Pearson's Index091202

Pearson’s Index to 250 Screenwriting Articles on the Internet©

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Action

002. Rhetoric of Action. From the Winter 95 issue of Creative Screenwriting: Charles Deemer. Good tips, with examples about how to choose and describe action. Interesting example from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

003. Writing Action/Adventure by Christopher Wehner. Examples from Die Hard, and Calculated Risk. Excerpt from Wehner's own script. Examines the human angle of Action.

004. Developing your characters in action. Wehner. Several references to authors on the subject. Script examples.

225. Personal Injuries. 404 William C. Martell. How to make the violence in your movie have meaning for the audience.

Go to Index

Adaptations

025. Adaptive Behavior. Rossio. Witty and insightful column on doing adaptations. Also threads in a riff about getting your script in on time. Or not.

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Agents

018. How to Find an Agent. David Trottier. Basic do’s and don’ts

035. Getting An Agent. 404 Daniel Petrie Jr. Guest Wordplay (Terry Rossio) column. Delightfully entertaining and informative article on the subject. Gives verbatim responses from Agents who appeared at a Hollywood symposium. Extremely worthwhile, honest advice.

080. What You Always Wanted to Know About an Agent but were Afraid to Ask. Wendy Moon. From a column on Hollywoodnet. The hard facts about breaking into the Castle of Hollyrood. Also a cornucopia of other articles on this page. Good visit. Recommended.

083. What Agents Look For in Your Query Letter. Wendy Moon. Good journalistic and advice piece, by specialist Wendy Moon. Keep an eye on her site; it’s worth it.

097. Adventures in Hollyweird#4. Bud Fleisher. Fleisher’s truth-take on Hollywood agents. What they’re good for—and what they’re not.

124. The Care and Feeding of Agents. Wordplay letter follow-up to P.I.#131. Solid advice from Terry Rossio.

127. How Do You Get An Agent? (Part 1) Guest Wordplay column by Dan Petrie Jr. (Beverly Hills Cop, The Big Easy). Title says it all: sage advice from a pro. Entertainment and education in one package.

128. How Do You Get An Agent? (Part 2) Continued from P.I.#127.

131. You, the Expert. All about getting an agent and breaking in, but is really about "knowing thy own work" and its value and excellence. By Terry Rossio.

238. Agents. Screenwriting FAQ from Screenwriters Network. Good primer on everything about getting an agent and what to expect from them.

Go to Index

Animation

022. Pencil Test for Animated Features. 404Terry Rossio. Whimsical Multiple choice self-test, which sugar coats good hard facts about the animated feature business in Jollywood.

242. Ink and Paint. Truth and consequences about the chances of writing a spec script for the animated feature market. Wordplay Column.

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Audience

014. 10 Ways to Thrill An Audience. David Trottier author of The Screenwriter's Bible. First 5 of his 10. Good checklist while you're struggling with your screenplay. After you've enjoyed the first release, go for sequel: 10 Ways to Thrill An Audience-Part 2.

046. The Audience is Listening. Terry Rossio. Highly readable column by the always entertaining Terry Rossio. He details one of the most important, and often overlooked principles of screenplay writing--the writer's sense of his or her audience, how to understand, please, excite, and not offend or patronize people who lay down their bucks at the box-office.

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Barriers and Obstacles

019. Drama Is All About Obstacles.404 Alex Epstein. Thumbnail on how to give your hero problems.

250. That Big Break. Letter from the Wordplay site that deals revealingly about overcoming the obstacles and barriers to success.

Go to Index

Basic Structure

074. Anatomy of a Screenplay. David Siegel Boils the art of the screenplay down to "Premise, People, and Plot." Siegel has a website on which he promotes his paradigm of the "Nine-Act Structure." Enthusiastic and genuine, but the concepts still tend to feel like a retread of Syd Field. Siegel's website, for its design and energy, is a recommended stop on your tour of the Web, but also see P.I.#141 and P.I.#152.

086. The Movie Cliches List. Compiled by Giancarlo Cairella. You want to avoid them? Learn what they are, first.

139. What a Story Is Bill Johnson (Lawrence Booth, Ed.). Solid, accessible attempt to define the essential nature of a story. Of particular interest is Johnson's take on what an audience desires of a story. A Must-Read.

