Writing a Screenplay

The recent explosion of unsolicited material written for the world's greatest, sexiest entertainment medium has largely produced a mountain a wasted paper.  Truth is, the many people who write from scratch, no mater how talented, have more chance of winning the lottery than creating an excellent script.  The few who achieve success do so because they have shed the blood, sweat and tears necessary to master the elaborate art and craft of screenwriting.

This book explodes the myth that a screenplay is the easiest literary form to master, navigates a relatively painless path through the screenwriting labyrinth, and offers an easy to digest step-by-step guide to writing a script from inception to completion.

What's in it?  The main areas covered are: Motivation & Ideas; Research & Development; Genre; Story & Plot; Synopses; Outlines & Treatments; Drafts; and Marketing.  There's also a glossary of commonly-used jargon to further demystify the process, and a large list of books, magazines, organizations and websites what will help you develop your craft.

John Costello is a Film and Media Studies lecturer and teaches Screenwriting classes at several Midlands universities.  He is the author of the Pocket Essentials on David Cronenberg and Science Fiction Films.