Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers (Now Write! Writing Guide Series) [Paperback]

Sherry Ellis (Author), Laurie Lamson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2011 | Series: Now Write! Writing Guide Series

An essential handbook featuring never-before-published writing exercises from the acclaimed screenwriters of Raging Bull, Ali, Terminator 2, Fame, Groundhog Day, Cape Fear, "Lost", "True Blood", "The Shield", and many other hit films and television shows.

Now Write! Screenwriting-the latest addition to the Now Write! writing guide series-brings together the acclaimed screenwriters of films like the Oscar-winning Raging Bull, Oscar- nominated Ali, era-defining blockbuster Terminator 2, musical classic Fame, hit series "Lost" "True Blood" and "The Shield," Groundhog Day, Cape Fear, Chicken Run, Reversal of Fortune, Before Sunrise, Mystic Pizza, Indecent Proposal, and many more, to teach the art of the story.

*Learn about why it is sometimes best to write what you don't know from Christina Kim ('Lost')

*Find out how Stephen Rivele (Ali, Nixon) reduces his screenplay ideas down to their most basic elements, and uses that as a writing guide

*Learn why you should focus on your character, not your plot, when digging yourself out of a plot home from Danny Rubin (Groundhog Day)

*Take tips from Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, The Spiderwick Chronicles) on how to give an inanimate object intense emotional significance

*Let Kim Krizan (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset) teach you how to stop your internal critic dead in his tracks

This lively and easy-to-read guide will motivate both aspiring and experienced screenwriters. No other screenwriting book offers advice and exercises from this many writers of successful, iconic films.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Editors Ellis and Lamson, whose Now Write! series has previously tackled fiction and nonfiction, delve into the world of screenwriting in a how-to packed with advice and exercises from working movie and television writers and other experts in the business. The concise, pointed essays, averaging three-to-four pages, offer tips on getting started, tackling structure, building characters, and what to do with the script when it’s done, followed by exercises intended to jump-start the writing process. Lost scribe Christina Kim urges writers to go beyond what they know through firsthand research. German film writer Beth Serlin shows readers how to pump up the action through verb choice. Legendary screenwriting guru Syd Field offers advice on how to make characters well rounded. Script consultant Bill Lundy breaks down the all-important log line to show writers how to summarize their screenplays in one sentence. Packed with invaluable knowledge and tips, this volume is essential reading for any aspiring screenwriter. --Kristine Huntley

About the Author

Sherry Ellis is the editor of NOW WRITE! Fiction Writing Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers and NOW WRITE! NONFICTION, as well as a personal writing coach. Her author interviews have appeared in the Kenyon Review, The Writer’s Chronicle, Glimmer Train, and AGNI, as well as other literary and arts magazines. She lives in Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; Original edition (January 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585428515
• ISBN-13: 978-1585428519
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended and helpful collection of essays and exercises., January 13, 2011

By 

Divariffic - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers (Now Write! Writing Guide Series) (Paperback)

Now Write! Screenwriting is an excellent collection of essays and writing exercises by a wide array of writing professionals compiled by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson. This well-structured book offers very practical solutions to almost any writing crisis that could arise. All of the contributors are working writers who have been in the trenches themselves and therefore, understand the many challenges of writing and the creative process. While this book is geared to the screenwriter, I believe any writer could benefit from the advice given. What I most enjoy is that it's a book that be picked up and randomly opened for pearls of wisdom and encouragement without having to be committed to a long read or one point of view. It's there for when you need a small boost or to just get the juices flowing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST FOR A WRITER'S LIBRARY, September 21, 2011

By 

DeeDee - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers (Now Write! Writing Guide Series) (Paperback)

If you're a screenwriter, this book is one that should be in your library. It's an amazing compilation of advice from working and successful writers as well as respected instructors - including Richard Walter one of my idols. It's a breeze read and if you take the advice to heart and mind, you will definitely improve as a writer.

5.0 out of 5 stars A bible of information for screenwriters, June 17, 2011

By 

Monette L. Bebow Reinhard "author of Felling ... (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers (Now Write! Writing Guide Series) (Paperback)

I highly recommend this. You won't want to try all the exercises included here, but there's certainly enough to get you inspired and writing. I plan to read the whole thing and hang on to it for future reference.