140. Deemer's Idea of Structure. 404 Charles Deemer. Short article on laying out basic structure of a story idea by the well-known internet Guru. Deemer's website, although heavily commercial, is well worth a visit.

141. Three Act Structure Debunked. Alex Epstein. Short, cogent article by one of my favorite web columnists. Finally—somebody ready to say that the Emperor has no clothes.

144. Perceiving the Foundations of Storytelling Bill Johnson. Seven page essay detailing 15 principles Johnson suggests are necessary for a screenwriter to understand.

145. The Task. Terry Rossio. " Task" is a four-letter word you OUGHT to use, according Rossio. He's right, and he deftly distinguishes (with examples) the differences between Hero's Goal and Hero's Task.

148. Screenwriting Vs Playwriting. Richard Toscan. Potpourri of articles from this unique site. Toscan is allied with Amazon books. The site is a maze, and if you want to get the full benefit, you have to visit it.

150. Seven Steps to Your Screenplay-Part 1. David Trottier. Capsule overview of what Trottier considers to be the steps involved in writing a screenplay. See also Seven Steps to Your Screenplay-Part 2

151. Two-Goal Structure. David Siegel. Excerpt from Siegel's Nine-Act Structure site. For current points of view on Act Structure, see P.I.#141 and P.I.#152.

152. Act Structure Demystified-Part I. Allen White. Valiant attempt by an excellent webhost and writer to try to give substance to the concept of 3-Act Structure (which, as we all know is only another way of saying "Beginning-Middle-End", so it wasn't a big mystery to begin with --too bad.) See also: Act Structure Demystified-Part II , and Act Structure Demystified-Part III. For current points of view on Act Structure, see P.I.#141 and P.I.#152.

228. Movie Reality Versus Real Reality. Michael Hauge dissects this specimen like a surgeon. For all those who wonder how you can follow the rule " taking things to extremes" and still retain credibility.

Becoming a Screenwriter

090. Bud Fleisher—A Working Man’s Screenwriter. Intro by Christopher Wehner, auto bio by Bud Fleisher. Tough-love letter to those who want to break in from a vet who’s been there. Reality Check.

099. The Independent Producer. Andrea Leigh Wolf. Ms. Wolf makes a strong case for submitting your spec script to independent producers, and offers tips to developing screenwriters. P.S. Ms. Wolf sold her first script from outside L.A. and as of this writing, is working with an independent producer on her 34^th screenplay.

101. You Don’t Have to Live in Hollywood to Sell Your First Script. Andrea Leigh Wolf. Wolf should know. She did it. And she’s on her 34^th screenplay as of this writing.

104. Interview: Rich Whiteside, author, "The Screenwriting Life: The Dream, the Job and the Reality." Interview by Christopher Wehner. Lessons from an insider about breaking into the business.

107. Write or Die. Daniel Knauf (Blind Judtice). Witty and inspirational auto-bio sketch detailing Knauf’s journey from student to screenwriter. How the purchase of a pair of sunglasses inspired a movie script. (I told you ideas come from everywhere, didn’t I?)

109. You Can’t Fail If You Don’t Quit. 404 Michael J. Shea. Inspirational personal experience. Antidote for those down days.

119. Here’s My Advice. Dale Launer on The Screenwriters Home Page. Tough talk from Launer who "talks you down and builds you up" all in the same breath. Good stuff for the developing writer.

122. Memo From the Trenches. Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption). Wordplay essay on the essence of being a screenwriter and director. This is what Oz is like, Dorothy.

Go to Index

126. Risk Versus Reward. 404 Terry Rossio sticks his thumb into the lottery cake that is the spec screenplay market in Hollywood, and comes up with a plum. Kinda wrinkled, but a plum, nevertheless. Must-Read for those who want to buy a ticket.

129. Hacking Through the Underbrush. Wonderful, inspiring column by Terry Rossio. This article purports to be about how not to be a "hack." Deep down, it’s about how to find "the big idea" in your story, something you really care about, and how to cling to it as your talisman of what is good and evil in storytelling. Must-read for those writers who care about their work.

130. Throw In The Towel. Terry Rossio tells it like it is, but you feel good at the end, like you do after a two hour session with your Rolf specialist, after a 12K, after a day at the beach with your three preschoolers and their six little friends, or after diving into Lake Muskoka in April. Yeah!

