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Into the Woods

A Five-Act Journey Into Story

by John Yorke ...

An analysis of the fundamental narrative structure, why it works, the meanings of stories, and why we tell them in the first place.The idea of Into the Woods is not to supplant works by Aristotle, Lajos Egri, Robert McKee, David Mamet, or any other writers of guides for screenwriters and playwrights, but to pick up on their cues and take the reader on a historical, philosophical, scientific, and ... Read more

$1.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

An analysis of the fundamental narrative structure, why it works, the meanings of stories, and why we tell them in the first place.The idea of Into the Woods is not to supplant works by Aristotle, Lajos Egri, Robert McKee, David Mamet, or any other writers of guides for screenwriters and playwrights, but to pick up on their cues and take the reader on a historical, philosophical, scientific, and
... Read more
Action

The Art of Excitement for Screen, Page, and Game

by Robert McKee, Bassim El-Wakil ...

From the master of Story, Dialogue, and Character, ACTION offers writers the keys to propulsive storytelling.ACTION explores the ways that a modern-day writer can successfully tell an action story that not only stands apart, but wins the war on clichés. Teaming up with the former co-host of The Story Toolkit, Bassim El-Wakil, legendary story lecturer Robert McKee guides writers to award-winning ... Read more

Was $9.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

From the master of Story, Dialogue, and Character, ACTION offers writers the keys to propulsive storytelling.ACTION explores the ways that a modern-day writer can successfully tell an action story that not only stands apart, but wins the war on clichés. Teaming up with the former co-host of The Story Toolkit, Bassim El-Wakil, legendary story lecturer Robert McKee guides writers to award-winning
... Read more
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

by J.K. Rowling ...

Series Book 1 - Fantastic Beasts
When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone...Inspired by the original Hogwart’s textbook by Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original screenplay marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, ... Read more

$11.99 USD

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone...Inspired by the original Hogwart’s textbook by Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original screenplay marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling,
... Read more
Tess of the d'Urbervilles

by Thomas Hardy ...

Hardy tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful young woman living with her impoverished family in Wessex, the southwestern English county immortalized by Hardy. After the family learns of their connection to the wealthy d’Urbervilles, they send Tess to claim a portion of their fortune. She meets and is seduced by the dissolute Alec d’Urberville and secretly bears a child, Sorrow, who dies ... Read more

$0.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Hardy tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful young woman living with her impoverished family in Wessex, the southwestern English county immortalized by Hardy. After the family learns of their connection to the wealthy d’Urbervilles, they send Tess to claim a portion of their fortune. She meets and is seduced by the dissolute Alec d’Urberville and secretly bears a child, Sorrow, who dies
... Read more
My Ántonia

by Willa Cather ...

“My Ántonia” evokes the Nebraska prairie life of Willa Cather’s childhood, and commemorates the spirit and courage of immigrant pioneers in America. One of Cather’s earliest novels, written in 1918, it is the story of Ántonia Shimerda, who arrives on the Nebraska frontier as part of a family of Bohemian emigrants. Her story is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a neighbor who will befriend ... Read more

$1.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

“My Ántonia” evokes the Nebraska prairie life of Willa Cather’s childhood, and commemorates the spirit and courage of immigrant pioneers in America. One of Cather’s earliest novels, written in 1918, it is the story of Ántonia Shimerda, who arrives on the Nebraska frontier as part of a family of Bohemian emigrants. Her story is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a neighbor who will befriend
... Read more
The Anatomy of Story

22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller

by John Truby ...

John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all of his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, ... Read more

$12.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all of his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class,
... Read more
Plotman to the Rescue

A Troubleshooting Guide to Fixing Your Toughest Plot Problems

by James Scott Bell ...

