The Screenwriter's Workbook
by Syd Field
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Description
The ultimate Hollywood screenwriting insider shares his secrets and expertise, updating his bestselling workbook for a new generation of screenwriters. Filled with new material--including fresh insights and anecdotes and analyses of films from Pulp Fiction to Brokeback Mountain--The Screenwriter's Workbook is your very own hands-on workshop, the book that allows you to participate in the processes that have made Syd Field's workshops invaluable to beginners and working professionals alike. show more Learn how to: define the idea on which your script will be built; create the model--the paradigm--that professionals use; bring your characters to life; write dialogue like a pro; structure your screenplay for success from the crucial first pages to the final act.--From publisher description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Having read a number of books on writing and screen writing that have mentioned Syd Field and his approach to story structure, it is interesting to read his thoughts first hand. Much of the content of the book was familiar to me; but Syd Field has his own way of presenting it. The book is packed with practical ideas and guidance. He is very much a believer in the three-act structure. He advocates a four page outline featuring the main plot points in detail and the rest in broad terms to get things going. But he encourages writers to follow their instincts when they are writing. His view is if your not sure whether to write the scene, write it anyway and see if it works. Good advice.
Analysis and Review
Principles of Syd Field's "The Screenwirter's Workbook", citing, as an example, the motion picture "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett
Principles of Syd Field's "The Screenwirter's Workbook", citing, as an example, the motion picture "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett
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Best Books on Writing for Writers
36 works; 19 members
Author Information
17 Works 2,810 Members
Sydney Alvin Field was born in Hollywood, California on December 19, 1935. He acted while majoring in literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Then, at the suggestion of one of his instructors, the filmmaker Jean Renoir, he entered film school at the University of California, Los Angeles. His uncle, Sol Halprin, the Academy show more Award-winning head of the camera department at 20th Century Fox, helped him find a job at the television company Wolper Productions. He started in the shipping department but eventually helped produce the company's documentary series Biography, hosted by Mike Wallace. He left to pursue his dream of writing screenplays. He wrote scripts for several television shows including The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Batman, but never had a major hit. While writing reviews of screenplays and reading thousands of poorly conceived works submitted to another production company he worked for, he decided aspiring writers needed help and wrote his first book, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. His wrote several other books including Going to the Movies: A Personal Journey through Four Decades of Modern Film. He also taught at several universities, served as a consultant to Hollywood studios, and advised scientists on how to write screenplays to stir interest in science as a career. He was elected to the Screenwriting Hall of Fame of the American Screenwriting Association. He died from hemolytic anemia on November 17, 2013 at the age of 77. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Screenwriter's Workbook
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 587
- Popularity
- 49,978
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.68)
- Languages
- 6 — Chinese, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 8