131. You, the Expert. All about getting an agent and breaking in, but is really about "knowing thy own work" and its value and excellence. By Terry Rossio.

196. Finding the Discipline to Write. Stephen J. Cannell. Tips for overcoming writer's block.

225. How to Be Good. 404 Daniel Knauf. Curmudgeonly serious funny advice.

229. Do You Really Want to Be a Screenwriter? The pro’s and con’s. Straight goods from Michael Hauge.

240. Me and My Ampersand. Ted Elliott. Writing with a partner. (I don’t recommend partnering for developing screenwriters, but Rossio and Elliott seem to have a perfect professional "marriage.")

That Big Break. Letter from the Wordplay site that deals revealingly about overcoming the obstacles and barriers to success.

255. Glass Front Door? Terry Rossio answers the concerns of a writer about the opportunities for women in the Hollymale screenwriting world. Rossio offers some rays of sunshine.

Beginnings

067. The Writing Process. Clear, readable, and knowledgeable guidance for the beginning to the end of the writer’s task in creating a screenplay.

078. Growing the Idea.404 Allen White. Sound, well presented suggestions about getting in touch with and nurturing your creative process. A word of warning for the uninitiated: take the "Act One, Act Two, Act Three" stuff with a grain of salt. My advice: substitute the words "Beginning, Middle, End," just so you remember that the idea of actually using the concept of Act Structure as a writing tool has been discredited. If you need proof check out P.I.#141 and P.I.#152

155. Five Types of Openings. Michael Hauge. Concise column from Hauge's site which describes, in summary form, five types of openings for features.

188. The First Ten Pages. New York Screenwriters Monthly. A cautionary tale for beginning writers, and other denizens of the movie world.

252. How Much Detail. Wordplay letter about the first pages of your script.

Bio Bites

063. On Shane Black. Christopher Wehner. Homage to the superwriter who brought you Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and The Last Action Hero.

103. Interview: David S. Goyer (Blade, The Crow, City of Angels) by Kenna McHugh. Dark stories, tortured characters, and tips on writing.

104. Interview: Rich Whiteside, author, "The Screenwriting Life: The Dream, the Job and the Reality." Interview by Christopher Wehner. Lessons from an insider about breaking into the business

208. Interview: Screenwriter/Director Hampton Fancher
Part I: 404 The screenwriter of Blade Runner relates his production nightmares during the film, and tells of his directorial debut on The Minus Man.

209. Interview: Screenwriter/Director Hampton Fancher
Part II:404 Fancher discusses the screenwriting and production process of The Minus Man.

210. Interview: Screenwriter David Koepp 404
Thoughts from the scribe of Carlito's Way, Jurassic Park, Death Becomes Her, Bad Influence, and now his second directorial effort, Stir of Echoes. Includes a few hints about the upcoming Spiderman

218. Bill Martell.404 Interview by Hollywood Scriptwriter Magazine. 1996. Emphasis on Martell’s career and adventures in low-budget action genre.

235. John Milius. Interview on Screenwriters Network. The writer of Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, and Clear and Present Danger, as well as other blockbusters digs into his past and dishes up the inside story.

The Biz

088. The September Six: Hollywood Then and Now. Advice to those who feel frustrated in their attempts to break into the business. Offered by six seasoned Hollywood screenwriters (. Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H Barbarians at the Gate). Terry Rossio (Mask of Zorro, Godzilla, Men in Black) and Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight) Josann McGibbon and her partner, Sara Parriott (Runaway Bride, The Favor) Sollace Mitchell, a (male) Indie writer/director/producer (Row Your Boat, starring Jon Bon Jovi).

092. Adventures in Hollyweird#1. Bud Fleisher. Cautionary tale about the Biz, wrapped up in a real life anecdote. Getting at the truth about what it’s really like to compete in the Hollyrace.

093. Adventures in Hollyweird#2. Bud Fleisher. The truth about readers, and who to get your script to, if you can. Reality anecdotes, told in Fleisher’s inimitable no b.s. style.

095. Adventures in Hollyweird#3. Bud Fleisher. Fleisher’s tag-team tussle with the injustice of the Networks’ "A-List."

Go to Index

097. Adventures in Hollyweird#4. Bud Fleisher. Fleisher’s truth-take on Hollywood agents. What they’re good for—and what they’re not.

