by Syd Field (Author)
All writing is rewriting. But what do you change, and how do you change it? All screenplays have problems. They happened to Die Hard: With a Vengeance and Broken Arrow-and didn't get fixed, leaving the films flawed. They nearly shelved Platoon-until Oliver Stone rewrote the first ten pages and created a classic. They happen to every screenwriter. But good writers see their problems as a springboard to creativity. Now bestselling author Syd Field, who works on over 1,000 screenplays a year, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make movies brilliant-secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success...or even Cannes. Learn how to:
-Understand what makes great stories work
-Make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using
Thelma & Louise and
Dances With Wolves as models
-Use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight
-Make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does
-Recover when you hit the "wall"-and overcome writer's block forever
Front Jacket
All writing is rewriting. But what do you change, and how do you change it? All screenplays have problems. They happened to "Die Hard: With a Vengeance and "Broken Arrow-and didn't get fixed, leaving the films flawed. They nearly shelved "Platoon-until Oliver Stone rewrote the first ten pages and created a classic. They happen to every screenwriter. But good writers see their problems as a springboard to creativity. Now bestselling author Syd Field, who works on over 1,000 screenplays a year, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make movies brilliant-secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success...or even Cannes. Learn how to:
Understand what makes great stories work
Make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using "Thelma & Louise and "Dances With Wolves as models
Use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight
Make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does
Recover when you hit the "wall"-and overcome writer's block forever
Back Jacket
Now bestselling author Syd Field, who works on over 1,000 screenplays a year, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make movies brilliant - secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success...or even Cannes. Learn how to understand what makes great stories work; make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using Thelma & Louise and Dances With Wolves as models; use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight; make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does; and recover when you hit the "wall" - and overcome writer's block forever.
Author Biography
Syd Field (1935-2013), the internationally renowned "guru of screenwriting," was the author of eight bestselling books on the subject, including Screenplay, published in twenty-three languages and used in hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide and around the world. He was inducted into the Final Draft Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame of the American Screenwriting Association. He was also a special consultant to the Film Preservation Project for the Getty Center.
Number of Pages: 384
Dimensions: 1.04 x 7.99 x 5.25 IN
Illustrated: Yes
Publication Date: February 17, 1998