Customer Reviews

Script Magic : Subconscious Techniques to Conquer Writer's Block

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Hi, I'm a screenwriter, story consultant, and former studio executive and I have found Script Magic helpful and entertaining. I'm at a place in my writing where I need lots of creative stimulus and the exercises and the breezy writing style were right for me. Sometimes you have to trick yourself into avoiding cliches or into opening up the deeper, truer sources of good work, and the book was good at giving some concrete ways to do that. This will become a classic for screenwriters but the creative way of thinking about writing will be useful for any form of storytelling. There's also a lot of practical info about the business end and some common sense about how you integrate writing into your life. It's worth reading just to shake yourself up!

There's a truck load of books out there that deal with the nuts and bolts of writing: editing, plotting, grammar. This book is about creativity, about those mysterious leaps the right brain makes to come up with a good story, the kind of story that makes readers turn the pages. The exercises in this book REALLY work: mind mapping completely changed the way I approach major characters. It really helps me get in touch with the character's history, and it works much better than a dry biographical approach. I'd recommend this book to anyone serious about their writing, not just screen writers.

As the writer of several award-winning screenplays, I try to devour every screenplay book that comes on the market. Unfortunately, too many books on screenwriting concern themselves with format and structure. Well, geez, there are computer programs that can do that for you now. When I read Script Magic, I said to myself, "Finally! Someone GETS it! A book that helps me be CREATIVE, which is the reason I got into the crazy mess in the first place!" Buy this book, and start enjoying life again!

"Script Magic" is an amazingly fun and easy way to let your creativity run free. After reading and trying Marisa D'Vari's techniques you'll be chomping at the bit to put pen to paper or fingers on keys. I recently sold a screenplay and became a member of the Writers Guild. I wish I had this book a year ago, I'd have probably sold three by now. You'll never think about writing the same way again.

Although I've been writing professionally for 19 years, screenplays are virgin territory for me. D'Vari demystifies the process of writing a Hollywood-worthy screenplay so that anyone can get started right away. Bonuses: Lots of creativity exercises and a nice overview of what producers and screen stars are looking for.

With tools like Script Magic anyone who has the determination to get their story down can become a Hollywood writer to be taken seriously. Marisa guides us over those hurdles every writer faces and is a positive influence on geting your creative juices flowing. Get the book and start shopping for an agent.

I bought the book because of the other reviews here. The book exceeded my expectations. Although there are some places where this book, subtitled "Subconscious Techniques to Conquer Writer's Block," were too touchy-feely, the other 95 per cent of the book really delivered practical advice.

I liked the author's recommendations for keeping a "Magic Book," a place to store all your critical creative work on your target writing. Although most of the author's examples reference stories for TV and movies, her recommendations really fit nearly any type of creative writing. The author tells you about the contents of the Magic Book and teaches you many ways to add to this repository of creative thinking.

This book allows you to organize and focus your creative thinking directly onto your story.

Unfortunately, there are too many techniques to list here. The author is particularly good on finding and developing initial story ideas.

Even though the book is targeted to screenwriting, I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to write creatively.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

D'Vari's book offers excellent techniques to jump start one's creativity. She has spent years in Hollywood and her lessons, as well as her examples, are rooted in realism. The film examples (Fatal Attraction, Pretty Woman) represent some of Hollywood's greatest hits and deserve to be taught.

This book is a treasure chest full of great and exiting ways to unleash creativity and make great scripts. This book has helped me in many ways and has had a strong impact on how I look at writing. I do object, however, to the examples of other films used to back up what is being taught. These examples leave a bad tast in my mouth because they deal with many ungodly, immoral issues that should not be mentioned at all. The film industry is a powerful force in our nation. By filling it with immoral acts what do you think will be the result? These films should never be used for examples, be wary! This book has a great lesson but I do think the examples could have been different.