"Help! My plot drags, sags, and has no heart!"This looks like a job for Plotman!Yes, solving your plot problems is why the superhero of story came to Earth. His mission? To give practical, easy-to-apply answers to the most vexing plot questions writers face, such as:• How do I plan a plot if I'm not a plot planner?• Does my plot need a prologue?• What if I hit a plot wall?• What if my plot is ... Read more

$4.99 USD

"Help! My plot drags, sags, and has no heart!"This looks like a job for Plotman!Yes, solving your plot problems is why the superhero of story came to Earth. His mission? To give practical, easy-to-apply answers to the most vexing plot questions writers face, such as:• How do I plan a plot if I'm not a plot planner?• Does my plot need a prologue?• What if I hit a plot wall?• What if my plot is
... Read more
Screenplay

The Foundations of Screenwriting

by Syd Field ...

Hollywood’s script guru teaches you how to write a screenplay in “the ‘bible’ of screenwriting” (The New York Times)—now celebrating over forty years of screenwriting success!Syd Field’s books on the essential structure of emotionally satisfying screenplays have ignited lucrative careers in film and television since 1979. In this revised edition of his premiere guide, the underpinnings of ... Read more

$10.99 USD

Hollywood’s script guru teaches you how to write a screenplay in “the ‘bible’ of screenwriting” (The New York Times)—now celebrating over forty years of screenwriting success!Syd Field’s books on the essential structure of emotionally satisfying screenplays have ignited lucrative careers in film and television since 1979. In this revised edition of his premiere guide, the underpinnings of
... Read more
What Happens Next

A History of American Screenwriting

by Marc Norman ...

Screenwriters have always been viewed as Hollywood’s stepchildren. Silent-film comedy pioneer Mack Sennett forbade his screenwriters from writing anything down, for fear they’d get inflated ideas about themselves as creative artists. The great midcentury director John Ford was known to answer studio executives’ complaints that he was behind schedule by tearing a handful of random pages from his ... Read more

Was $13.99 USD Now $5.99 USD

Screenwriters have always been viewed as Hollywood’s stepchildren. Silent-film comedy pioneer Mack Sennett forbade his screenwriters from writing anything down, for fear they’d get inflated ideas about themselves as creative artists. The great midcentury director John Ford was known to answer studio executives’ complaints that he was behind schedule by tearing a handful of random pages from his
... Read more
Genre Screenwriting

How to Write Popular Screenplays That Sell

by Stephen V. Duncan ...

It's simple: films need to have commercial value for the studios to produce them, distributors to sell them, and theater chains to screen them. While talent definitely plays a part in the writing process, it can be the well-executed formulaic approaches to the popular genres that will first get you noticed in the industry.Genre Screenwriting: How to Write Popular Screenplays That Sell does not ... Read more

$29.99 USD

It's simple: films need to have commercial value for the studios to produce them, distributors to sell them, and theater chains to screen them. While talent definitely plays a part in the writing process, it can be the well-executed formulaic approaches to the popular genres that will first get you noticed in the industry.Genre Screenwriting: How to Write Popular Screenplays That Sell does not
... Read more
The Science of Storytelling

Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better

by Will Storr ...

Based on the wildly popular creative writing class, this compelling, groundbreaking guide to creative writing is a must-have resource.Enlightening and empowering, The Science of Storytelling has become an invaluable tool for writers of all stripes, whether novelist, screenwriter, playwright, children’s writer, or writer of creative or traditional nonfiction.Award-winning writer and acclaimed ... Read more

$11.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Based on the wildly popular creative writing class, this compelling, groundbreaking guide to creative writing is a must-have resource.Enlightening and empowering, The Science of Storytelling has become an invaluable tool for writers of all stripes, whether novelist, screenwriter, playwright, children’s writer, or writer of creative or traditional nonfiction.Award-winning writer and acclaimed
... Read more
My Movie Business

A Memoir

by John Irving ...

John Irving's memoir begins with his account of the distinguished career and medical writings of the novelist's grandfather Dr. Frederick C. Irving, a renowned obstetrician and gynecologist, and includes Mr. Irving's incisive history of abortion politics in the United States. But My Movie Business focuses primarily on the thirteen years John Irving spent adapting his novel The Cider House Rules ... Read more

Was $9.99 USD Now $7.99 USD

John Irving's memoir begins with his account of the distinguished career and medical writings of the novelist's grandfather Dr. Frederick C. Irving, a renowned obstetrician and gynecologist, and includes Mr. Irving's incisive history of abortion politics in the United States. But My Movie Business focuses primarily on the thirteen years John Irving spent adapting his novel The Cider House Rules
... Read more
Scenarios

Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Every Man for Himself and God Against All; Land of Silence and Darkness; Fitzcarraldo

by Werner Herzog ...

