Welcome to Create Your Screenplay

Terry Rossio. Rossio puts on his Strunk and White hat and nails screenplay style with one nuts and bolts column. So stop agonizing over format and start writing. A must-read

The New Spec Style

David Trottier. Purchasing info for a good no-nonsense book on what you need to do to please the reader with the style of your spec.

Screenforge formatting program

A shareware formatting application by Apotheosis Productions, compatible with various versions of word processing applications, including Macintosh.

Screenwright

Shareware for Word Perfect 6.1 (Windows) screenplay formatting.

CYS: Screenplay Formatting

Genres

CYS: 14 Basic Movie Genres - Commentary and Examples

Gurus
Charles Deemer, Michael Hauge, Bill Johnson, Robert McKee, Dr. Linda Seger, John Truby

The Hook

The First Ten Pages

New York Screenwriters Monthly. A cautionary tale for beginning writers, and other denizens of the movie world.

Strange Attractor

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.

Internet
Wordplay Index to Columns

An index to the first 37 of Terry Rossio's Wordplay Columns. Visit his internet site. A mini treasure chest of whimsy, wit, and down-to-earth tips on the screenplay trade. Honest, inspirational, practical-best columns about screenwriting on the internet, bar none.

Capsule Bio and Introduction to Dr. Linda Seger

Dr. Seger's website is worth visiting. One of my favorite writers on the art of the screenplay. I'd be a bigger fan if she moved on from the outmoded concept of Three-Act-Structure. Her books are recommended reading.

Low budget scripts:
Writing Low-budget scripts

This copyrighted document has been made available by its author, Colin Brunton, and by the Canadian Film Centre. Good "crib sheet" with compact and humorous, but practical, suggestions about writing for producers who have limited funds

Megahits
Write the Blockbuster

Richard Michaels does a very thorough examination of what it takes to write a megahit. Recommended.

Plot
Advancing A Complex Plot Along a Story Line

Bill Johnson. A Review of LA Confidential. Excellent review of how the writers of the film handle the plot intricacies of the story. A must-read.

Premise

The Idea Is King

David Trottier.

Premise-- Foundation of Storytelling

Bill Johnson. Thorough study of what a premise is and how to develop it.

Queries
Breaking the Ice

Terry Rossio. Delightful Rossio aria on the metaphorical "social ranking" of query letters.

Writing the Query Letter

Succinct advice on the do's and don'ts from Screenwriters Network.

Reading Scripts
Reading Scripts

Nina Jacobson. Refreshingly candid guest Wordplay column by Nina Jacobson who is (at the moment of writing) Executive Vice President of Production for Walt Disney/Hollywood Pictures. Jacobsen gives us a look from the other side of that desk piled high with scripts

Readers' Checklists

Terry Rossio. Story about an actual reader's checklist for submitted scripts. An O. Henry ending and cause for pause when getting your masterpiece ready to send.

Selling
Hard Bargain

Terry Rossio. Delightful, but practical, whimsy in which Rossio harpoons a few of the sharks in the Hollywood negotiating pool. A Must Read, if only for the vicarious satisfaction.

The Spec Script

Andrea Leigh Wolf. Spec scripts have their own special status, style, and formatting, and Wolf sets out do's and don'ts. Includes a nice riff about the beginning of your script, the first 10 pages.

Sex and Romance
Sex Sells. A Hot Script

Terry Rossio. Wordplay column. The inimitable Terry Rossio shines with this article on how to deal with sex in your script. Lots of examples. Highlight of the article is a hilarious but germane telling of a coupling with his girlfriend at 18. (Try not to read this column. I dare you.)

Writing Romantic Comedy (Part I)

Interview with Billy Mernit. Examines how Romantic Comedies have to be combined with another form, or written with a twist to succeed in today's market. References to Pretty Woman (which Mernit describes as "A love poem to the credit card.") Chasing Amy and others.

Structure
CYS Screenplay Structure - A Quick Reference

Teaching Screenwriting
Michael Hauge Interview

Christopher Wehner. An interview with author and teacher Michael Hauge, in which Hauge addresses the issue of whether or not one needs to be a screenwriter to teach screenwriting. Also touches on the complement of characters needed in a screenplay.

Theme
Deep Thoughts About Theme

Terry Rossio. Practical ideas about how to make theme a driving force in your screenplay. Complete with a long list of aphorisms and thought-provoking thematic statements.

Tips & Tricks of the Trade
Movies Every Screenwriter Should See

Screenplay Tips

Richard Toscan. Apart from the suggestion to use the outmoded 3-Act structure, some quick tips that are worth thinking about.

Treatments
Proper Treatment.

Terry Rossio. Crib sheet on how to try to do what is impossible to do-write the story of your film in seven pages. Execs be warned: This could be deflationary to your ego.

Visuals
Visual vs verbal

Richard Toscan. Toscan compares the visual beginning of Antonioni's The Passenger with the beginning of Ariel Dorfman's stage play Death and the Maiden.

Writer's Block
Writer's Block Page

Lisa Cohen. Rx articles for those who stare, but can't start. Lisa Cohen is a Vancouver writer who has written a book on the subject, and has some innovative ideas about how to solve the problem.

Writers' Modus Operandi
The Secret to My Lack of Success.

Richard Jeffries (Scarecrow). Wordplay Guest Column. Jeffries diffident title belies the volume of his work and his commitment to excellence. Article is a tasty h'ors d'oeuvre sideboard of tips on life, work, health and studio savvy. Recommended.

Ross, Gary (Pleasantville)

Allen White interview. Trenchant, thought-provoking insights about heart and blood writing issues. Talks about dangers of writing according to formula, but also gives true compass readings on how to make your own creativity and unique insights and voice work for you. Good sense approach to Act Structure. You'll wish the article were longer.

CREATE YOUR SCREENPLAY
With Barry Pearson

Pearson's Index Second Pagee

Hollywood Screenplay
Formatting Made Easy

Hot off the press.
Second Edition!

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May 10, 2011

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CREATE YOUR SCREENPLAY With Barry Pearson

Pearson's Index Second Pagee

Hollywood Screenplay Formatting Made Easy

Hot off the press. Second Edition!

GET THIS--

• Do all your own formatting ...without buying expensive ...software .

• Get started in less than twenty ....minutes. • Clear, step-by-step instructions.

• Learn how to register your | ...screenplay.FAST with the .Writers ..Guild .of .America.BY EMAIL!~~