'If I was setting out as a screenwriter, this is the book I would read first and keep by me'? Melanie Harris, Producer, Crosslab Productions

'An excellent resource for students and teachers alike'? In the Picture

'...a valuable addition to every screenwriting bookshelf' ? Screentalk

'This is one of the best guides to help screenwriters think visually that I have ever read' ? Creative Screenwriting

'The inventive exercises in Scriptwriting for the Screen give it the potential for revitalizing the experience of even experienced scriptwriters' ? ' Scope? Online Journal of Film Studies

Scriptwriting for the Screen is an accessible guide to writing for film and television. It details the first principles of screenwriting and advises on the best way to identify and formulate a story and develop ideas in order to build a vivid, animated and entertaining script.
Scriptwriting for the Screen introduces the reader to essential skills needed to write effective drama. This edition has been updated to include new examples and an entirely new chapter on adaptation. There are examples of scripts from a wide range of films and television dramas such as Heroes, Brokeback Mountain, Coronation Street, The English Patient, Shooting The Past, Spaced, Our Friends In the North and American Beauty.

Scriptwriting for the Screen includes:

• advice on how to visualise action and translate this into energetic writing
• how to dramatise writing, use metaphor and deepen meaning
• tips on how to determine the appropriate level of characterisation for different types of drama
• practical exercises and examples which help develop technique and style
• a section on how to trouble-shoot and sharpen dialogue
• a guide to further reading

In Scripting Identity: Writing Cultural Experience, Theresa Carilli explores how understanding one's identity can assist in the process of writing a performative script. After a brief review of how the Performance Studies discipline interprets the act of performative writing, Carilli shares her own methodology for creating performative texts. By introducing the concept of the primary narrative-the story that is at the core of one's identity-the study demonstrates how several of her students at a working-class university campus (surrounded and influenced by a steel mill culture) exemplify how the primary narrative operates in their narrative creations. With the proposed methodology and scripts as examples, Carilli builds dialogue about new ways to study the communication process.

How To Write Jokes for Fun & Profit This comprehensive joke writing masterclass has been devised for beginners and experienced joke writers alike. The techniques you will learn can be used again and again to write funny and original material for: Stand-up comedy; Speeches; Political satire; Monologues; TV, Stage & radio; Witty articles & blogs; Comedy sketches; Sitcom scripts; Cartoons & Comic-Strips; Business Presentations. You hold in your hands the key to unlocking your inner comedy genius. When you read this book you will discover...* Simple yet powerful ways to write hilarious material on any subject * Insider tricks professionals use to get going and keep going * Where jokes really come from and why this makes writing easier * Techniques for creating simple puns and wordplay for laughs * How to tap into a continuous stream of comedy consciousness * Creative tools such as Joke-Webbing and the Hadron Joke Collider * How to mine newspapers and headlines for topical comedy gold * Ways to take jokes in weird and wonderful directions with surrealism * How to hone your jokes to maximise laughs and minimise memorisation If you want to write comedy of any kind this book is for you...

You've got an idea for the next great screenplay. Maybe you're just getting started or perhaps you've spent time with other screenwriting books, and you have your hero's journey, plot twists, reversals, and cat-saving scenes all worked out. Either way, what stands between you and an outstanding finished screenplay are the blank pages that you must fill with cinematic life, energy, conflict, and emotion. So how on Earth do you do that? The secret is scenewriting. This thorough and effective guide will help the beginner and the professional master the most critical and overlooked part of the screenwriting process: the art and craft of writing scenes. With step-by-step instruction, and numerous exercises, you will learn how to transform an outline into a fully-developed script. Learn how to prepare scenes for writing, construct sparkling, naturalistic dialogue, utilize scene description and the unique structure of the screenplay format to maximum advantage, and polish your scenes so that your idea becomes the script you always imagined it could be. Through scenewriting, great ideas become brilliant scripts.

In Beyond the First Draft John Casey offers essential and original insights into the art of writing-and rewriting-fiction. Throughout the fourteen essays there are notes on voice, point of view, structure and other crucial elements. This book is an invaluable resource for aspiring writers and a revitalising companion for seasoned ones.

Focusing on the neglected journalism of writers more famous for their novels or plays, this new book explores the specific functions of journalism within the public sphere, and celebrate the literary qualities of journalism as a genre.

Key features include:

• an international focus taking in writers from the UK, the USA and France
• essays featuring a range of extremely popular writers (such as Dickens, Orwell, Angela Carter, Truman Capote) and approaches them from distinctly original angles.

