Customer Reviews

The Secrets Of Action Screenwriting

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This book isn't a broad examination of story structure like you find in Robert McKee's "Story," or an abstract analysis of archetypes and forms like in "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler (both excellent books in their own right). Instead, Bill Martell bypasses the forest and takes you straight to the trees to explain the nuts and bolts of storytelling through screenplays.

The book's title sells itself a bit short; this isn't just a book about writing screenplays for what are traditionally considered action genres. While the information is certainly presented in the context of action films, much of it would be just as applicable to, say, romantic comedies or period dramas. Topics covered include sidekicks, love interests, building suspense, plot twists and reversals, all of which have broader application than just "action" films.

Martell knows his subject well and has studied hundreds of movies to figure out what works on film and why. He frequently uses examples from specific movies-often his own-to help drive home his points. And he doesn't pull any punches in pointing out where some films go wrong.

While explaining the common storytelling devices used in film, Martell draws on his real-world experience as a screenwriter to help you appreciate the perspective of producers, directors and actors who might read your script. These are obviously important considerations if you ever hope to see your baby on the big screen.

Somewhat surprising is the number of typographical errors in this book, which easily could have been avoided by a careful review of the manuscript. But it's a minor distraction from an otherwise excellent book.

I'm a big fan of Tony Robbins. Yeah, the infomercial guy. One thing that Tony teaches is that if you want to learn how to do something, find an expert and model them. Learn what they do, how they do it, and learn those exact same habits, actions and ways of thinking.
With over seventeen sold screenplays, Bill Martell is an excellent choice for you to learn action screenwriting from. He's sold over seventeen scripts! How many screenplays have Syd Field, Robert McKee, Linda Seger, Michael Hauge and John Truby sold recently? Not a hell of a lot, because they are too busy raking money in, hand over fist, by doing nothing but teaching arcane, over intellectualized and just plain weird ways to write screenplays.
Martell breaks it down to the basics, baby. Every page, I'm having an 'Ah Ha!' moment. I break out the highlighter, I write the nugget of information down, for use in my own scripts.
Do yourself a favor and get this book. It's small, it's succinct and it's learning from a guy who's a working, selling screenwriter.
Deal with the facts of the business and learn how to write selling screenplays; get Bill Martell's book today.

- William Mize, Shamus Award nominee, creator of the Denton Ward and Monty Crocetti mystery series.

As of January 2002, Amazon lists this book as not available (or out of print). This is not the case, you can buy this book directly from Bill by going to his website: scriptsecrets (I left off the triple W and dot NET, as Amazon doesn't allow URLs as a policy)

Most of the screenplay books you find are written by people with a background related (sometimes not very closly) to the movie trade. THIS book is written by a man with 17 produced screenplays to his credit. How many other authors can say that? This book doesn't waste your time telling you the format you've already read about 15 how to books on. It cuts straight to the nuts and bolts of actually writing the screenplay itself. This "nuts and bolts" book is a must read for any serious screenwriter regardless of the genre of your script. The author also has a website where you can receive free tips daily...

There is a plethora of fairly decent screenwriting books available, but the great screenwriting books can be counted on one hand. "The Secrets of Action Screenwriting" definitely should be included in the count of great books. Recently, while watching the HBO series Green Light Project, I couldn't help thinking that many of the difficulties the neophyte film director experienced could have been avoided if he had read this book. Rarely does a screenwriting book handle the essential elements of structure and production considerations so adeptly as this book does. The real secret provided in this book is how to give a producer more bang for his buck in both production and story. If you are serious about writing and selling your screenplay, then this is definitely a book you must have in your hands.

...because he's a working writer who has over a dozen produced credits. They may not be A-list movies, but they're over at your local video store.

Unlike the McKee and Field books, Martell gives you real tools to structure your story, talks about what makes for great character moments ("Hamlet speeches"), how inanimate objects can reveal something about your protagonist (if you go to UCLA Film School they call it "correlative objectives" -- something that physically embodies what your character is struggling with throughout the story) and how to keep things moving in your script. This is a no-BS guide to screenwriting -- even if you're not into action movies, you'll find it highly valuable.

Get it.

This is a practical and necesssary tool as well as an invaluable road map to writing action films.I've been a successful screenwriter for over seven years and I owe much of my success to reading this book four years ago. Mr. Martell is an excellent coach and I can't recommend enough that anyone who wants to write action films needs to study this material. Its a very funny read and you can tell its written by a smart writer who is dedicated to watching far too many DVD's. He's a fan just like us. If you want to know all the tricks of this genre and some really cool tips on coming up with script ideas then get this book.

It's not just about writing for "action" films -- this book really helps with the real world tips and tricks to writing screenplays. Many books focus too much on theory (and theory is great when you hit a snag in your structure during a re-write) but Martell's book tells you what to look for during the outlining stage through to a final polish...

William Martell has forgotten more than most people will ever learn -- take heed and let him help you today.

Well, I have to say that I've read some other "well known" books on screenwriting and writing in general.....and often found myself dozing off before I got to whatever point the author was attempting to make. Consequently, I've never finished any of those books.

For a while I thought it was me. Perhaps my attention span has a limited capacity. Nope...that wasn't it. I eventually realized that the material in those other books was made overly complicated, droning on and on, losing me in a boring maze of words that ended up becoming dry as dust and just as hard to swallow.... AND! squashing my enthusiasm for writing at the same time. Those authors weren't telling a very interesting story about writing interesting stories.

Wait!....that is exactly the opposite of what I needed!

Luckily, I stumbled across Mr. William C. Martell's website. When he writes it's exactly like a conversation one would have in person while sitting across the table from him at a coffee shop. He's passionately chatting about writing and has anticipated all your questions plus the ones you didn't think to ask, so all you have to do is listen. His particular method of instruction is casual, interesting, positive and logical, using all kinds of movies you've probably seen to demonstrate various points. He's a guy who's in the tough business of screenwriting, speaking truths about the tough business of screenwriting who obviously enjoys helping others while also generating fresh excitement about the entire writing process! Exactly what I need!!!

His book, THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING, will quickly assist any writer regardless of experience or genre. It's more than a guide, it's also a springboard for inspiration. I highly recommend this book....and by the way....THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING is the main reason I finally bought a Kindle.

As soon as I started working with this book (this morning) I found it useful. Even though I am working on a novel, I understand that in today's visual world information on writing screenplays is applicable. I find myself making notes for changes and additions to my novel as I read this useful text. In other words, it's excellent for tweaking. I am very excited because reading and taking notes has actually brought new scenes together. I've been working with a lot of writing books and I found this one to be immediately usable.