Stealing Hollywood: Story Structure Secrets for Writing Your Best Book by Alexandra Sokoloff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An easy to understand, concise and enjoyable method book for aspiring novelists that uses movies as the vehicle to understand the underlying structure of successful mysteries, thrillers, whatever it is you want to write. Definitely falls into the "why didn't I think of that?" category, although, of course, one would have to be a successful screenwriter to pull it off. It also serves to deepen one's understanding of movies, since you now have the expertise to analyze what, exactly, is happening on screen. I'll never see Chinatown quite the same way again, which is very good, because now I have a better understanding of Robert Towne's brilliant screenplay. Sokoloff provides in-depth, virtually minute-by-minute breakdowns of some great films, including the aforementioned Chinatown, Groundhog Day, and The Wizard of Oz, among others. She really lays out the three act, eight-sequence structure that virtually all films (and literary works) adhere to. She also provides the nitty gritty on life as a Hollywood screenwriter, thus bursting that balloon (it sucks). Sokoloff makes it a fun read and comes across as a genuine person who wants to help people become better writers. I've read a lot of "be a better writer" books, and this is the best.



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