Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay that Sells!

by Kate Wright, Arthur Hiller (Foreword by)

Overview

The step-by-step guide to creating a compelling screenplay

While most screenwriting books focus on format and structure, Kate Wright explains how to put story at the center of a screenplay. A compelling story, complete with intriguing characters and situations created with these screenwriting tricks of the trade can become a box office blockbuster film.

Learn the basics of screenwriting, including:

- 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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101161623
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/05/2004
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	351 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kate Wright is an Emmy Award-winning producer and screenwriter with more than 20 years of experience. Ms. Wright is a Senior Instructor at UCLA Extension's internationally known Writers Program where she teaches "Script Doctoring: Rewriting for Production" and "Writing the Screenplay the Professional Way."

Table of Contents

Screenwriting is StorytellingForeword by Arthur Hiller

Introduction: "Screenwriters must become storytellers."

Part One
Screenthinking: "What is my story about?"
Chapter 1: Screenwriting is Storytelling
Chapter 2: Movies are Entertainment
Chapter 3: The Big Idea
Chapter 4: The Four "Story" Questions
Chapter 5: Form: 3-Act Paradigms
Chapter 6: Spine: The Process
Chapter 7: Integrating Form and Spine
Chapter 8: Critical Thinking and Creative Tools

Part Two
Screenplanning: "How does my story make the audience feel?"
Chapter 9: Genre
Chapter 10: Plot vs. Story
Chapter 11: Creating the Main Character
Chapter 12: Creating the Antagonist
Chapter 13: Supporting Characters Who Tell the Story
Chapter 14: Creating Dramatic Conflict
Chapter 15: Moral Dilemma and the Moral of the Story
Chapter 16: Following the Emotional Story

Part Three
Screenwriting: "This is what my story is about."
Chapter 17: The One-Page Summary
Chapter 18: The Step Outline
Chapter 19: Creating the Scene
Chapter 20: Originality
Chapter 21: Where Good Scripts Go Wrong

Part Four
Rewriting and Script Doctoring: "What is my story really about?"
Chapter 22: Writing Is Rewriting

Part Five
Breaking In and Staying There
Chapter 23: Breaking In
Chapter 24: Second Careers and Reinventing Yourself

Postscript: "Becoming a Storyteller"

Appendices
A. Entertainment Industry Organizations
B. Screenwriting Competitions
C. Popular Internet Websites for Screenwriters
D. "Standout U.S. Format" and Elements of Screenwriting

Bibliography

Index

About the Author