The Complete Guide to Writing a Successful Screenplay: Everything You Need to Know to Write and Sell a Winning Script
288The Complete Guide to Writing a Successful Screenplay: Everything You Need to Know to Write and Sell a Winning Script
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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 |
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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