Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
How does a spec script differ from a shooting script? What kind of fasteners should one use to bind a script? How did the term MOS come to mean without sound? You'll find the answers to these pressing questions and much more in David Trottier's eminently usable Screenwriter's Bible. The avuncular Trottier--a writer-producer, script consultant, and seminar leader--has written a friendly guide through the Hollywood morass. He touts it as six books in one: it's "a screenwriting primer, a screenwriting workbook, a formatting guide, a spec writing guide, a sales and marketing guide, [and] a resource guide."
Much of Trottier's advice is common sense: "Don't write anything that cannot appear on the screen"; to keep casting options open, don't make your physical descriptions too specific; "don't say Ron Howard is looking at the project if he is not." But there are things to know about Hollywood that are, well, quirkier. Don't write the title of your script on the front cover or side binding; present action sequences using the "stacking action" style; in query letters and scripts alike, avoid "big blocks of black ink." Trottier's guidance--from character development and revision to queries and pitches--is invaluable. Getting in the door can seem impossible, but it's not, necessarily. "If you write a script that features a character who has a clear and specific goal," says Trottier, "where there is strong opposition to that goal leading to a crisis and an emotionally satisfying ending, your script will automatically find itself in the upper five percent."
(By the way, MOS is said to have "originated with German director Eric von Stroheim, who would tell his crew, 'Ve'll shoot dis mid out sound'"). --Jane Steinberg
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
The foundation of good screenwriting
Customer Rating:
For any aspiring screenwriter, this book is a must. It is not one of those annoying books about why this movie is better than that (a subjective analysis, in my opinion), this book is more about the nuts and bolts of good spec screenplay writing. For the first time, I learned to differentiate a spec script from a shooting script (thought I knew, but I was wrong), and I think it's important for any screenwriter to know every aspect of the screenplay form so that they can make informed choices.
For years, I thought I could learn enough by reading screenplays, watching movies and reading books like "Story," by Robert McKee. Those are all good steps towards understanding the craft, but at some point, any writer who considers him/herself a professional needs to know why they are making certain formatting decisions, how to write for subtext and how to structure scenes to build action/conflict. If you don't take the craft seriously, then who is going to take your creative output seriously?
Some of the material is really basic, but the textbook format allows you to skip around to find any subject you need help with. I went straight to the formatting section, because I'm not as well informed as I need to be on that front (thought I was, but I wasn't). You might decide to skip to the section on writing for subtext, etc.
What's great about this book is that Mr. Trotter gives examples of how to improve scenes in a screenplay without being too didactic. He might say something like, "There is no one correct way to revise [a] scene. I'm hoping your version is better than mine." He takes a stab at revising bad material, explains why he made his choices and then encourages you to have a go at it.
This book provides a great foundation, and I think it's a better way to learn the basic principles of good screenwriting than spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on workshops or writing programs.
One of the Best Books I've Ever Read (on any subject)
Customer Rating:
This book is extremely well written and easy to understand. It makes you believe that you can write a screenplay and it shows you exactly how to do it.
Supplemental Text for a Scriptwriting Class
Customer Rating:
I've used this book quite a bit as I work through my class, and I have found it very helpful so far.
Well Worth The Money..and More
Customer Rating:
This book is well worth the money, and more. An excellent beginning screenplay writer's guide. Combine this with Robert McKee's book Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwritingy and you have a heck of a learning tool.
Could be better than film schools.
Customer Rating:
If you are thinking of enrolling in a film school to study how to write scripts, GET THIS BOOK FIRST. You might save a lot of money. This book has everything. It's easy to read. I wish I'd found this book before wasting tons of money on U*LA.
Select button not working? 
