Cut The Crap And Write That Damn Screenplay! [Paperback]

Nicholas Iandolo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2011

Cut The Crap and WRITE THAT DAMN SCREENPLAY! is a concise no BS book on screenwriting. Written to help new writers get past their own fears and self-consciousness so they can compose their first script while dispensing with methods that make writers do everything but write.

This book screams directly into the writer's soul and gets them off their lazy butts to put words on the page.

No more problems or excuses, only solutions and getting it done!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A helpful book." --David Trottier, The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script

"Stop reading this endorsement and go get this book! No other book on the market will motivate you the way this one does." --Anthony Ambrosino, Director, Sleather

From the Back Cover

What you hold in your hands are the answers to all of life's questions...

Well, maybe not.

But what this book is all about is getting you off your lazy ass to finally write that script you've been bitchin' about for years.

Now I'm not promising you that you're gonna write the next Academy Award-winning screenplay, or that you're gonna make millions from following my advice, or that you're gonna break into the movie business after reading this.

No, I'm not promising you jack shit except for one thing: if you listen to me, cut the crap, and have the guts, you'll write that damn screenplay!

Here's what I'm gonna teach you:
* What are the five types of Bullshit Writers and how not to be one of them
* How to bend the rules of genre to your will
* How to craft a powerhouse logline and a kick-ass title that will focus your writing before you write the script!
* The difference between badass character archetypes and cheap-ass character stereotypes--and how to create a memorable cadre of characters
* The Three Ps of character development
* The Three Cs of story structure
* The Three Ss of action and dialogue
* A cutting the crap practical THREE-Stage approach to writing that first draft
* How to solve a plethora of screenwriting problems
And finally, a nice little pep talk that oughta get you to stop farting around and put you in front of that keyboard doing what you should be doing right now: writing!

So, if you haven't started writing your screenplay by the time you finish reading the back cover of this book, you're already behind the eight ball.

Get to it!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: lulu.com (March 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0557537282
• ISBN-13: 978-0557537280
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greetings Fellow Writers!

Alfredo in Guiseppe Verdi's 'La Traviata' once sang that love was both pain and delight. So is writing!

But writing is my passion and no amount of pain can ever overshadow the delight it gives me.

My recent book 'Cut The Crap and WRITE THAT DAMN SCREENPLAY!' available here on Amazon is a testament to that unassailable truth.

I have appeared at various literary and film industry venues in Massachusetts and Rhode Island doing book signings, speaking engagements, screenwriting classes, and specialty writing workshops.

I have also appeared on the Money Matters Midday Show with June Knight on AM 1130 and the Mike Messier Show (RI television).

I will be a guest exhibitor at the 2011 8th Annual Great American PitchFest in Burbank California, discussing my book and autographing copies.

I am also available for motivational speaking engagements and panel discussions, topics include:

* screenwriting for the creative soul and for the film industry
* following your passion regardless of industry or discipline
* creative writing for self-publication and social media
* writing for mass communications and business

I have authored eight screenplays (including a Boston-based romantic comedy called 'Opportunity Knockout'), three books, short stories, advertorials, press releases, newsletters, marketing and communications collateral, and multiple blogs.

I am also a travel writer for BeantownSocialite.com (readership of over 14,000 followers).

And I am a member of both the Rhode Island Film Collaborative and the New England Talent and Crew film industry organizations.

Find me on Facebook at: cutthecrapandwrite

Follow me on Twitter @cutcrapwrite


Cheers,
Nick

P.S. Look for my forthcoming book in Summer of 2011 titled 'Cut The Crap and FOLLOW YOUR PASSION!'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly unique voice, December 6, 2010

By 

D Bryant - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cut The Crap And Write That Damn Screenplay! (Paperback)

