The Coffee Break Screenwriter Breaks the Rules

The Coffee Break Screenwriter Breaks the Rules
Author: Pilar Alessandra
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Motion picture authorship
ISBN: 9781615932825

Pilar Alessandra's popular book, The Coffee Break Screenwriter, taught writers how to outline quickly, write efficiently, and rewrite creatively. It is the "go-to" book for getting one's story on the page. But now that same writer may be doing a final pass on a project, working with a producer, or coming up with a new project only to be hit with . . . RULES! Should the writer respond to this random list of do's and don'ts pertaining to structure, characters, dialogue, and formatting? Nope. Who says you have to follow the screenwriting rules? In this book Pilar reviews the rules writers assume they should follow, discusses why they're there in the first place, and then shows you ways to creatively break them! Rules evaluated include those addressing: storytelling devices like flashback and voiceover character rules such as empathy and backstory dialogue faux pas such as writing on the nose structural issues such as nonlinear writing and act-break placement formatting sticking points involving emotion and visuals For every "rule" that's discussed, Pilar covers: 1. Why the rule exists. 2. Why writers should break the rule. 3. How writers can break the rule. 4. How breaking the rule can break bad (so break with care).

The Coffee Break Screenwriter

The Coffee Break Screenwriter
Author: Pilar Alessandra
Publisher:
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2016-05
Genre: Motion picture authorship
ISBN: 9781615932429

The writer receives guidance and tips at every stage of the often intimidating writing process with a relaxed, "ten minutes at a time" method that focuses the writer and pushes him or her forward. At each step, writers are encouraged to "Take Ten" and tackle an element of their script using the templates and tools provided. "What You've Accomplished" sections help writers review their progress. And "Ten-Minute Lectures" distill and demystify old school theory, allowing the writer to unblock and get writing.

The Comedy Bible

The Comedy Bible
Author: Judy Carter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-05-04
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0743219023

Judy Carter, guru to aspiring comedy writers and stand-up comics, tells all about the biz of being funny and writing funny in this bright, entertaining, and totally practical guide on how to draw humor from your life and turn it into a career. Do you think you’re funny? Do you want to turn your sense of humor into a career? If the answer is yes, then Judy Carter’s The Comedy Bible is for you. The guru to aspiring stand-up comics provides the complete scoop on being—and writing—funny for money. If you’ve got a sense of humor, you can learn to make a career out of comedy, says Judy Carter. Whether it’s creating a killer stand-up act, writing a spec sitcom, or providing jokes for radio or one-liners for greeting cards, Carter provides step-by-step instructions in The Comedy Bible. She helps readers first determine which genre of comedy writing or performing suits them best and then directs them in developing, refining, and selling their work. Using the hands-on workbook format that was so effective in her bestselling first book, Stand-Up Comedy: The Book, Carter offers a series of day-by-day exercises that draw on her many years as a successful stand-up comic and the head of a nationally known comedy school. Also included are practical tips and advice from today’s top comedy professionals—from Bernie Brillstein to Christopher Titus to Richard Lewis. She presents the pros and cons of the various comedy fields—stand-up, script, speech and joke writing, one-person shows, humor essays—and shows how to tailor your material for each. She teaches how to find your “authentic” voice—the true source of comedy. And, perhaps most important, Carter explains how to take a finished product to the next level—making money—by pitching it to a buyer and negotiating a contract. Written in Carter’s unique, take-no-prisoners voice, The Comedy Bible is practical, inspirational, and funny.

The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters

The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
Author: Karl Iglesias
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2011-10-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 144052789X

Takes a look into the lives and workspaces of screenwriters, who share their best practices in their own writing careers.

A Sense of Dread

A Sense of Dread
Author: Neal Matshall Stevens
Publisher:
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2022-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9781615933334

A Sense of Dread features three main sections.1) A detailed examination of the biological, psychological, and cultural bases of fear. What fears do we share with animals? What fears are uniquely human? What fears have we learned from our culture? From our families? From our experiences growing up? And what, exactly, is the difference between fear and dread?2) Author Neal Marshall Stevens explores the fundamentals of storytelling and scriptwriting, including the basics of story structure, creating effective protagonists and antagonists, exposition and set-ups, and advice on writing dialogue.3) A Sense of Dread then combines these ideas to explore the roots of human fear and apply them to storytelling for the screen. "The Toolbox of Dread" outlines the techniques for creating terror on the page. A wide array of horror subgenres are also explored, including why they exist, and what challenges each presents to the horror screenwriter. It also offers guidance on adding horror elements to non-horror movies.Finally, we seek to answer the question many people ask: What are you afraid of?

Alternative Scriptwriting

Alternative Scriptwriting
Author: Ken Dancyger
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2013-10-28
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 113605362X

Learn the rules of scriptwriting, and then how to successfully break them.Unlike other screenwriting books, this unique guide pushes you to challenge yourself and break free of tired, formulaic writing--bending or breaking the rules of storytelling as we know them. Like the best-selling previous editions, seasoned authors Dancyger and Rush explore alternative approaches to the traditional three-act story structure, going beyond teaching you "how to tell a story" by teaching you how to write against conventional formulas to produce original, exciting material. The pages are filled with an international range of contemporary and classic cinema examples to inspire and instruct. New to this edition. New chapter on the newly popular genres of feature documentary, long-form television serials, non-linear stories, satire, fable, and docudrama. New chapter on multiple-threaded long form, serial television scripts. New chapter on genre and a new chapter on how genre’s very form is flexible to a narrative. New chapter on character development. New case studies, including an in-depth case study of the dark side of the fable, focusing on The Wizard of Oz and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Elephant Bucks

Elephant Bucks
Author: Sheldon Bull
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781932907278

This comprehensive guide is for those who want to launch a career as a television sitcom writer and features detailed inside information on how to write scripts that will get noticed.

Crazy Screenwriting Secrets

Crazy Screenwriting Secrets
Author: Weiko Lin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2019
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781615933013

Through a "Crazy" approach in writing the feature screenplay, the first half of the book guides the reader in how to create and develop: Story Idea, Characters, One Page Step Outline, and the solid script. In the second half, the book covers professional business side of the ever-changing industry by taking the reader through the work flow of Hollywood and explores how to work creatively with international countries like China in producing movies that resonate with a global audience.

Selling Your Screenplay

Selling Your Screenplay
Author: Ashley Scott Meyers
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007
Genre: Motion picture authorship
ISBN: 9781601451484

Selling Your Screenplay is a step-by-step guide to getting your screenplay sold and produced. Learn how to get your script into the hands of the producers and directors who can turn your story into a movie.

Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure

Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure
Author: Dan O'Bannon
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Motion picture authorship
ISBN: 9781615931309

Dan O'Bannon famously crafted his screenplays using a self-designed system which he called "dynamic structure." This book outlines how O'Bannon's method differs from those of other well-known screenwriting gurus, and illustrates with examples from classic (and not-so-classic) films how dynamic structure can be applied to craft narrative and character. O'Bannon also includes his insights on subjects such as the logic of the three-act structure, the role of the producer in screenplay development, and the psychological principle known as "hedonic adaptation," which has a unique effect on the structuring of screen stories.