Each chapter begins with a concise biography to help contextualise the the journalist in question and includes references and suggested further reading for students. Any student or teacher of journalism or media studies will want to add this book to their reading list.

The road to rejection is paved with bad beginnings. Agents and editors agree: Improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It's just that simple. In Hooked, author Les Edgerton draws on his experience as a successful fiction writer and teacher to help you overcome the weak openings that lead to instant rejection by showing you how to successfully use the ten core components inherent to any great beginning. You'll find: Detailed instruction on how to develop your inciting incident Keys for creating a cohesive story-worthy problem Tips on how to avoid common opening gaffes like overusing backstory A rundown on basics such as opening scene length and transitions A comprehensive analysis of more than twenty great opening lines from novels and short stories Plus, you'll discover exclusive insider advice from agents and acquiring editors on what they look for in a strong opening. With Hooked, you'll have all the information you need to craft a compelling beginning that lays the foundation for an irresistible story!

"Like listening to a beloved brother. I found the acute observations and his narrative philosophy more valuable for the new writer than the contents of any 100 other texts."-Dean Koontz
"The Successful Novelist is the vehicle you want if you plan to drive your way to successful fiction."-Joe R. Lansdale
David Morrell, bestselling author of First Blood, The Brotherhood of the Rose and The Fifth Profession, distills more than fifty years of writing and publishing experience into this single masterwork of advice and instruction.
Morrell covers:
-Plot
-Character
-Research
-Structure
-Viewpoint
-Description
-Dialogue
-Succeeding in publishing
-And much more
The Successful Novelist reveals the truth about writing, providing the perspective authors need to write successful fiction that sells.

To write for the unique medium of the screen, you need to be as engaged with the theory and practice of film as you are with words. Screenwriting is Filmmaking provides a wealth of insights for new and experienced writers alike on the historical, theoretical and practical essentials of screenwriting. With clear analyses drawn from a wide range of classical and contemporary films, alongside case studies and practical exercises, this book encourages the development of craft skills and a personal voice through the writing of short and feature screenplays. You will learn how to develop your screenplay from idea to final draft; apply the techniques of narrative, structure and visual language; build rounded and convincing characters; craft compelling scenes through dialogue and sub-text and maintain a meaningful and lasting creative practice. Brian Dunnigan draws on over thirty years' experience of writing, teaching and making films, to provide a practical guide on how to become an effective screenwriter as well as giving a fascinating insight into visual storytelling and the place of the screenplay in the collaborative process of filmmaking.

Jeffrey Hatcher knows the nuts and bolts of writing for the theater. Here, he shares his views on it all--from building tension and plotting a scene, right down to moving a character from one side of the stage to the other. From crafting an intriguing beginning to delivering a satisfying ending.

In Hatcher's one-on-one discussions with acclaimed American playwrights Lee Blessing, Marsha Norman and Jose Rivera, you'll find a wealth of practical advice, tricks of the trade and insight that will help you in your own creative efforts.

Based on the author's teaching methods and experience, the book presents an examination and analysis of the creative process of playwriting through the insight of the very foundations of drama and theatre-the ritual process. Using the playwright as a ritual quester, it attempts to concretize the playwright's creative experience from the gestation of a dramatic idea, through the development of that idea, to its expression as a scripted and theatrical expression. To give the concept a wider scope, parallels and/or contrasts are often made with similar creative experiences, especially performative. The first part of the book visually crystallizes the ritual-creative concept in the psychical emanations of the questing playwright; the second part locates the concept in the dramatic structure, a result of the physical engagement, struggle and expression of the playwright. Various established dramatic works, classical and contemporary, are used to illustrate this creative concept.