Translated by Martje Herzog, Alan Greenberg ...

I do not follow ideas, I stumble into stories or into people; and I know that this is so big, I have to make a film. Very often, films come like uninvited guests, like burglars in the middle of the night. They are in your kitchen; something is stirring, you wake up at 3 a.m. and all of a sudden they come wildly swinging at you.When I write a screenplay, I write it as if I have the whole film in ... Read more

$16.99 USD

I do not follow ideas, I stumble into stories or into people; and I know that this is so big, I have to make a film. Very often, films come like uninvited guests, like burglars in the middle of the night. They are in your kitchen; something is stirring, you wake up at 3 a.m. and all of a sudden they come wildly swinging at you.When I write a screenplay, I write it as if I have the whole film in
... Read more
Becoming the Ex-Wife

The Unconventional Life and Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott

by Marsha Gordon ...

"Makes an excellent case for Parrott as an unjustly forgotten historical figure."—The New Yorker"Remind[s] us of the brazenly talented women sidelined by convention."—New York TimesThe riveting biography of Ursula Parrott—best-selling author, Hollywood screenwriter, and voice for the modern woman.Credited with popularizing the label "ex-wife" in 1929, Ursula Parrott wrote provocatively about ... Read more

$25.99 USD

"Makes an excellent case for Parrott as an unjustly forgotten historical figure."—The New Yorker"Remind[s] us of the brazenly talented women sidelined by convention."—New York TimesThe riveting biography of Ursula Parrott—best-selling author, Hollywood screenwriter, and voice for the modern woman.Credited with popularizing the label "ex-wife" in 1929, Ursula Parrott wrote provocatively about
... Read more
See Your Story

How to Write a Screenplay That's Already a Movie

by Kimberly Snow ...

Your script has a problem: it reads like a script. Let’s fix that.You have a movie in your head—vivid, emotional, cinematic. But when you write it down, the magic evaporates. The action turns mechanical. The emotion gets explained in dialogue. The descriptions feel like stage directions instead of images. What you end up with is a document… not a film on the page.See Your Story closes that gap. It ... Read more

$5.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Your script has a problem: it reads like a script. Let’s fix that.You have a movie in your head—vivid, emotional, cinematic. But when you write it down, the magic evaporates. The action turns mechanical. The emotion gets explained in dialogue. The descriptions feel like stage directions instead of images. What you end up with is a document… not a film on the page.See Your Story closes that gap. It
... Read more
Illuminating Moments

The Films of Alice Guy Blaché

by Janelle Dietrick ...

The stories Alice Guy Blaché put on film are the subject of this book. It contains 725 synopses including 360 translated from the original French. This book is not a filmography or a critical review of Alice's films, but a long drink of her stories. It was Alice's love of story that led her to start putting them on film in 1896. This collection may be compared to looking at Alice's bookshelf or ... Read more

$7.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

The stories Alice Guy Blaché put on film are the subject of this book. It contains 725 synopses including 360 translated from the original French. This book is not a filmography or a critical review of Alice's films, but a long drink of her stories. It was Alice's love of story that led her to start putting them on film in 1896. This collection may be compared to looking at Alice's bookshelf or
... Read more
Phantastic Fiction -- A Shamanic Approach to Story

by Matthew J. Pallamary ...

*Winner - International Book Award*Matthew J. Pallamary's popular Phantastic Fiction Workshop has been a staple of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the Southern California Writer's Conference for over twenty five years. He has also lectured at numerous other venues and led his own weekend intensive workshops.Matt has spent extended time in the jungles, mountains, and deserts of North, ... Read more

$2.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

*Winner - International Book Award*Matthew J. Pallamary's popular Phantastic Fiction Workshop has been a staple of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the Southern California Writer's Conference for over twenty five years. He has also lectured at numerous other venues and led his own weekend intensive workshops.Matt has spent extended time in the jungles, mountains, and deserts of North,
... Read more
Writing Television Sitcoms (revised)

by Evan S. Smith ...

