Customer Reviews

The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How would you like to have Ron Bass share his outlining process? or Eric Roth give you advice on how to make readers feel powerful emotions on the page? Or Nicholas Kazan reveal how he tackles the blank page? How about 14 highly successful writers all in one place? This is a gem of a book and the roster of writers Karl Iglesias has gathered for this book is impressive: Ron Bass, Eric Roth, Akiva Goldsman, Ed Solomon, Nicholas Kazan, Leslie Dixon, Scott Rosenberg, Gerald DiPego, Steven DeSouza, Tom Schulman, Michael Schiffer, Amy Holden Jones, Robin Swicord, and Jim Kouf. What's also impressive, and unique in my opinion, is that Mr. Iglesias has structured the book by topic, rather than by individual interview, which feels more like a symposium of habits, skills, invaluable advice, each outlined separately with comments from the panel of experts.

I highly recommend this book to any aspiring writer and all who are interested in the craft of writing for the screen. Having million-dollar screenwriter Ron Bass discuss his outlining process alone is worth more than the price of the book. Forget about shelling out $300 for a screenwriting seminar and go directly to the source: those who are doing it successfully and have agreed to share their wisdom with you.

I always find it frustrating when I go to Amazon and look at the reviews that are posted and find that they are at least 2 to 3 years old. So I decided to at least make a more up-to-date review.

First and foremost, this book is NOT a `How to Write a great Script' book. This book is about screenwriters and their knowledgeable insight on the practice we all know as Screenwriting. These established screenwriters ( Akiva Goldman: A Beautiful Mind, A Time to Kill, and the up coming The Da Vinci Code Steven E. de Souza: Die Hard, 48 Hours.) reference their past experience on what works, what does not work, and what habits you need to establish to have a successful career in the shark infested waters of Hollywood. Not sure how many hours you need to write day in day out? Thinking that you are the only one with a spouse and kids, fearing that you will not have enough time to write? Arrived at Hollywood lost with no plan of action on how to get your script read? Worried that you born yesterday and began sending inquiry letters to agents and producers? Fear of rejection (it is inevitable) from everyone? All these topics are discussed and more in this book.

This book is required reading for all serious screenwriters. I also suggest Breakfast with sharks by Michael Lent, The Art of Dramatic writing by Lajos Egri, Story by Robert Mckee, Making a good script Great by Linda Seger, and The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke A. Wharton.

Are you thinking of writing a screenplay? Then you could use the advice in this book. First of all, this is not a how-to book. It doesn't show you how to develop characters, or structure a story, or tell you how to write. What it does give you is information on the daily life and habits of professional screenwriters. One of the most important pieces of advice is to just write. Too often, a beginning screenwriter will spend years to write one script and then shop it around. This is a big mistake for several reasons. A movie producer is looking for someone who can work reliably at speed. If you've only written one script, they're going to be suspicious about your abilities. Another thing is that producers are very busy, so if you get one of them to finally read your script, it's going to be the first and last chance. Do you really want to show him your first script? It's trash to him. Would you send your first painting to an art gallery? Of course not, so you shouldn't do the same with screenwriting. You should have written 5 to 10 screenplays before you think of showing your work around. Most aspiring screenwriters don't want to put in this work, and it shows. If you write, you will get better. If you love writing, and you can apply yourself to your writing, then you can have a chance to work in Hollywood.

If you're anything like me, you're tired of reading book after book on how to write the winning screenplay. They all say the same thing because the fundamentals of story have been pretty much set by Aristotle in Poetics. The key is HOW to be the kind of screenwriter that's able to write the script that will set Hollywood on fire. And this where this new book comes in. There's nothing like it on the market, despite the fact that it's technically a set of interviews from 14 of the top screenwriters in Hollywood, and I'm talking A-list, CAA scribes, such as Ron Bass, Eric Roth, Leslie Dixon, Gerald DiPego, Akiva Goldsman, Niholas Kazan, and Scott Rosenberg to name a few! The uniqueness of this amazing book is the way it's structured. Instead of the traditional individual interview, the author has outlined 101 key habits, tips and skills with various screenwriters' comments under each one, reminding me of a panel of experts discussing a particular topic. Very helpful for me. My problem has always been discipline. After reading tons of books and going to seminars for years now, I know what to do, but how do I get myself to actually do it? No problem! I just flip to the chapter on discipline and read what the professionals are sharing with me on that frustrating issue. It's literally like having them as your mentors. And what aspiring writer wouldn't want to have this group of A-list writers as their mentors? Fourteen highly-successful screenwriters. 101 habits. The title says it all. If you're serious about a career as a screenwriter, get this book now. You won't be disappointed!

