Notes to Screenwriters: Advancing Your Story, Screenplay, and Career With Whatever Hollywood Throws at You

by Vicki Peterson, Barbara Nicolosi

Overview

Screen storytelling is an essentially collaborative process. Writers need feedback but too often the notes they receive stall them and even demoralize them. This book unpacks the whys and what-fors of all the most commonly given notes on scripts, stories, and writers themselves. Coming from the perspective of experienced Hollywood professionals, Notes to Screenwriters offers insightful and concise guidance on the entire storytelling process, as well as what comes before it in the life of the writer, and after it in the marketing of the screenplay. It is a unique blend of classical storytelling principles combined with practical knowledge of the contemporary marketplace. This book is destined to be a resource for every writer who gets past the initial stage of writing a first draft and needs sage counsel for what to do next.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615932139
Publisher:	Wiese, Michael Productions
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Vicki Peterson is a screenwriter and founding partner of Catharsis (storycatharsis.com), which mentors writers and develops screen projects for various producers. Vicki’s most recent writing projects include television pilots, Mind Over Matter and Alum Rock Ave, which is with Herrick Entertainment. Her feature, Mother at War is with producer Ken Stewart. Her other projects include features, TV specs, and rewrites for production companies, and her scripts have been selected as finalists for several film festivals and fellowships. Vicki is formerly the director of both the Writing for Film and Television Program and Producing and Entertainment Executive Program at Act One, Inc. (actoneprogram.com), of which she is also an alumna. Before that, Vicki was a development executive at Origin Entertainment and Hero Pictures. Vicki got her start in theatre, working at the Tony award –winning La Jolla Playhouse on several pre-Broadway productions.

Barbara Nicolosi is the Founder and Chair Emeritus of Act One, Inc. a non-profit mentoring program for screenwriters and producers in Hollywood. She is a member of the Writers Guild of America-West and has written screenplays for several Hollywood production companies. She has been a development executive, story consultant and script doctor for hundreds of projects as well as a grants panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and a reader for the prestigious Humanitas Prize for screenwriting. Barbara has been an adjunct professor of screenwriting at Pepperdine Universityand Azusa Pacific University.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication Acknowledgments How to Use This Book Foreword by David McFadzean Introduction: The Book That Notes Built SECTION I: BROAD NOTES Chapter 1 - Notes on Taking Notes Chapter 2 - Notes on the Storyteller Chapter 3 - Notes on Story Chapter 4 - Arena Notes: A World to Explore Chapter 5 - Notes on Character: The Lovable Paradox Chapter 6 - Notes on Dialogue: Better Than Real Speech Chapter 7 - Notes on Theme: The Good, The Great, and The Ugly Chapter 8 - Notes on Tone and Genre: Getting on the Same Page Chapter 9 - Spectacle as the Servant of All Chapter 10 - Structure Notes: How You Reveal the Plot Chapter 11 - Cinematic Notes: Does It Have to be a Movie? Chapter 12 - Section Summary: The Biggest Mistakes new Screenwriters Make SECTION II: LINE NOTES – SCREENPLAY STYLE AND GRAMMAR Chapter 13 - Formatting Matters Chapter 14 - Rules of Screenplay Style Chapter 15 - Some Additional Formatting Do’s and Don’ts Chapter 16 - Section Summary: Formatting Red Flags That Will Stop Your Screenplay SECTION III: THE WORKING SCREENWRITER Chapter 17 - So Now What? Chapter 18 - Rewriting Chapter 19 - Story Currency: Loglines, Synopses, Proposals, Beat Sheets, and Treatments Chapter 20 - The Writer’s Real Life Chapter 21 - Working with a Writing Partner Chapter 22 - Working with Producers Chapter 23 - Studio vs. Indie: Where Does Your Project Fit? Chapter 24 - Networking Chapter 25 - Success Chapter 26 - FAQs About the Business Chapter 27 - Section Summary: Rules for Professional Screenwriters Appendix B: Correctly Formatted Title Page Appendix C: Correctly Formatted First Page Appendix D: Correctly Formatted Interior Page Bibliography