Had I become disenchanted with the form I had once fallen so madly in love with as a pubescent, pimple-faced suburban homo with braces? Maybe theatre was like an all-consuming high school infatuation that now, ten years later, I saw as the closeted balding guy with a beer-gut he'd become. There were of course those rare moments of transcendence that kept me coming back. But why did they come so few and far between? A lot of plays are dull. And one dull play, it seems, can turn us off theatre for good. Playwright and theatre director Jordan Tannahill takes in the spectrum of English-language drama from the flashiest of Broadway spectacles to productions mounted in scrappy storefront theatres to consider where lifeless plays come from and why they persist. Having travelled the globe talking to theatre artists, critics, passionate patrons and the theatrically disillusioned, Tannahill addresses what he considers the culture of 'risk aversion' paralyzing the form. Theatre of the Unimpressed is Tannahill's wry and revelatory personal reckoning with the discipline he's dedicated his life to, and a roadmap for a vital twenty-first-century theatre one that apprehends the value of 'liveness' in our mediated age and the necessity for artistic risk and its attendant failures. In considering dramaturgy, programming and alternative models for producing, Tannahill aims to turn theatre from an obligation to a destination. '[Tannahill is] the poster child of a new generation of (theatre? film? dance?) artists for whom "interdisciplinary" is not a buzzword, but a way of life.' J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail 'Jordan is one of the most talented and exciting playwrights in the country, and he will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.' Nicolas Billon, Governor General's Award winning playwright (Fault Lines)Jordan Tannahill is a playwright, theatre director, and filmmaker. His plays and short films have been presented in theatres, festivals, and galleries across Canada and internationally. He received the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama for his book Age of Minority: Three Solo Plays. In collaboration with William Ellis, Jordan runs the alternative art-space Videofag, out of a defunct barbershop in Toronto's Kensington Market.

Playwriting offers a practical guide to the creation of text for live performance. It contains a wealth of exercises for amateur and professional playwrights.

Usable in a range of contexts, the book works as:

* a step-by-step guide to the creation of an individual play
* a handy resource for a teacher or workshop leader
* a stimulus for the group-devised play.

The result of NoAl Greig's thirty years' experience as a playwright, actor, director and teacher, Playwriting is the ideal handbook for anyone who engages with playwriting and is ultimately concerned with creating a story and bringing it to life on the stage.

Blueprint for Screenwriting demystifies the writing process by developing a "blueprint" for writers to follow for each new screenplay--from original concept to completed script. Author and international script consultant Dr. Rachel Ballon explores the writing craft and emphasizes creativity in the writing process. She blends her expertise in script analysis and writing coaching with her personal experience as a screenwriter to help writers construct their stories and characters. Starting with the story's framework, Dr. Ballon helps readers to understand the key "building blocks" of story structure and character development, including characters' emotional and psychological states, story conflicts, and scene and act structure. She also covers the essential components in the script writing process, such as outlines, script treatments, synopses, and formats. Dr. Ballon devotes a chapter to overcoming writer's block--the writer's greatest obstacle--and offers guidance for taking the next steps once a script is completed. A practical tool for any writer, this distinctive resource: *offers a blueprint for writers to follow, breaking the writing process down into specific, easy-to-follow steps; *stresses the psychology of the characters as well as that of the writer; and *offers first-hand knowledge of the screenwriting process and gives practical advice for completing and marketing scripts. With its unique and insightful approach to the writing process, this book will be indispensable for scriptwriters, fiction writers, and professional writers, and it will serve as a useful text in screenwriting courses.

Blueprint for Screenwriting demystifies the writing process by developing a "blueprint" for writers to follow for each new screenplay--from original concept to completed script. Author and international script consultant Dr. Rachel Ballon explores the writing craft and emphasizes creativity in the writing process. She blends her expertise in script analysis and writing coaching with her personal experience as a screenwriter to help writers construct their stories and characters. Starting with the story's framework, Dr. Ballon helps readers to understand the key "building blocks" of story structure and character development, including characters' emotional and psychological states, story conflicts, and scene and act structure. She also covers the essential components in the script writing process, such as outlines, script treatments, synopses, and formats. Dr. Ballon devotes a chapter to overcoming writer's block--the writer's greatest obstacle--and offers guidance for taking the next steps once a script is completed. A practical tool for any writer, this distinctive resource: *offers a blueprint for writers to follow, breaking the writing process down into specific, easy-to-follow steps; *stresses the psychology of the characters as well as that of the writer; and *offers first-hand knowledge of the screenwriting process and gives practical advice for completing and marketing scripts. With its unique and insightful approach to the writing process, this book will be indispensable for scriptwriters, fiction writers, and professional writers, and it will serve as a useful text in screenwriting courses.

