A SAVVY OVERVIEW... An essential and inspirational hands-on guide for creating and crafting compelling characters An invaluable resource analyzing and referencing over 220 Hollywood, independent and foreign films, offering 34 screenwriting exercises, and providing six templates from fictional scripts Accessible, fun, and thought-provoking screenwriting exercises geared to develop characters in each vital element that comprises a successful screenplay Learn how to create believable, compelling and gripping characters with distinct characterizations, motivations, and behaviors, and how these people can best drive your plot forward in a meaningful and plausible journey A must-have guide for screenwriters, Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays will help you make your characters thrive in all the essential elements that comprise a successful script. This book has them all -- from protagonists to antagonists, supporting to dysfunctional characters -- learn how to delve into your people and their plots and subplots, settings, dialogue, and relationships. Whether you are a first-time screenwriter or have written several scripts, Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays offers inspiration and hands-on tools, guiding you through each critical element of screenwriting, with the spotlight on creating and crafting compelling characters so you can write a savvy screenplay that will sell. THIRTY-FOUR writing exercises designed to help screenwriters unleash ideas, strengthen their characters, and break through stumbling blocks... SIX templates from fictional scripts provide hands on assistance with constructing characters, plus... TWO HUNDRED-PLUS Hollywood, foreign, and independent movies, spanning approximately seventy years, are analyzed and referenced, offering screenwriters specific character-crafting examples to guide them through their writing process. Author of the acclaimed The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out , Kouguell has read the very good, the very bad, and the very ugly screenplays, during her 25 years of consulting and teaching, and working as a story analyst, story editor, and writer for film studios and production companies. As a film industry insider, Kouguell knows what movie executives are looking for in a great screenplay-and as a screenwriter, professor, and script consultant, she knows what types of writing tools really work for her students, and her Su-City Pictures East' clients. When you pitch your project to a film executive -- or a story analyst is reading your script -- these film industry folks are asking and evaluating: Why should I care about your characters? Will an audience care about these characters? Are these characters and the situations they find themselves in (regardless of the genre) interesting, unique, and compelling? The bottom line is this -- if your characters don't ring true and are not fleshed out, your screenplay will be rejected. Give your screenplay the characters they deserve

"The Savvy Screenwriter "demystifies the film industry and reveals what aspiring screenwriters really want and need to know. From finding and working with agents, to insights about story analysts and movie executives, to understanding option agreements, to providing samples for queries, synopses, treatments, loglines, and outlines, to pitching, Susan Kouguell knows what works and what doesn't, and gives practical advice on getting your screenplay sold.