Screenwriting For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Laura Schellhardt is an Associate Professor of Instruction at Northwestern University, where she heads the undergraduate playwriting program in the Department of Theatre. She's dedicated her life to creating new work for stage and screen, and it's her mission to help other writers do the same.

Introduction 1 Part 1: So You Want to Write for Pictures 5 Chapter 1: Introducing the Art of Screenwriting 7 Chapter 2: Preparing to Think Visually 15 Chapter 3: Diving Into the Screenwriter's Mind 25 Chapter 4: Approaching Screenwriting as a Craft 39 Part 2: Breaking Down the Elements of a Story 57 Chapter 5: Unpacking Your Idea 59 Chapter 6: Plot Part I: Beginnings 81 Chapter 7: Plot Part II: Middles 91 Chapter 8: Plot Part III: Endings 111 Chapter 9: Character Building 127 Chapter 10: Delivering Dynamic Dialogue 147 Chapter 11: The Nontraditional Film 173 Chapter 12: Maintaining an Audience's Trust 195 Part 3: Turning Your Story into a Script 207 Chapter 13: Mapping Out Your Screenplay 209 Chapter 14: Surviving Writer's Block 225 Chapter 15: Formatting Your Screenplay 235 Chapter 16: Putting It Together: Structuring Your First Draft 261 Chapter 17: Take Two: Rewriting Your Script 279 Chapter 18: Adaptation and Collaboration: Two Alternate Ways to Work 297 Part 4: Selling Your Script to Show Business 317 Chapter 19: Before You Send It: Pre-Marketing Considerations 319 Chapter 20: Getting Your Screenplay Noticed 339 Part 5: The Part of Tens 361 Chapter 21: Ten Screenwriters You Should Know 363 Chapter 22: Ten Screenwriting Myths 379 Appendix A: Sample Scenes and Online Resources 387 Index 405