Screenwriting for Dummies »

Laura Schellhardt holds an MFA in Literary Arts from Brown University and degrees in Theatre and Creative Writing from Northwestern University in Chicago. Her scripts have been produced in New York (SPF, The Hangar, The Exchange Theatre), Seattle (Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT), Chicago (Northlight Theatre, Serendipity Theatre, New Leaf Theatre, Citadel Theatre), Washington DC (The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth), Providence (Trinity Repertory Company, Brown University), Minneapolis (Theatre Limina), North Carolina (Center for Performing Arts), and Provincetown, Massachusetts (Provincetown Repertory Theatre, Provincetown Theatre Company).
Original works include The K of D, The Chair, Courting Vampires, Shapeshifter, The Apothecary’s Girl, Inheritance, and Je Ne Sais Quoi. Adaptations include The Phantom Tollbooth, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, The Outfit (Jeff Award Nominee), and Creole Folktales.
Laura is a recipient of the Theatre Communications Group 2007–8 Playwriting Residency, The Jerome Fellowship, the New Play Award from ACT in Seattle, and a Dramatist Guild Playwriting Fellowship. She has participated in the SoHo Rep. Writer/Director Lab and the O’Neill National Playwright’s Festival. Laura has assisted in the development of new work at The Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and Trinity Repertory Company. She has studied writing with the likes of Paula Vogel, Maria Irene Fornes, Erin Cressida Wilson and has taught alongside Oscar-nominated John Logan of Aviator and Sweeney Todd fame.
Laura currently heads the playwriting programat Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and teaches workshops across the country.

Write a great script and get it into the hands of the Hollywood players!

So you want to be a screenwriter? Whether you want to write a feature film or a TV script or adapt your favorite book, this friendly guide gives you expert advice in everything from creating your story and developing memorable characters to formatting your script and selling it to the studios. You get savvy industry tips and strategies for getting your screenplay noticed!

• The screenwriting process from A to Z — from developing a concept and thinking visually to plotline, conflicts, pacing, and the conclusion
• Craft living, breathing characters — from creating the backstory to letting your characters speak to balancing dialogue with action
• Turn your story into a script — from developing an outline and getting over writer's block to formatting your screenplay and handling rewrites
• Prepare for Hollywood — from understanding the players and setting your expectations to polishing your copy and protecting your work
• Sell your script to the industry — from preparing your pitch and finding an agent to meeting with executives and making a deal

Open the book and find:

• The latest on the biz, from entertainment blogs to top agents to box office jargon
• New story examples from recently released films
• Tips on character development, a story's time clock, dramatic structure, and dialogue
• New details on developing the nontraditional screenplay — from musicals to animation to high dramatic style
• Expanded information on adaptation and collaboration, with examples from successful screenwriting duos

