Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade [Paperback]

William Froug (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1992

One of the most respected screenwriting teachers distills his many years of teaching at USC and UCLA into an insightful and witty primer that is both fresh and timeless. Froug does not rehash the time-worn formulas promoted in most other screenwriting books. Instead, he presents a practical approach to following one's own muse. Abundant examples from numerous films, this popular book will take the reader from a first urge to write through the completion of a well-wrought script.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Froug

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Silman-James Press; Revised edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879505134
• ISBN-13: 978-1879505131
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #714,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade - Thumbs Up, December 8, 1999

By 

Nelson (San Francisco,CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade (Paperback)

The book was given to me as a gift 4 years ago. Since that time, I have written numerous screenplays and have found some success with it. This book is a book that I continue to use as a reference on almost every script I write. This book doesn't break down the basics for the novice screenwriter, but gives an overview of the writing process -- things that you might have forgotten as you are engrossed in a rewrite. I have found Mr. Froug's book to have been extremely helpful and his attitude on screenwriting and life refreshing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight Talk - Pragmatic Advice, January 25, 2001

By 

Robert Graves (Thompson Station, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade (Paperback)

I've read about a dozen scriptwriting books and this was in many ways the best of the bunch.

Froug has taught several of today's top-paid screenwriters. His methods are time-tested and proven effective. Many myths were dispelled in this book, and I found that it contained a great deal of very practical tips that other books simply didn't deal with. For example, how do you know if your script is boring? Will it get ripped-off? How do I keep from losing the "fire" for writing my script? These questions and many others are answered in the book.

One of the best things about "Tricks of the Trade" is the way in which it strikes a balance between structure and "feel" in your writing. Froug isn't shy about questioning the rigid formulaic methods which Syd Field teaches. While acknowledging that a reasonable structure *is* important, he states that it is far more important to write from the heart. This is one of the first screenwriting books I've seen do this - to actually tell you that Act I doesn't have to end on page 25, that there musn't be a certain event on page 45, etc. While agreeing that certain elements need to be present to create a good, solid story, Froug boldly teaches us to write from out heart first.

I would recommend reading "How to Write a Movie in 21 Days" as a companion to this. It is sort of an opposite approach, being very formulaic, but once you have that perspective then you can read Froug's book and learn about the importance of the "feel" in your writing.

Lastly, what you'll find inside the covers...

- the process of writing, from conception to final draft - creating a solid story - writing powerful dialog - finding ideas - finding an agent/producer - creating a strong protagonist - much, much more

Enjoy, and happy writing!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good - but others are better, April 2, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade (Paperback)

Summary: Buy one of the other "how to screenwrite" books first, and come back to this to round out the holes.

UCLA entertainment professor Froug has taught many of the top screenwriter's in Hollywood and has gotten some of his own work on to the big screen, so he's definitely worth listening to.

One of his main points is that you've got to have a structure for what you're writing about, but not too much structure because that kills the innovation and passion in it. Unfortunately, his book follows that advice and itself has some structure but not enough to make it both comprehensive and informative.

He calls it "tricks of the trade" and there's a good reason: it's not laid out to systematically teach you how to write a screenplay. It really is more ad hoc advice on writing screenplays. But I will say it's really good ad hoc advice. If you can get past Froug's slightly arrogant, pompous tone.

As someone who is a novice at screenwriting, I found a Charles Deemer's "Screenwrite" to be better at laying out a good structure for how to think about the main elements that go into writing a good screenplay. Christopher Keane's "How to write a selling screenplay' was also better, but stuck more closely to the formulaic 3-act structure and Hero's journey paradigm.

But all three books basically convey the same core message, just with a bit of a different spin. I've read reviews of lots of the screenwriting books now, and it seems like they all say kinda the same thing.