A Writer's Roadmap

Wendell Wellman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hollywood screenwriters have a unique style of telling stories. The stories are big, muscular, fast paced, with in-your-face characters, and big emotions...

A WRITERS ROADMAP is a simple, but detailed instruction guide for the novice to learn to write a Hollywood style screenplay. Wendell Wellman has a made a career of writing big action movies. Firefox starring Clint Eastwood was his first big credit. Mr. Wellman ended up collaborating with Clint Eastwood three times, including acting in a feature role in Sudden Impact.

Over the years Mr. Wellman began to develop his own system for building a screenplay from the first section to the last. In talking about writing over the years, Mr. Wellman discovered that secretaries, lawyers, grade school teachers, costumers, and most other people had a desire to write. They consequently would take many classes, read books and still not understand how to build the story. Mr. Wellman began breaking down a story into small sections, citing movie after movie that would be using similar sections.

This is a technique that began to excite the non-writers, the secretaries, and the school teachers, as well as the pros. They began to look at movies differently, spotting the sections over and over, beginning to devise for themselves their own ideas on how to attack the sections. Invariably, they began to write. Mr. Wellman never abandons his step-by-step technique. He uses it to constantly monitor his own work. A WRITERS ROADMAP is deliberately short, and deliberately easy to read.

Mr. Wellman writes in a simple, brutally honest humorous style. The book is filled with anecdotes about Hollywood, since Mr. Wellman is a working actor as well. The book is meant to be read in two to three hours. It is strictly a how-to book for all writers but most specifically for screenwriters, and Mr. Wellman then hopes that the reader will go out and write. And perhaps what they write will be one of the next big feature action movies to be acquired and produced….

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: 1st Books Library; illustrated edition edition (November 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403387524
• ISBN-13: 978-1403387523
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,288,883 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yes, but a roadmap to where?, May 18, 2008

By	Jim Kuenzer (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Like another reader, I was duped by the number of glowing reviews for this book. And I thought, "Well, one negative review out of a number, it must be a good book." But I was wrong.

This isn't just a poorly written book on writing, it's a poorly written book. There's no coherent structure or flow, there are numerous typos and, if that weren't enough, the individuals cited in the index are alphabetically listed -- by first name. On top of that, Mr. Wellman uses the actor's names when discussing characters in films. Taken out of reference, a quote like "Julia Roberts is a hooker" could get him in a good deal of trouble.

There's nothing of merit in this book that can't be found elsewhere. The only worthwhile piece of advice is this: In regards to theme, the first act is the protagonist's argument, the second act is the antagonist's argument and the third act is the writer's argument. There. I just saved you $13 plus shipping.

The book reads like a transcription of a lecture, and maybe that's what it is. However, a reader will have a difficult time asking questions and getting a response than someone in the audience.

Unlike the other reader who found nothing worthwhile in this book, I won't say I'll use it for toilet paper. But if the heater breaks down and I'm low on fire wood, this will be the first thing to go.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Roadmap, October 8, 2009

By	Derrick Warfel "writer-director" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's generally best to avoid the slash and burn reviews from critics who want to promote their own "brilliance" rather than give a review and avoid the glowing "can do no wrong" reviews - and I see this book has attracted both. While not the final word on all screenwriting, Mr. Wellman's book is a solid collection of practical advice nuggets from a person who has actually wrote and SOLD major screenplays, whereas so many writing teachers and critics have not. He writes as a screenwriter to screenwriters in a folksy, informal style much as he would if he were sitting and talking to you over coffee rather than in some style of straightjacketed literary correctness. He summarizes the best from a variety of writing sources and adds many of his own unique observations from countless hours of watching and analyzing screenplays and movies. Writing a book on screenwriting is not simply being able to include some exhaustive list of information about the craft or being able to come up with some new clever technique, but knowing what basic principles to focus on so you don't get caught up in a Gordian knot of screenwriting do's and don'ts. While hardly an exhaustive survey of the craft, Roadmap has the incisive ability to focus on the crucial elements to make a screenplay a success: understanding your hero and what he/she wants, understanding your enemy, discovering the hero's inner conflict (wound), clarifying the story's thematic argument, filling out the story cast, outlining the major story beats, and feathering in other craft techniques. In addition to having read the book I have heard the man teach personally. And I as a produced feature screenwriter myself, can say that he is one of the most astute screenplay structure analysts in Hollywood. The book is a valuable addition to one's screenwriting library.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wendell Gets It - So Should You, January 7, 2010

By	Don Tsuchiyama "dadofdavid" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

There is no better book out there that discusses modern movie structure. While this is NOT a book for a beginner, anyone who has struggled with the ups and downs of creating 2nd and 3rd acts for a screenplay will find this book will be a great help in achieving clarity. Believe the positive reviews and not the nay-sayers. Some people just enjoy being contrary.