Foreword     xvi
Introduction     1
About This Book     1
Conventions Used in This Book     1
Foolish Assumptions     2
How This Book Is Organized     2
Icons Used in This Book     3
Where to Go from Here     4
So You Want to Write for Pictures     5
Introducing the Art of Screenwriting     7
Thinking Visually     7
Developing the Writer's Mind     8
Approaching Screenwriting as a Craft     9
Finding Your Screenplay's Story     9
Working through the Writing Process     10
Formatting Your Screenplay     10
Constructing Your First Draft     11
Rewriting Your Script     12
Adapting Your Screenplay from an Outside Source     12
Selling Your Screenplay to Show Business     14
Preparing to Think Visually     15
Exploring Other Mediums     15
Fiction     16
Stage plays     17
Poetry and studio arts     17
Screenplays     18
The Visual Life of a Screenplay     20
From the outside in     21
From the inside out     22
Diving In to the Screenwriter's Mind     23
Learning from Other Writers     24
Reading for dramatic intent     25
Recognizing a screenplay's genre     26
Art and Life: What's the Difference?     27
Developing an Artistic Sensibility     28
What a writer sees     29
What a writer hears     30
What a writer remembers and what a writer forgets     31
Recognizing a Story When You See One     33
Identifying the call to write     33
The four important P's of story     34
Finding an opening image     34
Approaching Screenwriting as a Craft     37
A Look at the Creative Process     38
Imagination: Your Creative Arsenal     39
Flexing the imagination     39
Putting the imagination to work     41
Identifying your writing voice     44
Craft: A Vehicle for Your Imagination     46
Form     46
Technique     46
Discipline     50
Breaking Down the Elements of a Story     53
Unpacking Your Idea     55
I Have This Great Idea. Now What?     55
Pinpointing your interest in the idea      55
Documenting your interest in the idea     57
Getting to Know Your Audience     58
Matching the story to the audience     59
Connecting with your audience     61
Knowing What Happened Before Your Story Began: Creating the Backstory     63
Elements of the backstory     63
Developing a screenplay through backstory     65
Identifying the Tone of Your Piece     66
Establishing Your Story's Time Clock     67
Deciding When to Start Your Story     69
Getting to Know Aristotle: A Dramatist's Best Friend     70
What's It All About?: Writing a Nutshell Synopsis     72
Plot Part I: Beginnings     75
Enhancing Your Opening Images     75
Person, place, or thing: What do you want to present first?     76
Conflict: What's wrong with your story?     79
Possible ways to begin your story     80
Tracking Success: Three Compelling (and Contrasting) Movie Beginnings     81
The Untouchables     81
American Beauty     82
Jaws     83
Plot Part II: Middles     85
Deciding What Comes Next     85
From Lights to Camera to ... ACTION!      87
Presenting both action and activity     88
Revisiting the story's time clock     89
Status: Where's the Upper Hand?     90
What's Your Problem? Introducing Conflicts and Obstacles     92
Exposition: From Clunky to Creative     94
Sharing info the characters know     95
Sharing info the characters may not know     96
Determining What to Write from What You've Already Written     97
Continuing Success: Tracking Three Successful Movie Middles     99
Jaws     100
The Untouchables     101
American Beauty     101
Plot Part III: Endings     103
How Do You Know When You're Done?     104
Tracking the change: What's different now?     105
Crafting your story's conclusion     109
Danger Will Robinson: Threats to an Otherwise Healthy Plot     112
Would that really happen? The probable versus the possible     113
Scenes where nothing happens: Two final threats to watch for     116
Ultimate Success: Tracking Three Movies through Their Triumphant Conclusions     117
Jaws     117
The Untouchables     118
American Beauty     119
Character Building      121
Portrait of a Person: Constructing a Physical World     122
Your character's physical being     122
Your character's physical environment     125
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Constructing an Internal World     129
Dreams, desires, and passions     130
Talents and expertise     130
Internal obstacles     131
Your character's argument     132
From the Inside Out: Making the Inner World Visible     133
Balancing character dialogue with character action     134
Crafting concrete character goals     135
Providing character opportunities     135
Establishing routines that change     136
Forcing your characters to choose     136
Using a mentor     137
Using a narrator     137
Crafting secondary characters     138
Say What? Constructing Dynamic Dialogue     139
Diction: What's in a Word?     140
Isn't versus ain't: Diction's determining factors     141
The highs and the lows of language     145
Name That Tune: Crafting Your Character's Music     148
Sound 101: Using poetry as a guide     149
Fascinating rhythm: Crafting your script's pulse      150
Listening: The Other Half of Conversation     152
Putting It Together: Letting Your Characters Speak     154
Setting the scene     155
Dialogue do's and don'ts     156
