The Screenwriter’s problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems

by Syd Field

Can't get your characters to shut up? Is the bit player in Act II more compelling than your protagonist? Do your scenes drag on f-o-r-e-v-e-r? Whatever your problem, screenwriting guru Syd Field can help; he's written four previous books on screenwriting, teaches worldwide, and is "involved in the reading and writing of about a thousand screenplays a year." Screenplays bog down in vague and mysterious ways, says Field; identifying a screenwriting problem is half the battle. Fixing a screenplay that seems dazed and confused might seem like Mission: Impossible, but you've got to have courage under fire. By identifying symptoms in the writing, Field isolates about 20 different screenwriting problems, each related to plot, character, or structure (after all, what else is there?). His fixes generally involve getting to know your characters or story better, through the use of automatic writing, biographical sketches, and the like. For examples of spectacular screenwriting, he offers excerpts from the screenplays for Thelma and Louise, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Apollo 13, and Silence of the Lambs. Field is a man of many mantras: "Writing is rewriting," "Film is behavior," "Drama is conflict," "Action is character." But his advice is so useful that you'll forgive him his facile phrasemaking. And you'll thank him for persuading you that, yes, "a problem is an opportunity, a challenge that will allow you to ultimately improve your craft." --Jane Steinberg

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, Reference, Collections

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Sydney Alvin Field was an American screenwriting guru who wrote several books on the subject of screenwriting. He also conducted workshops and seminars on the subject of producing salable screenplays. Hollywood film producers have increasingly used his ideas on structure as a guideline to a proposed screenplay's potential.

Reviews

[Suzie Quint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the focus of The Screenwriter’s Problem Solver by Syd Field is to find and fix problems in scripts, much of it can be adapted for novels. It’s also geared toward the story as a whole. That doesn’t mean you can’t make use of this if you’re currently on chapter 3 of your WIP--problems are best fixed as quickly as possible after all—but sometimes you can’t see the problem until the first draft is finished.

Because this book is written for screenwriters (and you’re reminded of that on virtually every page) you need to keep in mind that you (the novelist) are not the intended audience. That means you have to be flexible with the advice bestowed in this book.

The Introduction (the first 48 pages) is the most general. Here, Field talks about how to identify the problem, which is admittedly the first step in solving any problem. The purpose of this section isn’t so much about problem solving as it is about ensuring that you understand the framework your story should fit into. This is where Field talks in general about story structure, the plot points and pinch points, and why this is important. That’s usually what I read screenwriting How-To’s for, though this is really more of an overview.

Whether you find this valuable will depend where you are on the novel writing learning curve.

I have a more in-depth review at http://suziequint.blogspot.com/2011/0...

[Trishelle Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was rather helpful, however, I think it could have been half its size. He had several good points that he just kept repeating either using a different example, or changing the wording around a bit. The result? I thought several times of not finishing the book, and when I finally did, I was rather bored with it.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first time in my life I was introduced to the Re-Write. Probably the most scorned and hated part of writing (by most authors, and all together feared by myself), until I realized it was part of the process of writing. A valuable lesson for me. This book is like having a Screenwriting Coach and Editor wrapped up in one. It offers excellent advice, amazing step-by-step instructions that help you ferret out your problem areas while providing you ways to write a tighter screenplay. I think it would be an excellent book for a screenwriting course and better for the person who has already written a screenplay but valuable to the novice as well. Mr. Field never digresses too far from his paradigm and continues to offer the highest level of professional advice.

[Tessa Milou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so there’s a lot of authors of screenwritingbooks that make me cringe. Syd Field is balancing on that edge but the final verdict is: he isn’t one of them. I think this book is useful whenever you hit a bump in the screenwritingroad and are so close to the material that you can’t see clearly anymore.

I do have to say though that always with these books there’s things in terms of terminology that confuses me. That’s mostly caused by authors not using terms precisely enough or getting carried away with metaphors in the intention to explain it clearly. Syd Field does that too, for example when trying to explain structure vs paradigm vs form vs context. First he kind of translates these terms to an analogy of a glass of water, but the translation from the analogy to what it’d concretely mean for a script you have to do partially by yourself. That is a recipe for misunderstanding in my opinion. Also, on a sidenote, I’m doubtful whether he explains the term ‘form’ correctly (or maybe it’s just one of these terms that annoyingly most people have a different definition of).

That bugs me as it can cause confusion, and this is a book that claims to find clarity and solutions.

Having that said, I still wouldn’t advice against purchasing this book, especially as his tone of voice is motivating and kind. It’s just one of these books you might browse through every so often, when you’re looking for a comforting pad on the shoulder during writing struggles (l o l).

Ps: he does by the way incorrectly define or use the term ‘drama’. He says “drama is conflict, conflict is action”, while it’s rather the other way around (Drama = to act, thought I’d write that here, might people get confused)… just another personal pet peeve of mine as ‘acting’ and ‘conflict’ can’t be used interchangeably and don’t even have to implicate one and another. Anyway, we get the gist of it, so it’s fine but still I think with these kind of books terms should be used precisely. Ok bye

[Jessica Lalonde · Rating 5 out of 5]

When looking into where to start in terms of scriptwriting, Syd Field is always recommended as the go-to authority- and I can understand why. This book is great for someone who has written a script and needs some guidance in getting past the first awkward draft stages.

[Zora · Rating 2 out of 5]

So vague at most points as to be useless

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a long time to finish reading this - it has a lot of really good information, and yet the author's constant belaboring of previous points/lessons makes for a very tedious read at points. I finished faster when I started to skip & skim when I saw the material re-treading itself. Upshot is you can resume reading after a year or more and not be lost.

[J.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've written all over this book and refuse to lend it out to anybody, so that definitely qualifies it as a very useful book in my eyes. I would highly recommend this book for the rewrite stage - and even sooner. I've learned that if I breeze through the highlights before I write, I tend to avoid some of the mistakes before I even make them.

[Juan Espinoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

El perfecto apéndice del primer libro (The Screenplay), pero algo reiterativo. En momentos de dudas es mejor recurrir al otro libro. Sin embargo los ejemplos de este están mejor explicados.

[Mukesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book on writing. Loads of tips. I wished, i had seen all the movies mentioned in the book.

cheers,
Mukesh

[Batsheva Gladstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Syd Field is the man!

[Christopher Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Offers good insight into craft.

[Adelaide · Rating 3 out of 5]

wiederholendes Buch aber nützlich

[Murali · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want read this book