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

by Kate Wright, Arthur Hiller (Foreword by)

Overview

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.

Screenwriters will learn:

- 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:	9780399530241
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/05/2004
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.97(w) x 9.01(h) x 0.75(d)
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