The Tools of Screenwriting: A Writer's Guide to the Craft and Elements of a Screenplay

I have gazed into this book, and in simply gazing, I realized there is a LOT MORE TO SCREENWRITING than I had imagined. In fact... as I wrote my first screenplay, it did not take long at all to feel like I was WAY IN over my head. Talk about RE-WRITES GALORE!!!One thing about screenwriting, as well writing a short story, novelette or a full blown novel... there will be constant re-writes... a ton of them, and I wish that I had been pointed to books like this one... so I would have learnt MUCH about HOW TO WRITE screenplays and novels before I embarked on the expedition... and boy was it ever. LOL I wrote a short story for a film I am making which lasts all of about 5 minutes... 42 HOURS and at least 30 re-writes later... I have the polished works ready to make the film. And the reality of this is... (Just like the Kenny Rogers song Gambler said) you gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em... know when to walk away, know when to run... in this realm of writing, you have to know 'When to stop editing' because the more you edit/re-write... the more you hone in on things that could be written differently... or better in your mind... and if you don't walk away... you'll never reach the finished end.No charge for that personal insight today. :-)

I think this book stands out from others in the heap of books on screenwriting in at least two salient aspects.First, it does a fairly good job of defining the terms being used. There is great confusion in screenwriting terminology; different authors have differing definitions for commonly used terms -- or none at all. They just throw out terms as if the reader already knows what it means or the meaning is so intuitively obvious it doesn't need definition. Or they define the term vaguely and apply it inconsistently so it seems to mean one thing in one paragraph, and then something else in another. Terms do need clarification and authors need to be consistent.Second, whereas some authors emphasize a particular element or technique as a sin qua non -- if not the sin qua non for creating a marketable manuscript -- this book discusses all the basics with no particular emphasis or preference for one.After surveying the basics, the authors apply their analytical schema to 14 notable films from various genres including The GodFather, Rashomon, Annie Hall, sex lies and videotape and Hamlet. Though I don't always agree as to how they apply their schema, it's a practical schema.

A how to book that reads like one is on a wonderful adventure of discovery. Kirk Iverson of Globalcraft Studios recommended the book to me so tally ho off I went to Amazon for some more mind candy. This author writes well.An Indiana Jones screenwriting tip (my conception)from the book: "It is a good idea to think of the three acts not as a mold or formula to be filled in with some kind of batter the writer has concocted, but rather as a set of landmarks an explorer/guide tries to keep sight of when traveling through new and dangerous territory."Learning a new craft IS traveling through new and dangerous territory. I've read a few how to books on how to write a screenplay. The ones I read leaned more to formula: "By such and such a page this must happen." In "The Tools of Screenwriting" one simply reads an engaging book. You don't want to put it down and you don't want it to end.In fact I haven't finished it. There are a few films I haven't seen that he's analyzed so I will see them first then read David Howard's analysis.Enjoy.

Howards book is the best there is for the new student of film. His twenty tools hit the nail on the head. That's 100 pages of the 300 page book. Then he applies his 20 tools to 16 successful films. He calls this his analysis. He wants the reader to view or review all 16 of the popular films he lists prior to reading his analysis. This would take over 30 hours. If you have 32 hours, great.On reflection, ever writer must chart his own course in screen writing. "I'll do it my way" as Frank Sinatra sings. There really are no short cuts to becoming a good or great screenwriter.

Great book if you are studying screenwriting, or want to pursue a career as a professional writer, I needed this book for my class, but after reading it, I do not only recommend it to who ever is studying screenwriting, I recommend it to anyone who wants to better their writing in storytelling the fundamentals of it and the elements for a script are great, as well as a great read.

This book is straightforward to a fault. It's interpretation of "practical" amounts to a kind of insistence on a simplistic heuristic that tacitly sets in motion a very rigid, hollywood conception of film that deeply limits the creative parameters for screenwriting. If the goal is to "learn the rules" before you break them, this book could use a little bit more humility. The main advantage I've received from this book is it's overwhelming direct to the point of obviousness allows for a certain kind of action-confidence that helps in the act of actually writing, not so much because of its guidance but because it's brevity leads you to believe that writing can't be all that difficult.

This book concentrates on writing a screenplay. But everything you learn from the book will make you a better writer. It is the first and only book I have encountered that can claim that accomplishment.

Howards later "How to Build a Great Screenplay" is the very best single book if you want to master screenwriting, but this is a great book, and I consider it a "must have." Better than any seminar or course, and I've spent thousands on most of them over the years, including a couple years at AFI.

This book is written in clear language and tends to be consise on my most points. My one stand out memory is its clear definition of exposition. Othe rbooks did not make it clear what it really means. There are all 10 to 12 titles at the last third of the book that they go over and analyze. This is a very good book. I would highly recommend Dave Trottier's book as well.

A must for beginners and for film students. Excellent information and examples. This book will pave way to write a proper script.

A really good craft book

Like the book, paper cut off from text is a bit tight. Same text as 1995 edition. It's a very helpful book, I like the brevity of chapters.

This book teaches you the principles of story building and Screenwriting. A must-have for anyone in this field on any level of knowledge!