Solving Your Script is a hardheaded approach to solving technical problems in scripts. In down-to-earth chapters, award-winning playwright and screenwriter Jeffrey Sweet introduces tools enabling writers to: write exposition using the future tense make characters vivid even before they appear find the idiosyncrasies in a character that will generate story Each chapter includes a discussion of a particular technique, followed by an assignment from Sweet's workshop and scenes written by his colleagues and students. There are also detailed discussions of what works in the scenes, what is problematic, and why.
Cara J. Russell is a prolific screenwriter with a background in journalism. Her movies can currently be seen on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Lifetime, UPtv, PixL TV, and more. As of this writing, she has 10 + screenplay projects in development with various producers and production companies. In addition to her screenwriting, Cara works as a Creative Development Executive for MPCA (Motion Picture Corporation of America), a film production company in Los Angeles that is a world-leading producer of Christmas and family-themed movies and television entertainment. As a Creative Development Executive, Cara has read and given extensive notes on hundreds of scripts. She works on the production side of film and TV projects for networks and streamers from the initial pitches through the shooting drafts. A large part of her job is working with writers and helping them get their scripts into sellable shape for buyers such as Netflix, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, Paramount, ABC, CBS, HBO Plus, NBC Peacock, Disney Plus, Lifetime, and many more. Working on both sides of the table gives Cara a unique perspective. She found herself giving the same notes over and over again to new writers and decided to write a screenwriting book. The purpose of this book is to help screenwriters who already understand basic structure and story elements but their scripts need a lot more work to get them into sellable shape. Cara explains the notes that are commonly given to writers by Development Executives on their submitted scripts to help you identify and solve those issues before you submit your script to a production company or studio. Knowing the right people, people who are willing to read your spec and/or are looking to hire writers for open writing assignments, doesn't do you any good unless you can deliver a strong, professionally formatted, well-written, amazing script. You usually only get one shot to have your project read, and it is important to make sure your screenplay is in the best possible shape! Although glamorous, the entertainment industry is a business. In addition to understanding the elements of what makes a successful, sellable screenplay, it is equally important to have a basic understanding of the business side of the movie industry. This includes knowing how to pitch your project, handling notes meetings, and delivering subsequent revised and properly formatted drafts to the production company. The good news is that everyone in Hollywood is looking for an amazing script, and with streamers changing the game, there has never been a better time or opportunity for new writers to break into the industry and sell their screenplays. This is the book Cara would have wanted and needed when she was first starting out in her professional screenwriting career. Take it from someone who has been there, and works on both sides of this wonderful, maddening, exhilarating, creative industry, you can make your screenwriting dreams come true!
"Making a good script great is not just a matter of having a good idea. Nor is it a matter of just putting that good idea down on paper. In scriptwriting, it's not just the writing but also the rewriting that counts. [This book] focuses on the rewriting process and offers specific methods to help you craft tighter, stronger, and more workable scripts. While retaining all the valuable insights that have made the first edition one of the all-time most popular screenwriting books, this expanded, second edition adds new chapters that take you through the complete screenwriting process, from the first draft through the shooting draft. If you're writing your first script, this book will help develop your skills for telling a compelling and dramatic story. If you're a veteran screenwriter, this book will articulate the skills you know intuitively. And if you're currently stuck on a rewrite, this book will help you analyze and solve the problems and get your script back on track."--Back cover.
"Think, my dear -- just think what it will be like, to be known as the girl who freed the great Napoleon Bonaparte!" Fourteen-year-old English girl Betsy Balcombe and her family have a most unusual house guest: Napoleon Bonaparte, former emperor of France and the most feared man on earth. Once lord and master to eighty-two million souls, now in 1815, Napoleon is a captive of the British people. Stripped of his empire and robbed of his young family and freedom, he is confined to the forbidding, rat-infested island of St. Helena, where a cruel jailer and more than two thousand British troops guard his every move. The one bright star in Napoleon's black sky is Betsy, a blazingly rebellious teenager whose family is reluctantly housing the notorious prisoner. Betsy is the only foreigner Napoleon's ever met who is not impressed by him and doesn't tremble at the sight of him -- and Napoleon is more than intrigued. After fits and starts, a most remarkable friendship develops between Betsy and the emperor -- a friendship that transcends age and politics. As Betsy develops from a gangly, tomboyish girl to a blossoming young woman, this unexpected and wonderful alliance survives inevitable gossip and growing pains, giving Betsy the courage to pursue her dreams -- and Napoleon the courage to face his dark future. It also inspires Betsy to hatch a daring and dangerous plan on Napoleon's behalf, a scheme that could threaten both of their lives and shake entire empires to their foundations. Based on true events, Staton Rabin's story blends humor, adventure, and poignant drama, vividly revealing new insights into the heart and mind of one of the most towering, fascinating historical figures of our time -- and tells a tale of hope and bravery that will inspire readers to their own heights of courage.
Mastery of craft depends on repetition: the more opportunities student actors have to be guided through analyzing scripts, the more likely they are to develop a reliable process for making choices when the time comes to work independently. That's why Acting on the Script contains eight short plays, which can be used independently or as parts of one full-length play, giving aspiring actors the practice they need to tell the story of the play and of their characters clearly, believably, and compellingly. With each new scene, readers are given the opportunity to think through the analysis and synthesis process independently, then they are guided clearly through that process. The first section reintroduces the basic elements of acting craft. The book then lays out how these elements relate to a script in general and then more specifically – by using a short play to illustrate the basic principles. The second section focuses on specific analysis and synthesis problems using original scenes especially composed to help students develop their analysis and choice-making skills and to address individual acting issues. The plays, already tested in classes and two productions (one professional and one college), are filled with the kinds of acting problems that beginning actors often have trouble with and need to learn to solve. In addition, specific problems that actors might have with certain types of material are addressed as well.
This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!
The key to mastering any Unix system, especially Linux and Mac OS X, is a thorough knowledge of shell scripting. Scripting is a way to harness and customize the power of any Unix system, and it's an essential skill for any Unix users, including system administrators and professional OS X developers. But beneath this simple promise lies a treacherous ocean of variations in Unix commands and standards. bash Cookbook teaches shell scripting the way Unix masters practice the craft. It presents a variety of recipes and tricks for all levels of shell programmers so that anyone can become a proficient user of the most common Unix shell -- the bash shell -- and cygwin or other popular Unix emulation packages. Packed full of useful scripts, along with examples that explain how to create better scripts, this new cookbook gives professionals and power users everything they need to automate routine tasks and enable them to truly manage their systems -- rather than have their systems manage them.
(Limelight). This book is written for the beginning or seasoned playwright, as well as for actors (or anyone) wishing to attempt their first ten-minute play. Every aspect of writing a ten-minute play is covered, from perking with an idea, to starting the play, to developing it, to effective rewriting, to completing it, even to how to get the most out of readings of your play once you've finished it. Writing the 10-Minute Play also reveals the best ways to market your play and includes an extensive listing of ten-minute play contests. The guide contains many in-depth interviews with international playwrights who have had substantial success with their ten-minute plays, as well as publishers of ten-minute plays and producers of ten-minute play festivals. Included as well are several award-winning ten-minute plays, followed by a discussion by the respective playwrights on how they went about creating their play, from start to finish. The final chapter offers tips and suggestions from artistic directors of ten-minute play festivals and from well-known playwrights whose ten-minute plays have received awards and publishing deals.