The Nontraditional Film     163
Breaking with Tradition - Other Ways to Get the Job Done     164
Thinking Out of Time     165
Song and Dance: The Movie Musical     167
Original musicals     168
Musical adaptations     169
Maintaining an Audience's Trust     171
Screenwriting and Ethics     171
Screenwriting and Responsibility     173
What are you willing to put your name on?     173
Approaching difficult subject matter     174
The Immunity Factor     175
Turning Your Story into a Script     177
Mapping Out Your Screenplay     179
Conceptualizing Your Concept     180
How to Treat Your Treatment     182
Before you begin     182
Putting it on the page     183
Exploring the Ins and Outs of an Outline     184
One sentence at a time     185
One step at a time     187
What to Do When the Outline's Through      188
Surviving Writer's Block     191
From Panic to Peace: Switching Mind-Sets     192
The top ten reasons for writer's block     193
A survival guide     196
Reevaluating Your Routine     197
Seeking Outside Help     198
Formatting Your Screenplay     201
How the Screenplay Looks on the Page     202
Setting your typeface and your margins     202
Spacing your script correctly     203
Making your computer work for you     205
Creating a PDF     206
Key Formatting Elements     207
Character introductions     207
Cinematic description     210
Camera concerns     214
Terms that defy categorization     218
A Sample Scene     220
Putting It Together: Structuring Your First Draft     223
Navigating the Three-Act Structure     223
Introductions     224
Your opening moments     225
The first ten pages     225
The inciting incident     226
Plot point one     227
Salting the Wound     228
Know where the action is     229
The about-face      231
The midpoint: A halfway house     231
Plot point two     231
The Final Frontier     232
The climax     232
The resolution     233
A Note on Subplots     234
Take Two: Rewriting Your Script     237
Downshifting between Drafts     237
How to work when you're not working     238
Your first time back: Read-through #1     240
A second glance: Read-through #2     241
Back in the Saddle Again: Rewrites     247
Finding a Reader     248
Your Critique: Surviving the Aftermath     250
Adaptation and Collaboration: Two Alternate Ways to Work     251
Acquiring Rights to Primary Material     251
Understanding copyrights     252
Obtaining permission     252
Determining how much to adapt     253
Navigating between Forms     254
From fiction to film     255
From stage to screen     257
Poetry and music     259
The Process of Adaptation     260
How to approach an original work     260
What to do when you're stuck     262
The Art of Collaboration     262
What to look for in a writing partner     263
How to approach collaboration     263
Learning from the Masters     265
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor     265
Joel and Ethan Coen     265
Selling Your Script to Show Business     267
Before You Send It: Premarketing Considerations     269
Understanding the "Biz" in Showbiz     270
Getting to know the players: The Hollywood hierarchy     270
Getting to know the buyers: The studio hierarchy     271
Getting a "grip": Hollywood jargon     273
Preparing Yourself for the Biz     275
Putting on a happy face: The art of attitude     275
Organizing your records     276
Acquiring the right information     278
Setting personal expectations     281
Polishing the Copy You Send     282
A last-minute checklist     282
Front-page news     284
Protecting Your Work     285
The Library of Congress     285
The Writer's Guild of America     285
The "poor-man's copyright"     286
Getting Your Screenplay Noticed     287
Designing Your Own Package     287
Highlighting the universal      288
Gaining the competitive edge     290
Considering the reader     290
Preparing to Pitch     292
The teaser pitch     292
The story pitch     293
Finding an Agent     294
Approaching an Agent     296
Small versus large: Does size matter?     297
The query letter     298
The "cold call" and the "drop in"     301
Pitching Your Script without an Agent     302
What to Do When They Say Yes     304
Meeting with an agent     304
Meeting with executives     305
Looking Ahead: Upon Achieving Success     306
A Final Note     307
The Part of Tens     309
Ten Screenwriters You Should Know     311
William Goldman     311
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala     312
Alan Ball     313
Nora Ephron     314
John Logan     315
Sofia Coppola     316
Wes Anderson     317
Charlie Kaufman     318
Christopher Nolan     319
Diablo Cody     320
Ten Screenwriting Myths     321
I Have to Live in Los Angeles to Write Screenplays     321
You Have to Go to School to Learn How to Write     322
Screenwriting Is Entertainment; It's Not a Real Profession     323
If You've Never Written Before, It's Too Late to Start Now     323
Writing Is a Lonely Profession     323
Hollywood Has No Ethics; It'll Ruin the Integrity of My Script     324
It's Not What You Know; It's Who You Know That Matters     325
I Have Too Many Obligations to Be a Writer     325
You're Only as Successful as the Last Screenplay You Sold     326
I'm Not Talented Enough to Be a Writer     327
Index     329