with those of the best in the business. Finally, I could see what I've been doing wrong all this time. This book is what I've been looking for forever. I'm now keeping it on my desk. When I'm stuck on something, I can easily access any topic and any top writer discussing the problem at hand. It's as if I had a Rolodex, where I can call up a highly successful writer and ask him or her to help me. Very practical.

If you want to learn how to write a script, you have plenty of books to choose from Field, McKee, Hauge, Seger, Hunter etc. Last time I checked, a search on screenwriting-related books yielded over 680 resuts! You gotta be kidding me! Anyone who's read even one book must know the rules by now, but how many know how to BE a screenwriter, especially a professional with the necessary skills to be a success in Hollywood? Check out this new book. It is literally about living the screenwriter's life, in the words of the top scribes in the biz. They share their habits, explore their writing environments and creative processes, and give us a glimpse of their daily passions and obsessions. It covers everything aspiring writers always wanted to know about what it's really like to be a screenwriter but never had the chance to ask a successful one... until now. A valuable addition to any writer's library of must-have books. Oh, and I almost forgot! There's a cool foreword by UCLA Professor Lew Hunter himself. Check it out... and "Write on! as he's so fond of saying.

A collection of ideas, practices and, like the title says, habits about writing from people who get well-paid to do it. The book is a confidence builder. It illustrates that when it comes to writing, there is no single way. Screenwriter A, for example, says that she always works from an outline. Screenwriter B says he never does. And they both tell you why their way works--for them. A broad range of topics is covered, everything from "Passion" to "Getting An Agent." This book is excellent for writers of every genre, from screenwriters to technical writers. Writing is writing, and for most of us, it's difficult. Owning this book is like being able to hang with a group of friends, all of whom are successful writers, and get advice on the literary questions or problems that ail you. A good subtitle for the book could be, "Relax. You Are Not Alone."

There are dozens of books with advice on how to write a screenplay ranging from great advice to blueprints for the humdrum. There aren't enough good books to keep you doing what you need to do to succeed. Yglesias method makes this a good book to dip into. And he doesn't hide contradictory opinions.

Better than coffee whether you need a lift on a day when your working or a kick in the keister on a day when you aren't

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iglesias at the Screenwriting Expo. He knows his craft, he loves the business. And he's brutally honest in conveying the realistic odds of breaking into Hollywood. While no one ever says it's easy, he can tell you just how hard. This book is a must read for any aspiring screenwriter. Interviewing some of the greatest screenwriters, they all are forthcoming in telling their own tales of struggle, achievement, success, and most of them, frustration.

This book may be geared toward all screenwriters, however it succeeds in leaps and bounds, by telling the realistic truth any up-and-coming screenwriter needs to hear. Too often people are putting together a script hoping to win the lotttery, sell it for mid-six figures, and not taking the time to understand that the money should never be the motivating factor of writing any script. And if that's your only motivation, you'll never succeed in making your dream come true. This book reminds those of us that do it for a different reason, what that reason is. It's the love of writing. Anything else, any other reason, is simply a waste of time and energy.

Mr. Iglesias lays it out in plain view, through interview after interview, just how much of an uphill battle it is get someone to simply give your script a look, and even then, chances of your selling it are slim. Nicholas Kazan once spoke at a seminar. He told them to go turn in their registration forms and go home. He then told them that if any of them seriously entertained that advice, they would never make it. It's all about challenge and it's all about sacrifice. This book will help you realize how important both of those things are.

This book is without a doubt an interesting read. As one who already writes (though not necessarily or exclusively screenplays), I like it because it illustrates beautifully how every writer's process, goals, and priorities are different and equally valid because it works for that individual writer. This is a far cry from the endless and often contradictory "must-do's" in other writing books. What you find in this book is the amazing diversity of how writers write. I've seen similar books that interview novelists but this is far more entertaining, better organized and is chunked in digestable pieces.