The Complete Guide to Writing a Successful Screenplay: Everything You Need to Know to Write and Sell a Winning Script

The Complete Guide to Writing a Successful Screenplay: Everything You Need to Know to Write and Sell a Winning Script

by Atlantic Publishing Group
The Complete Guide to Writing a Successful Screenplay: Everything You Need to Know to Write and Sell a Winning Script

The Complete Guide to Writing a Successful Screenplay: Everything You Need to Know to Write and Sell a Winning Script

by Atlantic Publishing Group

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Overview

The Complete Guide to Writing A Successful Screenplay outlines time saving tools to hone your writing, so you can attract Hollywood agents and producers. You will discover how to create (and stick to) a timeline and deadline, whether writing your screenplay is a full- or part-time job.

Writing and pitching a screenplay is nothing like writing a novel, and this book presents screenplay-specific information vital for any aspiring film writer. This book discusses how to write great openings and endings — the vital elements of a successful screenplay (and eventually movie) — and how to create characters that grow and evolve as the plot thickens.

One of the hardest parts of writing a screenplay is developing a solid dialogue, and this book takes you through, step-by-step, how to fine-tune your characters’ dialogue so it is not only believable but also well-written. Once your script is polished and perfect, you will need to pitch it to the public, and this book shows you how. You will grasp how to write a compelling query letter that is specifically geared to what agents are looking for, so your chances of getting represented are increased.

Veteran screenwriters, television and film producers, agents, and directors have been interviewed for this book, and their experiences are showcased here, giving you their insider secrets on how to best write and sell your script. This book also contains an extensive resource section of production companies that are eager to receive and package your script, including the genre they are looking for, so you know exactly who to contact. If you are eager to jump into Hollywood as the next big thing in screenwriting, The Complete Guide to Writing A Successful Screenplay will help you get there.

Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company president’s garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice.  Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.

This Atlantic Publishing eBook was professionally written, edited, fact checked, proofed and designed. The print version of this book is 288 pages and you receive exactly the same content. Over the years our books have won dozens of book awards for content, cover design and interior design including the prestigious Benjamin Franklin award for excellence in publishing. We are proud of the high quality of our books and hope you will enjoy this eBook version.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781601386076
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company FL
Publication date: 12/30/2014
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction 13

What Does a Screenwriter Do? 15

How This Guide Can Help 20

Chapter 1 Becoming a Screenwriter 21

Who Could Be a Good Screenwriter? 22

Getting in the Habit of Writing 26

How to Adapt Your Writing Style 31

The Business Side 33

Chapter 2 Learning From the Masters 35

Reading Screenwriting Online 37

Watching and Analyzing Movies 43

The Cheater's Guide to the History of Film 52

A Look at Foreign Masters 55

Chapter 3 Developing a Story Concept 59

What is Your Movie About? 60

Researching Your Idea 66

How Characters Shape Your Idea 73

Chapter 4 Adapting an Existing Work 81

The Legal Concerns 86

Adapting for Hollywood's Taste 88

Modernizing Source Material 92

Exercise: Updating Little Women 95

Exercise: Modernizing the Public Domain 96

Chapter 5 Developing Your Characters 101

Important Parts of Your Characters' Histories 104

Incorporating Your Characters' Pasts 110

The Arc 114

Make Your Secondary Characters Memorable 116

Chapter 6 Structuring Your Work 119

The Three-Act Structure 121

Act One: The Setup 121

Act Two: The Confrontation 129

Act Three: The Resolution 133

Three-Act Structure Case Study: Runaway Bride 134

Alternate Ways to Approach Structure 141

Chapter 7 Outlining Your Work 145

Making the Cards 148

Subplots 151

Marking the Cards 154

Finding the Conflict 155

Creating the Board 158

Anticipating and Resolving Problems in Your Screenplay 164

Chapter 8 Writing Up the First Draft, Scene by Scene 169

What is a Scene? 170

Building Energy 175

What Makes a Great Scene? 182

The Business of the Scene 183

Setting The Tone Of Your Scenes 186

Surprising the Viewer with What They Already Know 187

Putting the Cherry on Top 188

Chapter 9 Talking the Talk 191

Creating Distinctive Voices 193

Verbal Sparring 196

Subtext 198

Exposition 203

Chapter 10 Emphasizing the Important Parts 205

The Beginning 206

Flipping to Page Ten 208

Closing the Story 210

Chapter 11 Developing Themes in Your Screenplay 215

Fleshing Out a Theme 218

Symbolic Elements 224

Chapter 12 Editing Your Screenplay 227

Formatting Your Screenplay 229

Seeking Feedback 232

Rewriting Your Script 237

Chapter 13 Marketing Your Screenplay 243

Copyrighting Your Work 245

Researching the Market 248

The Sale Process 250

Chapter 14 Alternate Ways to Get A Movie Made 261

Networking 262

Independent Films 266

Short Films 269

Student Films 273

Conclusion 275

Appendix: Resource Guide 277

Sample Scripts 277

About Screenwriting 278

Hollywood and the Business 278

Working Screenwriters and Industry Insiders 280

Downloads 281

Author Biography 283

Index 285

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