How to Write a Selling Screenplay [Paperback]

Christopher Keane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 1998

Christopher Keane has spent 20 years in the business, learning the truths--and the tricks--of writing a selling screenplay. In How to Write a Selling Screenplay, he takes writers through the entire process, from developing a story to finding the best agent. Using an annotated version of an often-optioned screenplay of his own, and citing examples from movies ranging from Casablanca and Lethal Weapon to Sling Blade and The English Patient, he discusses how to create three-dimensional characters, find a compelling story, build an airtight plot structure, fine-tune dialogue, and much more. Keane's tips on the difference between writing for film and television, as well as his advice on dealing with Hollywood movers and shakers, make this an essential companion for people writing their first--or their fortieth--screenplay.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

There are a lot of fine "how to write a screenplay" titles out and about, but what makes Keane's How To Write a Selling Screenplay unique is the examination on a step-by-step basis of a screenplay, The Crossing, that the author wrote. The teacher/pupil-type exchange, as you closely examine the screenplay, reads almost as if you were asking pertinent questions in class at just the right moments. Keane discusses each screenwriting point (opening sequence, inciting incident, plot point #1, etc.) as it occurs in his screenplay. This makes for twice the fun as you learn solid screenwriting tactics and get to read a thrilling story to boot! Wilson's Inside Hollywood is an eclectic sampling of Tinseltown, never too much information, never quite enough, but a perfect starting point for anyone interested in the motion picture industry. This survival guide to the biz also comes in a format unlike anything this reviewer has ever seen before. Where else will you find the history of Hollywood, an overview of the movie and television industries, and an examination of various film-related job titles, salaries, etc., while taking a quick look at the city of Los Angeles itself? Both books are well written and are essential for strengthening your movie-writing collection.?Marty D. Evensvold, Magnolia Branch Lib., TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Christopher Keane has spent 20 years in the business, learning the truths--and the tricks--of writing a selling screenplay. In How to Write a Selling Screenplay, he takes writers through the entire process, from developing a story to finding the best agent. Using an annotated version of an often-optioned screenplay of his own, and citing examples from movies ranging from Casablanca and Lethal Weapon to Sling Blade and The English Patient, he discusses how to create three-dimensional characters, find a compelling story, build an airtight plot structure, fine-tune dialogue, and much more. Keane's tips on the difference between writing for film and television, as well as his advice on dealing with Hollywood movers and shakers, make this an essential companion for people writing their first--or their fortieth--screenplay.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (April 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852838612
• ISBN-13: 978-1852838614
• ASIN: 0767900715
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short on Namedropping, Long on Practical, Exemplified Advice, November 8, 2001

By 

D C Hall (Dollar, Clackmannanshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Selling Screenplay (Paperback)

There are so many books on screenwriting already in existence that the real question any reviewer must address when another one comes along is: if you could only afford to buy one of them, why should you buy this one and save the others for any book tokens you might receive at Christmas? The title of this review forms the basis of my answer to that question.

Chris Keane has made his living as a professional writer for decades, focusing mostly on novels and screenplays. His success has brought him many offers of teaching posts, and indeed, he spends a considerable part of each year teaching at Emerson, where he is an Associate Professor, and at the International Film and Television Workshops in Maine. All this makes him actuely aware of the nitty-gritty needs of both the fledgling screenwriter and the writer who has been over the course more than once, but who needs to re-learn key lessons. These lessons are so key that for much of the first part of the book, one feels like one is directing a question and answer session, rather than having questions answered in which one might possibly be interested. From the question of work habits to how to generate ideas, and what to do with them once you have them, through to characterisation, dialogue, and the scene as the nucleus of the screenplay, Keane is both judicious and generous with his hard-won wisdom.

The second half of the book puts theory into practice. It consists of the full text of Keane's screenplay 'The Crossing', with honest, detached critical commentary at the end of each scene or section. This allows the reader to see exactly what Keane is talking about in the first half of the book, to experience the emotion that his own work needs to generate, to feel for the characters, and then, with Keane's assistance, to stop and reflect on why he feels as he does. In the hands of a writer with a bigger ego but less talent, this method might well have had the reader reaching for the sick bag after only a few pages, but it works wonderfully here, and it seems to me that anyone wishing a career in screenwriting could not wish for clearer, more genuine exemplification.

A final point on this structural feature of Keane's indispensable book. Something else the inclusion of this constantly optioned but not yet produced screenplay teaches the would-be screenwriter is how tough his desired career can be, that he could write a screenplay as good as Keane's and still wait a long, long time to see it on the big screen, if indeed he ever does.

Other books on screenwriting claim to 'make it easy'. Keane's puts the emphasis exactly where it should be: on the work.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good solid foundation, January 4, 2000

By 

Frank Cunat - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Selling Screenplay (Paperback)

This is a clearly written, easily read book that distills lessons derived from the author's long experience in the movie business. Keane is able to express his points purposefully and succinctly, unlike other authors I've read. I'm a playwright who is interested in branching into teleplays, and this is the first book I've read that discusses in detail the differences between teleplays and screenplays. Arguably Keane's book is a bit formulaic, but he'd probably say that he's just describing the formulas which the studios are interested in.

My only qualm was Keane's inclusion of *full text* of one of his own unproduced screenplays, complete with annotations (at one point he says, "WHAT A CLIMAX!"). Yes, the screenplay illustrates his points, but it also seems like a blatant attempt to find another producer. (Sorry, Chris, that's how it seemed.) He could have made the same points with only a few excerpts.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential For Any Screenwriter, November 3, 2001

By 

Duncan Birmingham (Silver Lake, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Write a Selling Screenplay (Paperback)

Keane's book is a essential for any screenwriter's bookshelf. Not only does it break down the A-Z essential elements of popular screenwriting, but it tackles the difficult subject of how to break into the business. You'd have to buy two or three books by most of the other popular screenwriting gurus to get the gamut of information that Keane packs into this medium size volume. His choice of films to reference as examples of different screenwriting techiniques is excellent and his humour keeps the fledgling writer from being discouraged. Keans writes in optimistic prose that makes you feel your goal is attainable. I read this book before starting my last screenplay and have since moved to Hollywood and had my work open quite a few doors. This is a coherant, reader-friendly how-to book that covers all the bases and is head and shoulders above the rest of its ilk.