In this book, James A. Inman explores the landscape of the contemporary computers and writing community. Its six chapters engage critical issues, including redefining the community's generally accepted history, connecting its contemporary innovators with its long-standing spirit of innovation, advocating for increased access and diversity, and more. Between chapters, readers will find "Community Voices" sections, which provide a snapshot of the contemporary computers and writing community and introduce, in a non-hierarchical form, more than 100 of its members from around the world, in their own voices. Computers and Writing: The Cyborg Era features a simultaneous emphasis on individuals, communities, and contexts they share; a creative rethinking of the character and values of the computers and writing community; a holistic exploration of meaning-making; and an activist approach to pedagogy. It is a must-read book for anyone interested in rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy, including faculty, graduate students, and colleagues in professions outside the academy.

In this innovative fusion of practice and criticism, Jeremy Scott shows how insights from stylistics can enrich the craft of creative writing. Focusing on crucial methodological issues that confront the practicing writer, Creative Writing and Stylistics: - introduces key topics from stylistics; - provides in-depth analysis of a wide range of writing examples; - includes practical exercises to help develop creative writing skills. Clear and accessible, this invaluable guide will give both students and writers a greater critical awareness of the creative possibilities of language.

There's more to writing a successful fantasy story than building a unique world or inventing a new type of magic. From the writing of strong, action-packed scenes to the creation of dynamic, multi-dimensional characters, fantasy author Deborah Chester guides novices and intermediate writers through a step-by-step process of story construction. Whether offering tips on how to test a plot premise or survive what she calls the dark dismal middle, Chester shares the techniques she uses in writing her own novels. Examples drawn from both traditional and urban fantasy illustrate her nuts-and-bolts approach to elemental story design. With a foreword by New York Times best-selling author Jim Butcher, who studied writing in Chester's classes at the University of Oklahoma, The fantasy fiction formula delivers a practical, proven approach to writing fantasy like a pro. -- .

Hopscotch is a six-level primary series that follows an accessible, traditional, easy-to-teach methodology with a speaking and listening focus in the early levels and reading and writing introduced explicitly from Level 3 onwards. ? Filled with engaging National Geographic photographs and content that captures the imagination of young learners, Hopscotch introduces language and skills through a fun and friendly cast of main characters - a boy, girl, crocodile, parrot and bear!

Ever since the term "creative nonfiction" first came into widespread use, memoirists and journalists, essayists and fiction writers have faced off over where the border between fact and fiction lies. An early and influential book on questions of form in creative nonfiction, Bending Genre asks not where the boundaries between the genres should be drawn, but what happens when you push the line. The expanded second edition doubles the first edition with 23 new essays that broaden the exploration of hybridity, structure, unconventionality, and resistance in creative nonfiction, pushing the conversation forward in diverse and exciting ways. Written for writers and students of creative writing, this collection brings together perspectives from leading writers of creative nonfiction, including Michael Martone, Brenda Miller, Ander Monson, David Shields, Kazim Ali--and in the new edition--Catina Bacote, Ira Sukrungruang, Ingrid Horrocks, Elena Passarello, and Aviya Kushner. Each writer's innovative essay probes our notions of genre and investigates how creative nonfiction is shaped, modeling the forms of writing being discussed. Like creative nonfiction itself, Bending Genre is an exciting hybrid that breaks new ground. Features in the second edition: -Updated introduction to the new edition -Expanded sections on Hybrids, Structures, and "Unconventions" -A new section on Resistances -50 essays in all

"Screenwriting With a Conscience: Ethics for Screenwriters" is for screenwriters who care deeply about what they write; who are aware that movie images matter and can influence audiences; and who want to create meaningful screenplays that make powerful statements while entertaining and winning over audiences. A user-friendly guide to ethical screenwriting, this book makes the case that social responsibility is endemic to public art while it emphatically champions First Amendment rights and condemns censorship.
In this dynamic and practical volume, author Marilyn Beker provides methods for self-assessment of values, ideas, and ethical stances, and demonstrates the application of these values to the development of plot, character, and dialogue. Screenwriters are introduced to ethical decision making models and shown--through specific film examples--how they can be utilized in plot and character development. In addition, specific techniques and exercises are supplied to help screenwriters determine the difference between "good" and "evil," to write realistic and compelling characters based on this determination, and to present "messages" and write dialogue powerfully without preaching. This book also puts forth a livable work philosophy for dealing with the ethics of the screenwriting business, and presents a viable personal philosophy for surviving in the screenwriting world.
"Screenwriting With a Conscience: Ethics for Screenwriters" is an indispensible, dynamic guide for the ethics-conscious screenwriter. It is intended for screenwriters at the student and professional level, and is appropriate for beginning to graduate screenwriting courses in film and English programs, andfor film courses dealing with Ethics in the Media.