098. Adventures in Hollyweird#6. Bud Fleisher. Fleisher’s own cautionary tale about answering ads in trade mags that solicit screenplays. Entertaining and instructive.

101. You Don’t Have to Live in Hollywood to Sell Your First Script. Andrea Leigh Wolf. Wolf should know. She did it. And she’s on her 34^th screenplay as of this writing.

132. Building the Bomb. Mr. Rossio goes to confession with all of us to share an inside look at how a movie failure gets created.

136. Tinsel-Speak. Glossary of terms from Hollyword.

198. Lost Angels. Fade In Magazine. "The burdens of success can burn out even the brightest young stars." Having it tough in Tinseltown.

222. Words Into Pictures. 404 William C. Martell’s reportage of the first annual Writers Guild Of America "Words Into Pictures" seminar. One of the best "window on Hollyworld" articles I’ve seen. A must-read, even if you’re an Outsider, because you’ll probably breathe a sigh of relief that you’re making movies somewhere else on the planet.

224. Direct to Video (DTV). 404 An important article to read, although written in ’96. In that year, says William C. Martell, according to an article in the L.A. Times, box office revenues totted up at 5.2 billion dollars. What were the video sales and rentals for the same period? 14.7 billion. Martell probes at what this means for writers, and gives some pretty good answers. Must-read for people who care about where the Biz is going.

231. When Women Call the Shots. Dr. Linda Seger. Gender facts on the Hollymale scene. Debunking the street wisdom about "Women’s Movies" and Men’s Movies." Directions for the future.

237. Conversation with Midge Sanford. Producer Sanford, along with partner Sarah Pillsbury, produced Desperately Seeking Susan and How to Make an American Quilt. Examination of how two women sought projects that dealt with issues of importance to women and made successes of them, even though didn’t go the route of toadying up to the influential and powerful at the studios.

244. Hard Bargain. You wrote your screenplay. They want it. They like you. They really like you! Now what do you do? Real life stories and advice from Terry Rossio.

247. We’re Not Worthy. One of the most introspective and worthy columns on the Wordplay site. Rossio examines the truth of working with "made" people in Hollywood, and shares with us some of the things he’s learned. But he doesn’t stop there. He gets into the meaning of why we admire those who are the creators of Movies.

Career Information

045. Rules of Screenwriting. Michael Hauge. Candid discussion of what Hollyweird requires of its screenwriters, and what you'd better be ready for. Blunt but slightly inspirational.

048. Can't I Just Stay Home and Write My Script? Dr. Linda Seger. Good sense pro's and con's of whether or not you have to live in H.Wood or B.Hills to be a screenwriter. Best article on the merits of Being There. Must-read.

055. Inspiration: Your Script vs. What's Out There. Terry Rossio. A cogent answer to the ubiquitous lament, "Why doesn't somebody buy my script-it's twice as good as what's out there!" Entertaining, with a real-life horror story from one who's been there.

056. 23 Steps to a Feature Film Sale. Terry Rossio. Rossio writes a letter to his friend Steve, and shares it with us. Down-to-earth, practical, and as usual laced with Rossio's engaging ironic wit.

058. I Love L.A. Terry Rossio. Do you have to move to L.A. to be successful? An anecdotal feast on the topic with just the right soupcon of wisdom.

069. Screenwriting, the Internet & You. 404 Allen White. Guidebook to the use of the Internet to advance your career, and provide resources for your writing.

085. The Back Door to Hollywood. 404 Allen White. Practical advice about alternative ways of breaking in.

219. Hollywood in Your Back Yard. To be a successful screenwriter, you have to live in Hollywood, right? Not according to William C. Martell. An entertaining and insightful take on the old dilemma: to Hollymove or not to Hollymove.

245. Your First Contract. A little intro music by Maestro Terry Rossio—and then? A real contract, with all the numbers. Only the names have been deleted so nobody will know who ought to be annoyed with the whistle blower.

Character Building

009. The Character Problem—Understanding the Psychology of Character. New York Screenwriter Monthly. Analysis of how to make characters leap off the page. Particular reference to Leaving Las Vegas.

