit well with someone who's in film school who's writing essays and dissertations etc. But this type of over analysis is really not necessary. Don't misunderstand. There's a lot of useful information with some good examples and then there's the filler and over analysis. Writer's should be writing movies that they would like to see and movies that will entertain first and foremost. Most of the population do not analyze movies. They watch them to be ENTERTAINED. Is it worth getting. Possibly. You can check out Dr. Linda Seger's credentials here. Buy the book and make up your own mind. This isn't a bad read, neither was it a great read. This type of analysis seems like overkill. People don't enter a theater and watch a movie in the hopes of coming out with a degree in film. They go to be entertained. Authors Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon There are a lot of books out there that are written by people claiming to be self professed gurus on the subject of writing screenplays. Many claming that if you follow their way of writing it'll lead to being a professional screenwriter. When you actually do a little research on who these people are and what they claim to know. They don't actually know that much, otherwise they wouldn't be spending all their time writing how to books and doing seminars. The old adage. "Those that can — do: those that can't — teach." I've checked the credentials of some of these and found more often than not. Their only claim to fame is being a script consultant. Whatever that means. They haven't actually written anything, sold it and had it produced. All they've actually done is given their opinions on a story and screenplay. This does not make you an expert on screenwriting. Does this make you a screenwriting guru? Do pigs fly? Page 11 "There are many self-proclaimed "screenwriting gurus" - though how you get to be a "guru" of something you've never actually done is beyond us." If there is only one book you are considering buying on screenwriting and you want to get an honest opinion on what the industry is really like. Then you won't go far wrong if you purchase a copy of Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! [Hardcover] The second you see the dust cover, you'll know straight away that this won't be your usual forray into some failed wannabe's writings on the subject. These guys know what they're talking about. They've been there and done it. The book is divided into two parts. PART ONE: SELLING YOUR MOVIE They explain the differences between agents and managers and what exactly they do. They discuss the roles of producers and directors. Of course not all of it is serious. They talk about living in Los Angeles. What hotspots to visit etc. PART TWO: WRITING A SCREENPLAY From dealing with structure to battling out who actually wrote the finished product and dealing with arbitration or who wrote this crap. But their main emphasis is on the actual writing. You have to write. ALWAYS BE WRITING Always be writing. Always be writing. Always be writing. Well worth the money, a fun, entertaining and intuitive read. Highly recommended. N.B. Even if you are not a writer and looking for something interesting to read about the toils of the movie industry and how a story goes from screenplay to screen. Then get your hands on a copy of this. |
Welcome to Russell’s website. A storyteller who enjoys writing screenplays for movies. Even though the process is hard. It keeps his imagination working overtime.
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