Now the celebrated producer, lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author has updated his classic guide for a new generation of filmmakers, offering a fresh insider’s perspective on the film industry today. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, here are easily understood guidelines to help aspiring screenwriters—from novices to practiced writers—hone their craft. Filled with updated material—including all-new personal anecdotes and insights, guidelines on marketing and collaboration, plus analyses of recent films, from American Beauty to Lord of the Rings—Screenplay presents a step-by-step, comprehensive technique for writing the screenplay that will succeed in Hollywood. Discover:•Why the first ten pages of your script are crucially important•How to visually “grab” the reader from page one, word one •Why structure and character are the essential foundation of your screenplay•How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a screenplay•Tips on protecting your work—three legal ways to claim ownership of your screenplay•The essentials of writing great dialogue, creating character, building a story line, overcoming writer’s block, getting an agent, and much more.With this newly updated edition of his bestselling classic, Syd Field proves yet again why he is revered as the master of the screenplay—and why his celebrated guide has become the industry’s gold standard for successful screenwriting.

    This might not be the only LSAT book you read, but it should definitely be the first. In his down-to-earth, often irreverent style, Nathan demystifies the confusing world of logic games, logical reasoning, and reading comprehension. In no time, you'll start to see through the BS and dominate the test. The approaches are easy to digest, and will stick with you when you finally sit down for the big day. No nonsense. No made-up, trademarked buzzwords. No confusing jargon. And best of all, no pulled punches. Plus, you’ll also find out how you can contact Nathan directly with your questions. So grab a pencil and crack this book. Let's get it on.

    Did screenwriter Danny Rubin know what he was doing when he wrote it? That it would star Bill Murray and become a hit? That it would become a touchstone for major religions? That psychologists would come to prescribe the movie to their patients? Follow this unique screenplay's exciting journey through agents, directors, studios, stars and the writer's own confused brain to emerge as one of the most delightful and profoundly affecting comedies of all time. For movie lovers and screenwriters alike, "How To Write Groundhog Day" includes the original screenplay, notes, scene sketches, and a personal tour of the Hollywood writing process from this popular screenwriting teacher.

    As soon as you name an emotion, readers go into thinking mode. And when they think about an emotion, they distance themselves from feeling it. A great way to show anger, fear, indifference, and the whole range of emotions that characterize the human experience, is through beats. These action snippets that pepper dialogue can help describe a wide range of emotions while avoiding lazy writing. The power of beats lies in their innate ability to create richer, more immediate, deeper writing. This emotional thesaurus includes hundreds of examples that you can use for your inspiration, so that you, too, can harness this technique to easily convert your writing into palpable feelings. Genre fiction authors can use Emotional Beat as a feeling thesaurus and watch their writing take off! Emotional Beats was an award-winning Finalist in the IPA 2017 Awards.

    But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will: Help you choose the right type of outline for youGuide you in brainstorming plot ideasAid you in discovering your charactersShow you how to structure your scenesExplain how to format your finished outlineInstruct you in how to use your outlineReveal the benefits:Ensures cohesion and balancePrevents dead-end ideasProvides foreshadowingOffers assurance and motivationDispel misconceptions:Requires formal formattingLimits creativityRobs the joy of discoveryTakes too much timeEven if you're certain outlining isn't for you, the book offers all kinds of important tips on plot, structure, and character. Includes exclusive interviews with Larry Brooks, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Lisa Grace, Dan L. Hays, Jody Hedlund, Carolyn Kaufman, Becky Levine, Roz Morris, John Robinson, and Aggie Villanueva, answering important questions:Can you describe your outlining process?What is the greatest benefit of outlining?What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?Do you recommend "pantsing" for certain situations and outlining for others?What's the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?

    Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood's inner sanctums...on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, and other films...into the plush offices of Hollywood producers...into the working lives of acting greats such as Redford, Olivier, Newman, and Hoffman...and into his own professional experiences and creative thought processes in the crafting of screenplays. You get a firsthand look at why and how films get made and what elements make a good screenplay. Says columnist Liz Smith, "You'll be fascinated.