011. Fleshing Out Characters. Alex Epstein. Short article, gets right to the point of making characters real.

117. Name-Dropping. Rossio. The best article on the net about naming characters. Must read.

027. Development Exec Myths. Alex Epstein. Itch-scratching rant on obtuseness of the Execs, but article is really about different aspects of character, especially backstory, or lack thereof. A must-read.

084. Welcome to the Dark Side. 404 Zorianna Kit. A literate, delicious dissection of evil and screen villains and what makes them tick. From the WGA site.

157. (This is the Missing Link. A Golden Surfer Award goes to the person who can provide us with the link) A Great Villain With a Great Plan. William Martell (Hard Evidence) as interviewed by Eric Lilleor. The good gritty from Martell on to create powerful believable bad guys. Specific examples. Practical tips.

182. The Real Story. David Trottier. It’s often the "story between the characters," the inner story, that holds the audience, that motivates a producer to put up money for a script. Trottier analyzes this phenomenon entertainingly with examples from Romancing the Stone, Kramer vs. Kramer, Twins, and Ordinary People.

207. An Actor’s Perspective. 404 Unique article by Allen White that digs into how an actor might work with your script. Includes examples from Thelma and Louise, Jerry Maguire, and The Shawshank Redemption. Also provides relevant links to Amanda Gray’s "Breaking Down The Script," and links to scripts Shawshank Redemption and Jerry Maguire.

Go to Index

116. Impressive Failure. Rossio. How heroes and failure work together in stories. Appealing anecdote about Superman.

156. Character in 3 Parts. 404 Three succinct and readable articles on characterization by Allen White: One – basics of creating characters. Two – the role of paradox and contradiction in creating believable characters. Three – The process of creating the biography.

Classical References

041 Poetics. Aristotle, 350 BC . 404 The famous Greek's codifying of the art of storytelling. Academic in its tone, but brimming with clarity and careful thought about fundamental principles that still have application today. Quote by one screenwriter, "There are three types of people in the world, those who take Aristotle too seriously, those who don't take him seriously enough, and those who don't take him at all." Find out which type you are.

O53. So What Is The Good For Plato? 404 Bernard Suzanne. Excerpt from an online site on Plato. Somewhat dense for those of us who are not philosophers, but offers insight into the eternal question of what virtue is and why a human being should strive for it.

142. Joseph Campbell Tribute Page. David Siegel. Thumbnail of an interview with the great mythologist conducted by Bill Moyer. Score: Campbell 10, Moyer 0.

143. Joseph Campbell: Hero With a Thousand Faces. David Siegel. Short summary of Campbell's thesis on the commonality of heroes. For those who prefer to discover what Campbell is all about in the time it takes to sip a cappuccino.

096. It’s Been Done: Intro on Wordplay to Georges Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations plus a summary of the text of Polti’s masterwork.

Go to Index

Coincidence

033. Anthropic Principle: Handling Coincidence. Rossio. A must-read nugget from Terry Rossio, told in his usual appealing whimsical style. How to eat your coincidence and have it too, by using an arcane principle called anthropy.

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Comedy

020. Comedic Style. Seger. Dr. Linda Seger gives practical advice with wonderful examples relevant to setting up the comedic framework in a script. A must-read.

Go to Index

Concept

018. Getting Ideas. David Trottier. An even dozen tips to stirring the creative pot.

106. High Concept.404 Definition by Robert Kosberg (How to Sell Your Idea to Hollywood) and separate riffs from listers on Screenwriters List. Found on Charles Deemer’s site.

123. Foot in the Door. The first of Terry Rossio’s Wordplay columns. Deals with Concept and the "Warner Brothers Hallway Test." Discussion continued in "Strange Attractor" P.I.#010.

010. Strange Attractor. 404 Wordplay column by Terry Rossio. Rossio's theory of the essential ingredient in a good concept. Good writer with an interesting take on this topic. Inspirational.

094. The Idea Is King. David Trottier pushes his point that it’s concept that buyers shell out cash for, and he serves up some tasty arguments in favor of his thesis. That’s both the good and the bad news. Go to the article and find out why. Especially if you’re just cooking up an idea for a screenplay.

125. Beachcombing. Wordplay column defining the nature of that idea that will attract people to the theater.

241. Story Molecule. Inventive and entertaining Wordplay column on the nature of story ideas.