This new edition of Writing Television Sitcoms features the essential information every would-be teleplay writer needs to know to break into the business, including: - Updated examples from contemporary shows such as 30 Rock, The Office and South Park - Shifts in how modern stories are structured - How to recognize changes in taste and censorship - The reality of reality television - How the ... Read more

$14.99 USD

This new edition of Writing Television Sitcoms features the essential information every would-be teleplay writer needs to know to break into the business, including: - Updated examples from contemporary shows such as 30 Rock, The Office and South Park - Shifts in how modern stories are structured - How to recognize changes in taste and censorship - The reality of reality television - How the
... Read more
Animation

From Concepts and Production

by Hannes Rall ...

This book explains the creation of animation from concept to production. Instead of focusing on singular aspects of animation production, talented animators can learn to make better films by understanding the process as a whole. Veteran independent filmmaker Hannes Rall teaches you how to develop an animation project from the very start of conceptual exploration though to completed production. ... Read more

$62.99 USD

This book explains the creation of animation from concept to production. Instead of focusing on singular aspects of animation production, talented animators can learn to make better films by understanding the process as a whole. Veteran independent filmmaker Hannes Rall teaches you how to develop an animation project from the very start of conceptual exploration though to completed production.
... Read more
Storytelling for Film and Television

From First Word to Last Frame

by Ken Dancyger ...

Storytelling for Film and Television is a theory and practice book which offers a definitive introduction to the art of storytelling through writing, directing, and editing. Author Ken Dancyger provides a comprehensive explanation of the tools that underpin successful narrative filmmaking and television production.The book takes a unique approach by connecting the different phases of the creative ... Read more

$58.99 USD

Storytelling for Film and Television is a theory and practice book which offers a definitive introduction to the art of storytelling through writing, directing, and editing. Author Ken Dancyger provides a comprehensive explanation of the tools that underpin successful narrative filmmaking and television production.The book takes a unique approach by connecting the different phases of the creative
... Read more
Slay the Dragon

Writing Great Video Games

by Robert Denton Bryant, Giglio ...

Writing for the multibillion-dollar video-game industry is unlike writing for any other medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative solutions to writing for a medium where the audience not only demands a great story, but to be a driving force within it. Aimed at traditional writers who want to learn interactive narrative as well as game creators who want to ... Read more

$17.99 USD

Writing for the multibillion-dollar video-game industry is unlike writing for any other medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative solutions to writing for a medium where the audience not only demands a great story, but to be a driving force within it. Aimed at traditional writers who want to learn interactive narrative as well as game creators who want to
... Read more
Ben Hecht

Fighting Words, Moving Pictures

by Adina Hoffman ...

Series series Jewish Lives
From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a vibrant portrait of Ben Hecht, one of the most accomplished and prolific American screenwriters"Richly informative. . . . A fine introduction to a seminal figure in American Jewish culture and Hollywood’s first century."—Glenn Frankel, Moment"To boil down such a profuse, not to say verbose, career, into so compact a volume was a challenge, but [Hoffman] ... Read more

$11.99 USD

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a vibrant portrait of Ben Hecht, one of the most accomplished and prolific American screenwriters"Richly informative. . . . A fine introduction to a seminal figure in American Jewish culture and Hollywood’s first century."—Glenn Frankel, Moment"To boil down such a profuse, not to say verbose, career, into so compact a volume was a challenge, but [Hoffman]
... Read more
Writing Short Films

Structure and Content for Screenwriters

by Linda J. Cowgill ...

This new edition has been completely updated and revised along with the addition of several new chapters. Currently, this title remains the best selling university text book on writing short film screenplays. ... Read more

$12.99 USD

This new edition has been completely updated and revised along with the addition of several new chapters. Currently, this title remains the best selling university text book on writing short film screenplays.
... Read more
Story

Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting

by Robert McKee ...

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series ... Read more

$27.99 USD

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series
... Read more

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