    This is the book explaining how, with a few simple changes, I boosted my daily writing from 2000 words to over 10k a day, and how you can too."Expanding on her highly successful process for doubling daily word counts, this book, a combination of reworked blog posts and new material, offers practical writing advice for anyone who's ever longed to increase their daily writing output. In addition to updated information for Rachel's popular 2k to 10k writing efficiency process, 5 step plotting method, and easy editing tips, this new book includes chapters on creating characters that write their own stories, practical plot structure, and learning to love your daily writing. Full of easy to follow, practical advice from a commercial author who doesn't eat if she doesn't produce good books on a regular basis, 2k to 10k focuses not just on writing faster, but writing better, and having more fun while you do it.

    This is a book about the business of managing your screenwriting career, from advice on choosing an agent to tips on juggling three deal-making breakfasts a day. Prescriptive and useful, Breakfast with Sharks is a real guide to navigating the murky waters of the Hollywood system.Unlike most of the screenwriting books available, here’s one that tells you what to do after you’ve finished your surefire-hit screenplay. Written from the perspective of Michael Lent, an in-the-trenches working screenwriter in Hollywood, this is a real-world look into the script-to-screen business as it is practiced today.Breakfast with Sharks is filled with useful advice on everything from the ins and outs of moving to Los Angeles to understanding terms like “spec,” “option,” and “assignment.” Here you’ll learn what to expect from agents and managers and who does what in the studio hierarchy. And most important, Breakfast with Sharks will help you nail your pitch so the studio exec can’t say no.Rounded out with a Q&A section and resource lists of script competitions, film festivals, trade associations, industry publications, and more, Breakfast with Sharks is chock-full of “take this and use it right now” information for screenwriters at any stage of their careers.

     You will learn the ancient secrets of human psychology: the nine fundamental fears that motivate human behavior the nine core character types the nine stages of character change and so much more Complete beginners and seasoned veterans will benefit greatly from this material. You don’t even have to be a writer. The only requirement is that you come open-minded and ready to learn. About story. About character. And about yourself. Scroll up and get your copy now. What readers are saying… "Highly recommended to the writer wanting an effective tool to help develop believable characters." ~ Amazon Andy "Full of useful ideas." ~ Untamed Pen "Great book—must have for creating characters and developing plot around them!" ~ Susan Mi "Great jumping off point for characters and arcs." ~ Gail Clifford "I heartily recommend this book as a great tool for all writers." ~ Harry Rankin "A wonderful book." ~ Candace Segar "Gave me that AHA! moment of epiphany. I would recommend this book." ~ Dcortez "A great piece for new and veteran writers suffering from character block." ~ Cullen "They don't get better than this. It will fix your story and possibly your life." ~Amazon Customer Scroll up and grab your copy today. Scroll up and get your copy now.

    Linked by the theme of a writer's "first time" -- usually the first time he got paid for his work, but sometimes veering off into other, more unconventional, "first times" -- these always entertaining (and sometimes hilarious) pieces share what it takes to succeed, what it takes to write well, and other aspects of maintaining creativity and integrity while striving for a career in Hollywood. Richard LaGravanese (The Fisher King, The Horse Whisperer, Living Out Loud) confesses that his first paid writing job was crafting phone-sex scripts. Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune, Matilda) explains why, in Hollywood, an oral "yes" often turns out to be a written "no." Peter Casey writes about the unparalleled pitch meeting for the award-winning series Frasier. Virtually every big-name writer in Hollywood has contributed to this collection, making it essential research material for anyone trying to make it in the entertainment industry, and a perfect read for movie and television buffs everywhere.

    More comprehensive than ever before--and now 1,000 pages--this revised edition describes the insider dynamics at hundreds of U.S. and Canadian publishers, with hundreds of names and specialties for book acquisition editors. Nearly 200 of the most powerful literary agents reveal invaluable tips, as if they were having a private conversation with a special friend. With detailed information on what to do (and what not to do) to break the code, break down the walls, and get that first book, second book, or thirtieth book published, bought and read, Jeff Herman's Guide is the go-to source for writers everywhere.

    And yes--so can you! This method is not only effective, it’s fun. You’ll never worry about the blank page again!An outline, or plot, is really just a roadmap through your story. A flexible roadmap. One possible route. There might be detours, once you start writing. You might take side trips you didn’t even see coming.But your roadmap helps you make sure you’re always headed in the right direction. Even diehard pantsers need to know where they’re going, if they want to actually get there.This three-hour method for outlining a book is my exact method for making sure that when I start writing a story, I finish it. I’m excited to teach it to you.You’ll learn how to:- Go from the spark of an idea to five key plot points.- Expand your key plot points into 30 or 40 scenes.- Use those scenes to write a fast zero draft.If you’re ready to actually write that book, this is the first step!Shaunta Grimes writes young adult and middle grade novels. She runs an online writing community, Ninja Writers, that has more than 50,000 members from around the world.

    Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach expounds on an often-overlooked tool that can be key in solving this problem. A screenplay can be understood as being built of sequences of about fifteen pages each, and by focusing on solving the dramatic aspects of each of these sequences in detail, a writer can more easily conquer the challenges posed by the script as a whole.The sequence approach has its foundation in early Hollywood cinema (until the 1950s, most screenplays were formatted with sequences explicitly identified), and has been rediscovered and used effectively at such film schools as the University of Southern California, Columbia University and Chapman University. This book exposes a wide audience to the approach for the first time, introducing the concept then providing a sequence analysis of eleven significant feature films made between 1940 and 2000:The Shop Around The Corner / Double Indemnity / Nights of Cabiria / North By Northwest / Lawrence of Arabia / The Graduate / One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / Toy Story / Air Force One / Being John Malkovich / The Fellowship of the Ring

    Brian McDonald, an award winning screenwriter who has taught his craft at several major studios, supplies writers with tools to make their work more effective and provides readers and audiences a deeper understanding of the storyteller's art. When people think of a screenplay, they usually think about dialogue-the "visible ink" that is readily accessible to the listener, reader, or viewer. But a successful screenplay needs Invisible Ink as well, the craft below the surface of words. Invisible Ink lays out the essential elements of screenplay structure, using vivid examples from famous moments in popular movies as well as from one of his own popular scripts. You will learn techniques for building a compelling story around a theme, making your writing engage audiences, creating appealing characters, and much more. Praise for Invisible Ink: ..".If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read Invisible Ink." -Andrew Stanton (cowriter Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., and cowriter/director Finding Nemo and WALL-E) ..".Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril." -Jim Taylor (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election) ..". I recommend this fine handbook on craft to any writer, apprentice or professional, working in any genre or form." -Dr. Charles Johnson (National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage) "If you want to write scripts, listen to Brian. The guy knows what he's talking about." -Paul Feig (creator of NBC's Freaks and Geeks, co-executive producer The Office) "With Invisible Ink Brian McDonald has written us a book to keep and heed forever because through the simple, graceful, graspable, original wisdom of it, we might just save our screenwriting lives." -Stewart Stern (Screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause)

    Over the past seven years, I have created 19 award-winning romance novels for two international publishers and over 1.2 million copies have been sold in 28 countries around the world in 23 languages. The good news is that romance fiction is as popular as it has ever been. Just look at the Amazon Bestsellers top 100 paid list. It is dominated by romance titles. Writing short romance Kindle books is an ideal home-based business, with minimal start-up costs. You work where and when you choose, writing the kind of romance stories that you love to read –and then publish them for free! What’s more, short fiction is fast to both read and to write. No more procrastination! You can create passive income from day one with short romance stories that only took you a few hours to write. This eBook guides you through an intense Masterclass on the key techniques that you need to start writing short romance fiction, which you can then publish on the Amazon Kindle platform. As a professional romance author, I have broken down the process of writing romance fiction into: A complete nine-step plan packed with the essential information you need to write your own short romance fiction, from understanding the different types of romance categories through to advanced story structure. A proven six-layer character development technique to help you to create compelling three-dimensional characters readers will love! As a bonus, I have included a section with practical advice on how to transform your manuscript into an eBook. This detailed Fast-Track guide has been designed to be around 40 minutes long, which means that there is no filler, just quality information from the start. Your complete starter plan is written in straightforward language and each step has been tried and tested. I know that it works because this is the system that I use to create my own award-winning romance fiction! Take a risk and learn How to Write Short Romance Kindle Books today – it could be the key to a new career and a brilliant entrepreneurial small business. It is much easier than you think. Just take that first step! NEW SPECIAL OFFER! This eBook is part of the ROMANCE SELF-PUBLISHING BOOK BUNDLE (Books One to Three): All the Information you need to Write, Publish and Promote your Romance Kindle Book. Available now at a great sale price. http://amzn.to/1NpEGx2