Adventures in Screenwriting: How One Writer Navigates the Dire Straits

by Selin Sevinc

Honest, raw and very funny, this book will take you on an emotional joyride through a screenwriter’s creative processes, her pitfalls and breakthroughs, where the boundaries between art and life are blurred.

Screenwriter, script consultant and festival programmer Selin Sevinç’s musings on the elusive art of screenwriting reveal the psychological landscape of her writing process. Her darkly amusing tales of homelife and motherhood in the US and her own childhood growing up in Turkey seep into the narrative, as she battles with her writing demons.

Sevinç demonstrates a deep technical knowledge of the craft as she guides you through the writing journey from nurturing story ideas to putting words on the page, with the ultimate goal of breaking into the film industry. Her personal reflections, frustrations and inspirations illuminate the unique and charming perspective of one stubborn writer.

Genres: Writing

204 pages, Paperback

Published March 29, 2022

About the author

Born and raised in Turkey, Selin Sevinç studied filmmaking in the UK. A Berlinale Talents Screenwriters alumna and an ex-film critic, she is currently a script consultant at magicofstory.com and director of programming at the Academy-qualifying BendFilm Festival–recently named “One of the Coolest Festivals in the World”. She has written eight screenplays, one of which was produced in 2022 in Turkey and another is in development with a producer attached. Her TV pilot entered the Netflix-BANFF Media Festival and MIDPOINT Institute’s pitch programs. After a short break from screenwriting to write and publish her first book on the process and perils of screenwriting, she continues to forge ahead on her ever-evolving writing journey.

Reviews

[Pinar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

I'm not a screenwriter, and I really enjoyed getting to know this profession through the lens of a screenwriter/film critic/festival programmer/mom. The book is a fun and interesting combination of the author's life story and experiences with screenwriting, and also serves as a Screenwriting 101 course. I found the author's adventures in the world of cinema and in life even more valuable and entertaining than only listening to what she said about screenwriting. While the information about writing is great, there's more to it than that. The book is dense and compact. You can use it as an excellent reference book on screenwriting and beyond.