Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay that Sells!

by Kate Wright

While most screenwriting books focus on format and structure, Kate Wright explains how to put story at the center of a screenplay. A compelling story, complete with intriguing characters and situations created with these screenwriting tricks of the trade can become a box office blockbuster film.

Screenwriters will

- Developing themes within the plot
- Using structure to define the story
- Creating memorable characters
- Establishing moral dilemmas and conflicts
- Achieving classic elements of storytelling in a three-act dramatic structure
- Mastering different genres

Genres: Writing

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2004

Reviews

[Mrmarvin2000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on the subject.

[Song Moc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A best book on the theme of Screewriting

[Jesse Balzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

there's some decent practical writing advice, but, as is almost always the case with books on screenwriting, the whole thing winds up being programmatic and supportive of the status quo, pushing you towards orthodoxy and the so-called universality of the human experience rather than anything even approaching creativity. and too many of the chapters just waste time with meaningless, error-prone descriptions and lists of films and genres that just eat up pages. maybe it was all worth it though, for her description of the plot of Jurassic Park. it is worth quoting:

"This morality tale features a proud scientist (Sam Neill) who plays God as he pursues fame and fortune, and through tragedy, he is forced to accept his limitations and see his place in the balance between man and nature. What makes it a compelling movie is the unforgettable world of the spectacular park where dinosaurs rule."

that was my favorite part too; the deeply emotional, moving part of the story where the dinosaurs were real big

[Trey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent account of how to develop a screenplay, but very self-serving, as Wright constantly mentions how great it was to work with Tennessee Williams and Jason Miller. And you know she's sucking up to Barry Sonnenfeld by saying, "what makes all of Barry Sonnenfeld's movies (Get Shorty, Men in Black II) so endearing to mainstream audiences is his original voice and comedic genius...." Where she really lost me, though, was in citing Adam Sandler's Mr. Deeds as a movie with a "meaningful and powerful moral of the story," whereas Terms of Endearment is lumped in with movies that "have no long-term potential as classics."

[Anshuman Chaturvedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

superb