Over the years I have purchased many "how to" books on screenwriting and writing in general. All have something beneficial to share, techniques to follow, routines and good habits to establish, etc...
However this is the one book I have found that cuts to the most important issue for any writer; stop formulating and preparing, researching and outlining, and get to writing NOW!!!
"Cut the Crap" gives you what all those others won't, a firm kick in the pants. Despite itself, this book will make you want to put it down mid-read and put your butt in the chair and write. It will fire you up and get you going, helping you blow past things that have been holding you up in the past. The fear of not "writing correctly" stops many people from simply getting down to it. This book reminds you that all those worrisome things are well and good, but can be addressed in second drafts. What matters most is to get it in gear. Momentum will blast past blocks and turn mountains back to molehills. THIS is the attitude they should be instilling in young writers in college writing courses. Years would be saved in the launching of professional writing careers.
Perhaps the most valuable book on screenwriting I have ever read, simply because after a few pages, I was writing again. If you know any wannabe writers that hem and haw, stall and make excuses, this is the perfect gift to give them. They will thank you, manuscript in hand!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Use this approach to start your screenwriting adventure, April 5, 2011

By 

Mark T. Keller - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cut The Crap and WRITE THAT DAMN SCREENPLAY! (Kindle Edition)

I had the honor and pleasure of actually taking a class with Nicholas Iandolo. This book is where you should start in learning how to get a screenplay down on paper. Don't talk about it, don't say: "I'm gonna do this thing..." Just do it! I wrote an 89-page screenplay in 2 weeks because I have wanted to find a way to write a screenplay for years, now. I have read a few books on screenwriting, and they all make it sound so mysterious and impossible to conquer, that one is led to believe that it's not a doable project! It IS doable! Nick's book makes it doable and cuts through all the bs that everyone else layers on in thick gobs! Nick tells you: look, this is the straight and narrow of it. Start with these basics and write the thing! Don't worry about the other stuff because you can always go back to that later and polish it up! GET IT DOWN!!! If you REALLY want to write a screenplay, you have to have the motivation from within! Nick's book gives you that motivation! If you want to be more than just a talker or a wannabe, sit your butt on the chair right now and get to work! Buy Nick's book, read it, and follow his principles! I guarantee you, if you stick with it and persevere, you'll have a written screenplay! If you don't, then find something else to do because Nick's approach works and it's fullproof! There's no crap in it and there's nothing complicated about what it says! It's very straightforward! It's given me the start of a lifetime's worth of screenwriting and for that, I consider myself most fortunate and most blessed! After you've read Nick's book, then turn to McKee, Field, Snyder, and Trottier! You can't take on advanced concepts and techniques until you know and understand the basics and have used them through practice! I just finished with Nick's class and already, I'm starting work on screenplay number 2. Am I an expert? Hell, no, but I've got a start and I already have one screenplay under my belt; and that's 100% more than people who just talk about writing their "magnum opus"!

Where do you want to take your writing? Only you can answer that. If you're like me and you REALLY want to write a screenplay, then buy this book! It's worth more than its cost and if you stick with it and just do it, you, too, can realize your dreams of actually writing a screenplay! When you've actually gotten a completed first draft in front of you, you've won the lottery, and that's enough motivation to dive into script number 2!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets you energized and ready to write!, December 12, 2010

By 

Katlyn Tillman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cut The Crap And Write That Damn Screenplay! (Paperback)

I've been writing for awhile. I know all the formatting stuff and I know how to structure a screenplay. I know all about dialogue and action. About suspense and conflict. But I do have a hard time with keeping myself motivated, sometimes. I always say, "I'll write when I feel like it." Which normally means I'm writing about 3 months out of the year. I normally get alot of writing done in 3 months, because I'm a fast writer. But I'm still not motivated the rest of the time. I've been unmotivated for awhile to finish one of my scripts and I started reading 'Cut the Crap and WRITE THAT DAMN SCREENPLAY! by Nicholas Iandolo' and by the time I finished the first page I wanted to get up and sit down at my computer and start writing. By page five, I WAS writing! Now, I tried about everything to get me motivated to finish that script and it didn't work. By page five I was working on that script. Almost every chapter in that book gave me motivation to write. It excited me. Now, alot of the specific writing terms Nicolas Iandolo uses in the book, I don't recongize. I'm more use to the specific hollywood terms, because I grew up learning only formatting and hollywood terms. But everything he says is true. It's a quick teacher of everything you need to get you typing those words, that later on you're going to shape and mold into perfection. If you need something to get you motivated or started writing. This book is it.