 Trade In this Item for up to £1.05
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.05, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Having read tons of screenplays as an executive, Denny Martin Flinn has come to understand that while all good screenplays are unique, all bad screenplays are the same. Flinn's book will teach the reader how to avoid the pitfalls of bad screenwriting, and arrive at one's own destination intact. Every example used was gleaned from a legitimate screenplay. Flinn's advice is a no-nonsense analysis of the latest techniques for crafting first-rate screenplays that sell.
From the Publisher
A "must-have" new screenwriting book
Having read tons of screenplays as an executive, Denny Martin Flinn has come to understand that while all good screenplays are unique, all bad screenplays are the same -- they’re bad. Flinn's book will teach the reader how to avoid the pitfalls of bad screenwriting, and arrive at one's own destination intact. Every example used was gleaned from a legitimate screenplay. Flinn's advice is a no-nonsense analysis of the latest techniques for crafting first-rate screenplays that sell. Includes script excerpts.
Having read tons of screenplays as an executive, Denny Martin Flinn has come to understand that while all good screenplays are unique, all bad screenplays are the same -- they’re bad. Flinn's book will teach the reader how to avoid the pitfalls of bad screenwriting, and arrive at one's own destination intact. Every example used was gleaned from a legitimate screenplay. Flinn's advice is a no-nonsense analysis of the latest techniques for crafting first-rate screenplays that sell. Includes script excerpts.
* Don't list a cast of characters. * Don't use (CONTINUED) at the top and bottom of each page. * Don't number your scenes. * Don't use CUT TO unless it's a new scene. * Don't tell the actors what words to punch. * Don't interpret everything. * Don't put acting notes into your script unless they are unavoidable. * Don’t coach an actor on how to say his lines. * There is no such thing as (a beat) and using this amid dialogue because you want the actor to take a pause, is incorrect. * Leave the music track alone. * People don’t talk to themselves. * Don't put in a lot of gratuitous camera instruction. * Don’t lecture. * Don't write current fads. About the author: Denny Martin Flinn is a produced screenwriter. Flinn authored the books What They Did For Love (Bantam Books) and Musical! A Grand Tour (Schirmer Books). He has also written two mystery novels. Mr. Flinn lives in Los Angeles.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
You would be amazed how many screenplays have no contact information at all on the manuscript itself. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
You would be amazed how many screenplays have no contact information at all on the manuscript itself. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Rather than learn how to write the 'perfect' screenplay (as if there is such a thing), Flinn preaches how not to write the one that will make the agents, producers, and readers laugh at you."
"Flinn gives a no-nonsense, brutally honest look at what makes a screenplay terrible, and how to avoid the fate most screenplays - reaching the reject pile. For the sake of your screenplay and the paper wasted on poorly written screenplays, buy this book, analyze this book, and learn from this book." -Excerpts from Jason Antebi's review at Done Deal (Scriptsales.com)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I actually like this book a lot. The five stars are kind of irrelevant on this I feel, as these screenplay books often have different emphases, so are not better or worse, but make their points to varying degrees of success. Some of them are so Hollywood that they are useless outside that context.
'How not to' as the title suggests does give you the feeling of being slapped in the face every time you come even close to making one of the 101 common mistakes. This is good, although you may find it disheartening - obviously better to read before spending ages on writing your script. Avoiding many of these mistakes require common sense or the bare minimum of research on the part of let's say, the average writer, such as - Don't divide your screenplay into 3 acts, or People don't talk to themselves. These tips are useful although a good software package like Final Draft or Movie Magic simply makes many of them redundant - the macros in the software set you free to write to a greater extent and leave How not to on the shelf a bit more - not messing about with things like margins etc. There are also areas in which writers outside of the States may wish to depart from - such as length or where to place page numbers - both according to where the screenplay is being targeted.
However, there is a greater strength of this book which is not immediately apparent, which is a very well written and concise overview of story elements and structure. Funnily enough I didn't discover this for a long time after I got the book, as I assumed the whole thing was as the cover suggested (which goes to show 'never judge a book by ... you know the rest!) So instead of wading through and deciphering Joseph Campbell (without wanting to detract from his ground-breaking work on story myth), you can get a lot of what you need in this book, which is surprising after Flinn has spent so much time on literally being completely negative, virtually slapping the reader in the face.
Obviously read as widely as possible, How not to is a great book for the beginner or experienced screenplay writer to use as reference throughout most stages of the writing process.
'How not to' as the title suggests does give you the feeling of being slapped in the face every time you come even close to making one of the 101 common mistakes. This is good, although you may find it disheartening - obviously better to read before spending ages on writing your script. Avoiding many of these mistakes require common sense or the bare minimum of research on the part of let's say, the average writer, such as - Don't divide your screenplay into 3 acts, or People don't talk to themselves. These tips are useful although a good software package like Final Draft or Movie Magic simply makes many of them redundant - the macros in the software set you free to write to a greater extent and leave How not to on the shelf a bit more - not messing about with things like margins etc. There are also areas in which writers outside of the States may wish to depart from - such as length or where to place page numbers - both according to where the screenplay is being targeted.
However, there is a greater strength of this book which is not immediately apparent, which is a very well written and concise overview of story elements and structure. Funnily enough I didn't discover this for a long time after I got the book, as I assumed the whole thing was as the cover suggested (which goes to show 'never judge a book by ... you know the rest!) So instead of wading through and deciphering Joseph Campbell (without wanting to detract from his ground-breaking work on story myth), you can get a lot of what you need in this book, which is surprising after Flinn has spent so much time on literally being completely negative, virtually slapping the reader in the face.
Obviously read as widely as possible, How not to is a great book for the beginner or experienced screenplay writer to use as reference throughout most stages of the writing process.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A screenwriting bible.
This is an excellent book on how (not) to write screenplays.
It deals with form as well as content, in an interesting and funny way. Read more
It deals with form as well as content, in an interesting and funny way. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jonas
A 'must have' for every screenwriters toolbox
I'm a filmmaker/wannabe screenwriter. I HATE reading!
But this book was an easy page turner. A refreshing look at how to write a screenplay. Read more
But this book was an easy page turner. A refreshing look at how to write a screenplay. Read more
Published 13 months ago by S. Brunton
Not bad
Decent read, and you'll pull a few good points out of it, but a bit too much filler - bumps up page count by including big patches of scripts which aren't particularly useful and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ian Whitney
Great introduction to screenwriting
The book covers all the basics of writing a screenplay. The layout is logical and each section moves you nicely through the process of writing your movie classic. Read more
Published 22 months ago by D. O. Mahony
Brilliant useful book as well as an entertaining read
This is an excellent idea for a screenwriting book - Very thoughtfuly written as well providing a wealth of knowledge and skills to the writer. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2009 by Mr. Suchet Budon
Better than a how to book
More useful than any book telling you 'how to' write a screenplay. Saved my 3 months work and made me a better writer.
Published on 18 Nov 2009 by D. J. Bryer
A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're...
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his... Read more
Published on 8 May 2008 by James Beggs
Overpriced and disappointing.
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2008 by Bodnotbod
Fandabidozi
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).
As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so... Read more
As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so... Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2007 by rowantree
Learning through mistakes, and professionals
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2000
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
