The Complete Book of Scriptwriting [Hardcover]

J M Straczynski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0898795125 | ISBN-13: 978-0898795127 | Edition: Rev Sub

Here, together for the first time, are the first three Freddy books that Walter Brooks wrote, in a single volume, in the order in which they first appeared. Freddy Goes to Florida (first published as TO and Again), alongside Freddy Goes to the North Pole (More To and Again), followed by the unforgettable Freddy the Detective -- each lavishly illustrated by Kurt Wiese. These are Walter Brooks's first forays into the world of Freddy and his Bean Farm, to which he would return over and over again during the next three decades to create a total of twenty-six Freddy books. With a foil-stamped jacket and color plates of the original jacket and endpaper art, The Freddy Anniversary Collection is the perfect thing for fans and initiates alike: a great starter package, and a great collector's edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Working writer/producer Straczynski has revised his 1981 text -- a standard in many institutions -- and brought it into the '90s, with updates on fluctuating markets, speculation about opportunities in CD-ROMs and anecdotage about Writers' Guild strikes that have occurred in the interval. A handy tome for the novice, since Straczynski covers much basic ground in key areas of writing for film, television, radio, animation and stage. Strongest in the movie/TV areas and also valuable for animation scribes, playwrights might note that their chapter is the thinnest; perhaps it was all apportioned according to what the various disciplines pay?

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; Rev Sub edition (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898795125
• ISBN-13: 978-0898795127
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J. Michael Staczynski was born in Paterson, NJ in 1954, from a lower-middle-class blue-collar family that moved 21 times in his first 18 years. He began writing in earnest and selling at the age of 17 and hasn't stopped since. He graduated San Diego State University with degrees in Psychology and Sociology.

As a journalist, he has written over 500 published articles for such periodicals as The Los Anglees Times, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Penthouse, Writer's Digest, San Diego Magazine, the San Diego and Los Angeles Reader and TIME, Inc. He has also published numerous short stories in Amazing Science Fiction Magazine, Pulphouse, and various anthologies.

As a television writer and producer, he has written over 200 produced episodes, including workj on The New Twilight Zone, Nightmare Classics and Murder She Wrote. He also wrote, created and produced the series Babylon 5, Crusade and Jeremiah.

Moving from TV to film, he wrote Changeling (directed by Clint Eastwood), Ninja Assassin (produced by the Wachowskis), provided the story for Thor (directed by Kenneth Branagh), wrote Underworld 4 (starring Kate Beckinsale), and has written numerous other films that are currently slated for production.

He has won the Hugo Award (twice), the Saturn Award, the Eisner Award, the Inkpot Lifetime Achievement Award, the E Pluribus Unum Award from the American Cinema Foundation, the Space Frontier Foundation award, the Ray Bradbury Award, the Christopher Award, and over a dozen others.

He was also nominated for a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for his screenplay for Changeling.

He writes ten hours a day, every day, except for his birthday, New Year's Day and Christmas Day.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Writer's Bible..., July 9, 1999

By 

Postmodern Day Hero (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (Hardcover)

I will spare You the same comments as the other reviews, as we are all in agreement that this book is incredible. There is a business that any writer must deal with, and JMS tells You how to go about it. Without this knowledge, You will *never* get hired. Also, JMS challenges the reader to not simply go around telling others, "I'm a writer." Rather, he wants You to have discipline and write whenever You have a moment's time to do so. There are a lot of talkers, and then there are those who succeed by hard work, discipline, an understanding of how the business works, and perseverance. I would highly endorse this book over other books that are simply made to take Your money, not unlike many of those scam writers' workshops who tell You the winning "formula" to a great work. JMS has paid his dues, written hundreds of scripts, and has worked as an Executive Producer for many successful shows. So please don't waste Your money on a fly by night writer who has never succeeded herself, but listen to the honesty and sincerity of a man who wrote this book under the premise that he wished he had had this book when he started. Best of luck to You all.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Purpose, August 19, 2002

By 

Jamie Jeffords (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (Paperback)

Scriptwriting is a great all purpose review of both the creative and business sides of writing for TV, movies, animation, radio drama, and the stage. Straczynski is the perfect authority to write on these subjects, having garnered success in all those fields.

The book is a how to manual, with plenty of examples to follow. It also traces out the business side of selling what you write. Straczynski writes in a personable style, but pulls no punches. He helps a potentional writer separate his dreams from reality without crushing one's ambition. This book has been used in colleges as a textbook and upon reading it, yu'll see why. It's a handy reference tool that I have thumbed back through scores of times over the last 3 years. I give it the highest praise. It should be the starting point for anyone serious about writing in the performing arts.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Michael Straczysnki delievers a gem!, February 1, 2005

By 

R. Ferguson (01) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (Paperback)

The Complete Book of Scriptwriting by J. Michael Straczynski

Well, I think we all know of Michael Straczynski's accomplishments if not I will name one of his projects Babylon 5 and leave it at that. With that being said, The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is an excellent book for any scriptwriter. In The Complete Book of Scriptwriting Michael Straczynski touches on every genre of scriptwriting. From TV and movie writing all the way down to stage and radio. Now The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is not really a how to guide for writing. The Complete Book of Scriptwriting touches on these aspects such as a scripts length, margin settings, subtext and dialog. However, The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is more so a guide to the business of writing written by a writer who was also a TV producer. So Michael Straczynski provides you with a wealth of information from an artistic and business point of view, you cannot go wrong there. With great efforts he takes you through the step-by-step process of pitching a script. Need a way to land you an agent well, a few ideas are presented in this book. How about when to register with the WGA, it is all in there. Not only does Michael Straczynski take the time to go through each genre of scriptwriting he provides in rich detail the history of each medium of scriptwriting as well as the future of that medium. If you take your time with the history of the medium of scriptwriting that you are trying to write for you will have a better understanding of how that medium works and all the little quirks that you may overlook in your zeal to become the next great scriptwriter.

Again The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is not really a how to guide to writing it is a guide to understanding the business of scriptwriting. Which includes everything from how to write, how to find an agent, how to deliver a pitch, how to understand the way a network, studio lot and even a producer go about in the process of dealing with writers. Do not get me wrong The Complete Book of Scriptwriting does provide a great deal of information on how to write a script but that is not this books single sole purpose. All in all if you are serious about being a professional scriptwriter this BOOK IS A MUST HAVE. You will refer to it a lot especially when you are ready to start dealing with the business aspects of scriptwriting...