Looking for intro screenplay book.
Maybe everyone is using Celtx now?
Maybe everyone is using Celtx now?
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intro screenplay book recommendations?
- Thread starter freedom crusader
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How to Write a Movie in 21 Days is great. I'd still recommend using a program like Celtx, though, as it makes it easier to just focus on the writing.
Everybody has favorites and favorite authors. It's important to realize that screenplays have three elements: structure, story, and format. Each of these components overlap but are often written about separately or jointly.
Format: There is an "industry standard" which is flexible but with certain elements expected. Yes, software packages will help--CeltX, Movie Magic, etc. However, there are certain elements that still require technical insight--use of transitions, parentheticals, montages, VO/OS, etc. For these elements, I recommend every screenwriter have a copy of:
Trottier Screenwriter's Bible
It has other useful information too. However, understanding format isn't difficult or require extensive software. I often use an MS Word template since it is easily transportable and editable. When I'm happy, I can export it as a PDF. Don't believe you need to have software to write a screenplay. You need to be creative and follow a basic set of conventions.
I get frustrated with CeltX because it has a very narrow view of formatting, which means I have to fight to make it accomodate a series of shots, multiple parentheticals (giving directions to multiple people), and other situations that have arisen. Yes, it's free. Yes, it has some very powerful features. But no, it's not particular beginner friendly or cooperative in advanced screenwriting applications. It does have some nice bells and whistles for the production side though and is worth learning.
Structure: Ah, this is what most gets debated on this group. Often because it gets confused with story (OK, I'm showing a bit of my bias). Depending on whether you are writing for television, motion pictures, or the more modern interactive gaming, you need to understand what makes a 'scene' and an 'act'.
Hal Ackerman Write Screenplays that Sell: The Hal Ackerman way
Syd Field The Screenwriter's Workbook
It has good exercises and walks you through movies and breakdowns. Most of these follow a 3-Act model. For a good intro into non-linear structures, you might read
Linda Aronson Screenwriting Updated
Most stories are linear. That doesn't mean that they need to be or should. Among the 'UCLA School', they rigidly tie linear structure to pages to story element. It is, in my opinion, artificial. In writing for TV, you have typically 6 acts with hooks.
Story: This is the KEY ELEMENT of a movie. This means thinking of character and plot. Now there are lots of theories out there. You will find books on character ARCHETYPES, types of plot FORMULAS, and of course the HERO'S JOURNEY.
There are those who hold the Hero's Journey as THE basis of EVERY story. For the adventure story, I agree. But I think forcing other motifs to fit the model is too much. Even though Blake Snyder tries to use a Post-Modernist dialectical analysis jargon (and not appropriately), he provides basically a Modernist Structural formalism. [Post-Modernists reject structure. A true 'dialetic' is an argument against dogmatism which a structured approach implies!]
Having said that, I think every screenwriter needs to be well-versed in the Hero's Journey. Just don't take it as the end all. Shakespeare would be unknown to us today if all his plays followed the same formula. There are TONS of books on story. Browse and find ones that you enjoy. Below are good (and often highly recommended) titles:
Blake Snyder Save the Cat!
Syd Field Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
Robert McKee Story: Substance, Structure, Style & the Foundations of Screenwriting
My suggestion would be to think more about characters and plots. I'm going out on a limb to suggest:
Robinson & Mungovan Screenplay Workbook: Writing before the writing
It has exercises and worksheets to guide you through character development, plot development.
Movies are a medium where the story has to fit into about 90-150 pages with a certain look. It's fairly formalized like the haikus you had to write. Screenwriters, are in a sense, visual poets. Unlike writing a novel, you don't put in a lot of detail. Screenwriting is building a blueprint for a movie. It needs some solid design. However, the director is in charge of construction and realization.
The best way to learn how to write screenplays is too read lots of screenplays and watch movies/TV. It is often instructive to see first drafts compared to produced scripts. We are all learning at all times. Good luck!
Thank you for your response. Since you speak with authority, I will consult the books you cite. My worry is that I don't shell out money to abebooks or amazon for a book by a hollywood hack who just shows the formulas for most of the crap that's produced.
I have just finished Georges Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations, and The Art of Inventing Characters.
I never had to write haikus. I did it willingly.
My definition of a scene comes from prose fiction, in which it would mean a single event taking place in a single location, e.g., 2 people encounter each other in a specific place, interact, then the interaction is over and the characters go to new locations.
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The book that blew my mind was Lajos Egri's "Art of Dramatic Writing." I still think it's one of the most essential works ever written.
It won't help you with script formatting, but it will help your with the foundations of drama, which is a topic that I find woefully missing from almost every book on screenwriting, and I've read a fat stack of 'em.
It won't help you with script formatting, but it will help your with the foundations of drama, which is a topic that I find woefully missing from almost every book on screenwriting, and I've read a fat stack of 'em.
I was recommended Save The Cat by Blake Snyder by quite few people in one of my threads, I bought it straight away and have just started it this morning, it seems great so far!
I also started reading Story byt Rob McKee... it was good but a little 'full on' for me, so i put it aside to read when I gain more knowledge.
I also started reading Story byt Rob McKee... it was good but a little 'full on' for me, so i put it aside to read when I gain more knowledge.
I've only read one book on screenwriting, but I can whole heartedly recommmend it.
Laura Schellhardt's Screenwriting for Dummies. She seems to really know her stuff...and even a dummy like me could follow her instruction.
Also, not a screenwriting book, but for any author concerned about story structure, I would recommend:
Building Fiction: How to Develop Plot and Structure by Jesse Lee Kercheval.
Laura Schellhardt's Screenwriting for Dummies. She seems to really know her stuff...and even a dummy like me could follow her instruction.
Also, not a screenwriting book, but for any author concerned about story structure, I would recommend:
Building Fiction: How to Develop Plot and Structure by Jesse Lee Kercheval.
What is this Celtix everyone keeps talking about? I thought it was a screenwriting program, as I have read, but does it actually help you in your actual writing too or what?
