In the tradition of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, this screenwriter's guide covers writing specific to the film and television industry as well as general writing advice - truly an "Essential Guide" for the screenwriting process.

In the tradition of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, this essential reference offers welcome help for the thousands of screenwriters who have discovered that putting together a successful screenplay is much harder than it seems.

In The Tools of screenwriting, the authors illuminate the essential elements of cinematic storytelling. These elements are guideposts for the aspiring screenwriter, and they can be used in different ways to accomplish a variety of ends. Questions of dramatic structure, plot, dialogue, character development, setting, imagery, and other crucial topics are discussed as they apply to the special art of filmmaking.

How to design and format manuscripts to impress any film school professor, story editor, agent, producer or studio executive.

Veteran script consultant Jill Chamberlain discovered in her work that an astounding 99 percent of first-time screenwriters don’t know how to tell a story. These writers may know how to format a script, write snappy dialogue, and set a scene. They may have interesting characters and perhaps some clever plot devices. But, invariably, while they may have the kernel of a good idea for a screenplay, they fail to tell a story. What the 99 percent do instead is present a situation. In order to explain the difference, Chamberlain created the Nutshell Technique, a method whereby writers identify eight dynamic, interconnected elements that are required to successfully tell a story. Now, for the first time, Chamberlain presents her unique method in book form with The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting. Using easy-to-follow diagrams (“nutshells”), she thoroughly explains how the Nutshell Technique can make or break a film script. Chamberlain takes readers step-by-step through thirty classic and contemporary movies, showing how such dissimilar screenplays as Casablanca, Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Silver Linings Playbook, and Argo all have the same system working behind the scenes, and she teaches readers exactly how to apply these principles to their own screenwriting. Learn the Nutshell Technique, and you’ll discover how to turn a mere situation into a truly compelling screenplay story.

Multiple Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Erik Bork (HBO's BAND OF BROTHERS) presents the seven fundamental characteristics of a great story in any medium. Writers tend to jump into the writing too quickly, without knowing they have a flawed central idea. This book is all about ensuring that doesn't happen!

Providing examples from well-known movies, Field explains the structural and stylistic elements as well as writing techniques basic to the creation of a successful film script.

In recent years, the world of animation has expanded far beyond the Saturday morning cartoons that generations of Americans grew up watching. Recent years have seen a boom in animation—hit prime-time television series, blockbuster cutting-edge digitally animated features, conventional animation. The expanding market is luring writers who have an eye toward the future and an eagerness to work in a medium where the only limit is the depth on one’s imagination. With step-by-step instructions and the insights of a seasoned veteran, award-winning animation writer Jeffrey Scott details the process of developing even the vaguest of ideas into a fully realized animation script. He details every stop on the road from inspiration to presentation, with sections on premises, outlines, treatments, description, and dialogue, and much more.

The New Elements of Standard Screenplay Format is a simplified guide to the rules and uses of standard screenplay format in the computer age. After years of complaints from script readers about the abysmal format of screenplays and hundreds of conflicting books, websites, and articles of what format is, here, finally, is a definitive work on the reason why format exists and how it can be used to improve both the screenplay and the connection between writer and production. While screenplay format has not changed much since the 1930'S, the word processor and digital production breakdown software have created new challenges for the 21st century screenwriter. Format should make the script mesh seamlessly into digital production software, which only looks for correct format. Without correct format, script readers, producers, and film crews may not believe the script is professional or producible or that the writer is someone to bring onto the set. Screenplay format was developed by the film industry to better insure the work of a screenwriter would be accurately and effectively translated to film. This book simplifies these rules for the writer and explains their purpose and uses. It also weeds out those format elements which annoy readers and hinder the work of A.D.s and P.M.s prepping a script for production.

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