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Screenwriting Books
or, How to Write the Perfect Screenplay and Sell it for
Millions
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25
years ago when Screenplay outlined the 3-act structure as a useful
approach for writers in creating screenplays, author Syd Field
pretty much had the screenwriting how-to genre to himself. Sure, there
was Lajos Egri's Art of Dramatic Writing, which many referred to but
few people read -- kind of like James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake.
People express awe and admiration, but rarely can bring themselves to
plow through it all. Screenplay was not an academic analysis, but
a practical, encouraging, workbook, designed to help a writer
understand how to apply creativity and craft in the peculiar,
particular, medium of a screenplay. It quickly became a bible for
screenwriters everywhere.
In the generation since Screenplay burst onto the scene, Syd Field has
been anointed a guru of screenwriting and left on his pedestal, while
how-to books on every aspect of screenwriting proliferate. There
are books on writing characters, thrillers, comedies, and television.
On plotting, re-writing, marketing. On every conceivable formula to
write a script, from mystical journeys to innumerable steps, paradigms,
and templates, all dangling the tantalyzing lure of a guaranteed method
to transform a story from imagination to the screen, via a sceenplay --
surely one of the most awkward, artificial, and rigidly-constrained
conduits of creation ever designed.
There are no guarantees in life, of course, and, despite the promise
implied by a dazzling array of screenwriting books with
bewilderingly-similar titles, there is no magic formula. There
is, however, a LOT of advice -- all sorts of advice: good, bad,
redundant, contradictory, timely, out-dated, condescending,
encouraging, helpful.
Over the years I've found that, while almost every screenwriting book
will contain
at least a tidbit of useful information, there are some I skim
only once and then leave on the shelf gathering dust.
Others, however, I reach for every time I write a script -- before,
during, and after.
Here are some of my favorites -- books with advice I've found to be
very helpful.
As everyone has a different approach to creativity and writing, your
mileage may vary. |
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Save the Cat!
The Last
Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder
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 Despite
an overly-confident subtitle (the
author has since published another book screenwriting), this
book is full of good advice, handy tips, and practical insights, useful
to brand new screenwriters as well as those with several scripts under
their belts already.
In a breezy, casual style, this book offers new twists and a fresh
approach to the basics of formulating a powerful story concept,
identifying genre, creating strong audience identification with the
protagonist, outlining the beats of the story, and using index cards to
create a story board of the entire script.
Snyder provides exercises and examples in each chapter. He explains
common-sense
"rules" in memorable ways, with colorful labels such as Laying Pipe,
the Pope in the Pool, and the eponymous Save the Cat; suggests tips for
fixing script problems, such as The Emotional Color Wheel and Making
the Bad Guy Badder; and offers marketing advice.
Throughout, the author uses personal examples and a chatty, jokey
approach that make the reader feel like part of the club. Sometimes
Snyder's know-it-all attitude grates, as he pats himself on the back
for re-inventing the wheel. And it's disheartening that Snyder's
sole measure of a good screenplay seens to be how many millions the
movie made (or didn't) at the box office -- after all, not every movie
is targeted at the greatest (lowest) common denominator in audience
demographics.
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 "The
Board" in action -- one of Blake Snyder's favorite techniques to
develop the
story, considered a prerequisite before diving into the script-writing
process itself. |
Mostly, though, his confidence is reassuring, inspiring the reader with
the conviction that, by golly, not only isn't it impossible to write a
great script, it will be FUN!
I happen to love outlines and beat sheets. They are my roadmap through
the script jungle, helping me avoid -- or explore!-- the tantalizing
detours that turn into dead ends, the bridge to nowhere, the shortcuts
that go in the wrong direction. I'm always free to ignore my map --
after all, I wrote it! -- but when I get lost, it's something to turn
to in order to get back on track through my script.
So I pounced on Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet (aka BS²), and
immediately merged it with
Viki King's list of "9-Minute Movie" beats (from How to Write a Movie
in 21 Days,
see below) . Whichever beat sheet(s) you use, "beats" are the
milestones in the roadmap of your script. As you write your
script you will probably wander off in some directions you hadn't
originally planned -- that's what keeps the process creative. But at
the outset, before embarking on the journey, it's wise to locate the
milestones, scope the terrain, and identify the rest stops along the
way.
Filling in a beat sheet can highlight pitfalls you may be overlooking,
in your zeal to script the story seething inside your head -- you're
all excited, and know you've got a compelling hero and a terrific
action sequence that's never been seen before and... and, well, some
other stuff happens too.
But maybe your hero isn't the best character to be driving, or the the
story only has enough gas to get half way to the destination?
Better recognize that now before you undertake the long script trip and
find yourself stuck in Death Valley, out of gas, with your Muse
in the back seat whining "Are we there yet?" (Okay, maybe this
metaphor is running out of gas -- but if you've ever written to page 74
and then suddenly stalled, you know what it feels like to be in the
Death Valley of your script!)
The BS² beats include the now-familiar warning to set up the story
in the first 10 pages, to have a catalyst on page 12, and to raise the
stakes at the midpoint. But there is much more, such as:
what to do between the catalyst (aka 'call to adventure') and the rest
of Act One; when does the love story get started; how the 'promise of
the premise' is presented in the first half of Act Two; why a dead
goldfish might be useful midway through the second half of Act Two; and
in which order the bad guys should be taken out in the Act Three
climax.
The beat sheet is not only a valuable tool for organization, it can
be very inspiring -- brainstorming ideas for the beat sheet moments is
a great way to open up the creative possibilities of your script.
Blake Snyder's credentials as a successful screenwriter (i.e. he's
written scripts and
sold them! to Hollywood!! for lots of money!!!!) do cast a halo of
authenticity around
his advice. I'm not one of those people who believe that "those who
can't do, teach" or, conversely, that those who have done something
well automatically know how to teach others how to do it well.
But it is undeniable that tips from a guy with an IMDb listing carry
that delicious whiff of insider-ism. When Blake Snyder talks about The
Business, you listen -- after all, he just might know what he's talking
about, because The Business has signed his paychecks.
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COMING SOON!
reviews for these
highly-recommended screenwriting books:
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