The text covers twelve steps to good screenwriting. It teaches students how to choose a theme, establish a central conflict, and write a story that works as drama. The book is divided into two sections: “First Steps,” which teaches students the essentials of writing drama, and “Next Steps,” which teaches the essentials of writing drama expressly for film. The author's wealth of real-world experience is evident in the text's practical advice to beginning screenwriters.

Features

• Explains cinematic principles in clear, simple, conversational prose, helping to eliminate confusion for students and jumpstart their writing process.
• Includes a separate chapter on formatting so that students can write a script that is technically correct as well as artistically creative.
• Offers exercises at the end of each chapter that help students clarify and reinforce the fundamentals of writing for film.