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This
site updated
August 22nd,
2005
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Read
two chapters FREE online:
Chapter
6 ...Chapter
9
During
my career as a writer/producer, I read thousands of scripts by established
and developing writers. Some of them succeeded in going into production,
but--
90%
or more of the ones that were not produced had no chance to begin with.
Why?
Because
they suffered from flaws in their stories.
Imagine
how you'd feel as a writer if youcould avoid that trap. Think of how
your confidence would soar!
Click
Here to Order
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Pearson's
Index
(to screenwriting articles on the internet, with direct
links)
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HOLLYWOOD
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Clear,
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The perfect antidote
to technical manuals and characters who like to talk in letters to one-up
their peers. -- offers big searchable database of acronyms, plus one-look
dictionaries, standard dictionaries and the top search engines. TGINSFAA
(Thank God I'm not stuck for an acronym).
Visual site
for writers seeking drama in the sky. -- Biggest aviation site on the
internet. Over 65,000 photos. Airliners, military aircraft, classic planes,
crashes, tech infor, etc., etc., etc.
Question? Ask a
real person.
-- Biggest free Q and A site on the internet: arts and entertainment,
cars and vehicles, computers, legal, medical, religion, sports (pro or
recreational), travel, plus some other fluffy items and a fascinating
miscellaneous category (get help searching the internet, cops, fire safety,
personal security, and UFO's),.
For scripts that
deal with sign language. -- This cool site uses animated photos to teach
basic American Sign Language (ASL). Although kind of slow, it's an excellent
use of the Web, and includes resource links of interest to the deaf community.
A translation tool.
-- Downloadable translator.
Quote Searches.
-- Still as useful as it was at the beginning of the last century, but
if you're looking for a quote from Hunter S. Thompson, forget it.
Archetypes and Story
Roots. -- The standard reference work on the subject, with links to other
related topics.
-- "In Canada we
have enough to do keeping up with two spoken languages without trying
to invent slang, so we just go right ahead and use English for literature,
Scotch for sermons and American for conversation." -- Stephen Leacock.
This site also contains links to writing, editing and PR services.
Inet's answer to
Hollywood Reporter, National Enquirer, and ET, all in one -- all the news
thats fit (some that's unfit) to print about the movie and television
business. Uniquely au courant. Bonus: has a great search engine for drilling
down into its pages and returned fascinating info. I tested the word "Screenwriter"
and...oh, well, YOU do it, see if they'll put a cherry on it for you.
Need an answer to
the question, "Is there a book on my subject?" or "What images can I grab
about my topic?" -- A sophisticated library search engine with associate
libraries across the U.S. Book searches available, plus searches which
can pull images from a host of image collections.
If
the CIA doesn't know it, who does?
-- "Intelligence" on 250 countries. Defense systems, flags, geography,
government, maps, population, transportation. The online leader for fingertip
facts on countries around the world.
Even
in screenplays, which are not usually destined for publication, grammar
and spelling do count.
-- Literate and learned, but very readable and entertaining, site by Paul
Brians, Professor of English, Washington State University. Professor Brians
also deals briefly with the "politics of usage" (my term).
Links to everything
from The Autopsy Screenwriter's Guide to The Smoking Gun.
Are
you a "pack rat" writer?
-- The subtitle of this site is "Fascinating Facts and Amazing Stories."
Search engine on board, which turns up unexpected gems. Great for the
lateral thinker.
Crime
genre? Investigation thriller? Mystery? -- the FBI's own site.
Mystery, crime,
or action genres resource. -- The quintessential firearms site, hosted
by Jeffrey Scott Doyle. Excellent resource when your script deals with
the technical aspects of weaponry. Comprehensive and easy to navigate.
Need to know how
your Hero's going to get the goods on the criminal? Try these sites.
Looking for a different
approach to famous quotations? -- A unique site created and maintained
by Franklin C. Baer, who originally started his library when on a quest
for quotes to put on a calendar to give to his wife. How's that for creative
inspiration?
When
the plot point gets "techie," here's some help.
-- From smoke detectors to medical school, from cruise missiles to tomatoes,
from boolean logic to invisible pet fences, make sure your plot twist
is technically right.
When did what happen
and who did what to whom? -- If you're one of those people who loves to
use the "Timelines of History " books, this site is for you. Hyper History
Online indexes events and famous people by utilizing graphic timelines.
It contains an alphabetical index for 810 persons in HHO with 350 www
links.Covers 3000 years of world history. Endorsed by the Discovery Channel,
and the History Channel. A great fact checker, and stimulation for script
dialogue, etc., etc., etc.
For those who love
to watch the Canada Goose flying. -- shameless, chauvinistic homerism.
Great resource for those who live in Hogtown. Has links and info to the
movie scene, arts and entertainment, and good pages for those of us in
the movie and television industry, as well as those wonderful American
folk brave enough to venture here to save 40% on production costs.
Wondering
about what your rights are?
-- U.S. jurisprudence about the film business, with a specific site on
Writers' Rights.
What
disease or medical condition is it?
-- Links to eight top medical sites
These
are the things to steer clear of in your script. --
A good way to check on where you went "derivative" in your story or screenplay.
Love
things legal and litigious?
-- Everything you wanted, and didn't want, to know about things jurisprudential.
If you need legal inspiration or stories or--well almost anything, you
can find it or link it here. Monster site. Mostly U.S. Very readable
Important articles
on a broad range of topics. Written by the best in the business -- Screenplay
professionals like Terry Rossio, Michael Hauge, Richard Michaels, Linda
Seger, Frank Darabont, and others. The articles are categorized into groups
like Audience, Agents, Becoming a Screenwriter, The Biz, Character,
Dialogue, Format and Page Style, Low-Budget Scripts, Queries, Selling,
Sex and Romance, Structure, Theme, Tips and Tricks of the Trade, Writer's
Block, and many more. A great way to get answers and get inspiration!
Listen in for the
lingo. -- Also Aviation and Fire. Requires Real Player (an easy download
if you don't have it).
Who said it? --
Find quotations on anything; identify quotations by anyone. A good sidekick
to Bartlett's.
Need to look it
up? -- This page has everything from Academic Info to Wisdom Knowledge
& Literature Search.
Find the best search
portals.
A Treasure House
of Story Material.
-- Go there.
Doing Doggerel?
-- Be a poet. Type in a word and let the database generate perfect rhymes,
partial rhymes or homophones.
-- The great bard's
acerbic side. Search by play or by category
Cop show?
Crime story? -- Virtual "Cold case" site. Good spider links to crime research
pages.
For those writers
interested in love stories and romances, here's a unique site by a pro
in the field. -- this site offers a wide variety of services for both
professional and developing writers, including an online writer's bookstore,
writing seminars on tape and online, software for writers including the
Dogwood Compendium of Names and Storycraft software, research links and
other writers' links, and a massive online romance bookstore.
Everything you need
to build your own website for free!
Technical and academic.
-- Designed to support academic objectives, this site offers some excellent
research aids and resources.
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