Film Scriptwriting: A Practical Manual, Second Edition 2nd Edition

The most useful and practical scriptwriting book published in the past 20 years. If you want solid instruction with a practical approach, you need this.

Thank goodness for libraries. I took out several screenwriting books yesterday because I wanted specific answers and advice. Although this copy was from 1976, I valued how it laid out the steps of developing one's idea all the way to the master scene script and into surviving story conferences. This is specific and to the point. It distinguishes the premise, outline, treatment, and step outline stages. Most impressively it gave specific examples. The advice was straight to the point. It was quite the opposite from seeming to talk down to the reader. As perhaps a side-note, it also devoted collection of chapters to writing a "fact story", what I take to mean a documentary, including what the script and outline look like.

I'm not sure what book the other reviewers here were reading, but after looking at some of the other popular screenwriting books out there, I've found that this "Practical Manual" is perhaps the best overall at helping screenwriters learn the craft, both technically and creatively. It is full of very useful practical (thus the appropriate title) advice and guidelines for structuring a screenplay in terms of story and style.Don't hesitate to buy this book and use it! It's worth every penny.

An interesting book that considers the corporate-documentary screenplay, and the feature screenplay for just before the era of the more structural approach of Syd Field and, later on, by Blake Snyder et al. In principle, Dwight V. Swain has it well enough nailed to be more than enough. However, there is also a mass of material from many years before that. As far back as 1916, for how to write photo-plays. That being so, and including the list of references that are cited, it kind of makes the introduction to this book rather moot, since there was no need for so much struggle for the author who wished that he had his own book, to refer to, 40 years prior to his writing of it.Helpful point about the "premise", for a feature screenplay. One that ought to be kept to no more complicated than that of a "What if. . . " statement, of an elevator pitch. A more complicated premise statement, being considered as one that is more appropriate for a presentation / story pitch.

Present for a teenager for her birthday, her ambition is to be script writer. The condition is very good explained the book was not brand new, it did not detract from her enthusiasm.

Good book