How to Build a Great Screenplay: A Master Class in Storytelling for Film

by David Howard

How to Bulid a Great Screenplay is a definitive guide on the mechanics of screenwriting--filled with examples--from the author of The Tools of Screenwriting.

Acclaimed USC screenwriting teacher David Howard has guided hundreds of students to careers in writing for film and television. Drawing on decades of practical experience and savvy, How to Build a Great Screenplay deconstructs the craft of screenwriting and carefully reveals how to build a good story from the ground up. Howard eschews the "system" offered by other books, emphasizing that a great screenplay requires dozens of unique decisions by the author. He offers in-depth considerations

* characterization
* story arc
* plotting and subplotting
* dealing with coincidence in story plotting
* classical vs. revolutionary screenplay structure
* tone, style, and atmosphere
* the use of time on screen
* the creation of drama and tension
* crucial moments in storytelling

Throughout the book, Howard clarifies his lessons through examples from some of the most successful Hollywood and international script-oriented films, including Pulp Fiction, American Beauty, Trainspotting, North by Northwest, Chinatown , and others. The end result is what could very well become the classic text in the field---a bible for the burgeoning screenwriter.

Genres: Writing, Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

I attack stories and storytelling from a variety of perspectives. I write both fiction and non-fiction books as well a screenplays. I have written or co-written more than two dozen produced film and television projects which have won a number of national, international and festival awards. I have taught screenwriting for a long time at USC where I am a tenured full professor in the School of Cinematic Arts and have published two books on the art and craft of screenwriting. When I'm not working on my own stories, I'm helping my students and a variety of professionals finesse their projects.

Reviews

[Madeleine McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on how to write a screenplay. This is a must read for anyone wanting to get into Hollywood or where ever else they make movies. Also has some good ideas for other writers, esp in characterization as long as you use your own head, too.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative dive into story-telling. Honestly, a better understanding of stories than Joseph Campbell.

Cons - well, it felt like I was reading it for a year, when it was only a few months. Basically, I felt its length, and I can imagine other readers would too. But again, worth one read for the dissection of stories and scripts.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for class.
Incredible! I have never written a full screenplay but I now feel as prepared as possible. Howard talks through each aspect of developing a screenplay in a clear and understanding way. The examples he uses make it easy to understand each element, and he isn’t preachy either. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to get into screenwriting!

[CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get through all of it. Dense paragraph after even denser paragraph with no real accessible structure it any of it, just a lot of rambling along. Nope.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dry.