Here's what started the phenomenon: the best seller, for over 15 years, that's been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny and candid look inside the movie business.

Save the Cat! is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying, including: The four elements of every winning logline The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by -- and why they're important to your script Why your Hero must serve your Idea Mastering the 15 Beats Creating the Perfect Beast by using The Board to map 40 scenes with conflict and emotional change How to get back on track with proven rules for script repair This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a showbiz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat.

If you're ready to graduate from the boy-meets-girl league of screenwriting, meet John Truby . . . [his lessons inspire] epiphanies that make you see the contours of your psyche as sharply as your script.
--LA Weekly

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 his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby's own unique approach to building an effective, multifaceted narrative.

What do all great stories have in common? What techniques do great writers use? How do you take your writing to the next level?

There are no storytelling rules-but there are patterns. The Structure of Story details the specific writing tools that will help you recognize and apply the patterns of great stories.

You will learn how to shift your focus from storytelling rules to storytelling tools. By applying these tools, you'll be able to keep the reader on the edge of their seat while delivering an emotional, meaningful story.

In The Structure of Story, you'll learn the four dramatic tools that keep the reader engaged, the two things every story must accomplish, how to write multi-dimensional characters that drive plot, how a story's theme can be conveyed through a character arc, how to create an organic plot driven by cause and effect, the critical things that your opening must accomplish, what goes in the middle of a story, how to write an emotional climax, how subtext works and when to use it, how to create a twist ending, tools for showing rather than telling, how to pace your story properly, how to write an ending that's both satisfying and inevitable, and how to avoid a repetitive plot.

No matter where you are in your writing career, The Structure of Story will give you new techniques to take your writing to the next level.

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 successful onscreen narratives are revealed in clear and encouraging language that will remain wise and practical as long as audiences watch stories unfold visually--from hand-held devices to IMAX to virtual reality . . . and whatever comes next.

As the first person to articulate common structural elements unique to successful movies, celebrated producer, lecturer, teacher and bestselling author Syd Field has gifted us a classic text. From concept to character, from opening scene to finished script, here are fundamental guidelines to help all screenwriters--novices and Oscar-winners--hone their craft and sell their work.

In Screenplay, Syd Field can help you discover:
- Why the first ten pages of every script are crucial to keeping professional readers' interest
- How to visually grab these influential readers from page one, word one
- Why structure and character are the basic components of all narrative screenplays
- How to adapt a novel, a play, or an article into a saleable script
- Tips on protecting your work--three ways to establish legal ownership of screenplays
- Vital insights on writing authentic dialogue, crafting memorable characters, building strong yet flexible storylines (form, not formula), overcoming writer's block, and much more

Syd Field is revered as the original master of screenplay story structure, and this guide continues to be the industry's gold standard for learning the foundations of screenwriting.

Originally an influential memo Vogler wrote for Walt Disney Animation executives regarding The Lion King, The Writer's Journey details a twelve-stage, myth-inspired method that has galvanized Hollywood's treatment of cinematic storytelling. A format that once seldom deviated beyond a traditional three-act blueprint, Vogler's comprehensive theory of story structure and character development has met with universal acclaim, and is detailed herein using examples from myths, fairy tales, and classic movies. This book has changed the face of screenwriting worldwide over the last 25 years, and continues to do so.

Many writers believe once they have their basic plot points in place, their stories are destined to succeed. But many narratives fall flat between those plot points and lose their audience before the big finish. Engaging the audience and moving the story forward in every scene is the responsibility of the characters, not the plot. But while many books on the craft of writing state that characters need to be three dimensional and change, a beginning writer isn't always sure how to turn these rather abstract ideas into concrete craft on the page. Crafting the Character Arc offers a practical guide to character creation and development by expanding upon the concept of the character arc and creating a step-by-step guide for writers to ensure that their characters are dynamic and engaging. Using narrative examples from multiple platforms, including novels, films and games, this is the essential guide for helping writers create an active and well-defined character arc. Crafting The Character Arc is structured in three main parts. Part One covers the more traditional, basic approach to creating character, including personality traits, depth, secrets, goals versus emotional needs, active versus reactive protagonists, and dramatic functions. Part Two introduces the Major Dramatic Curve, a detailed pictorial representation of a character arc and its major elements: place of rest, inciting incident, rising action, crisis point, climax and falling action/resolution. Part Three offers practical applications of the Major Dramatic Curve. The writer is given guidance for using the curve to create a dynamic and engaging narrative work. Lastly, some variations in using the Major Dramatic Curve are explored and exceptions to the rules are addressed. Character Arcs are a critical part of every story making this guide applicable to multiple mediums: novels, short stories, films, TV, games, plays, and Web series.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy's acclaimed first screenplay, the basis for an Emmy-nominated film--a taut, riveting intergenerational drama of fathers and sons, power, inequality, rage, and violence set in post-Civil War South Carolina.

Set in Graniteville, South Carolina, The Gardener's Son is a tale of privilege and hardship, animosity and vengeance brought to life through two families: the Greggs, the wealthy owners of a cotton mill, and their employees the McEvoys, a father and son beset by misfortune. After Robert McEvoy loses his leg in an accident--rumored to have been caused by his nemesis James Gregg, the son of the mill's founder--the angry and bitter young man deserts his job and family.

Two years later, Robert returns. His mother is dying, and his father, the mill's gardener, is confined indoors working the factory line. These intertwined events stoke the slow burning rage McEvoy has long carried, a fury that erupts in a terrible act of violence that ultimately consumes the Gregg family and his own.

Made into an acclaimed film broadcast on PBS in 1976, The Gardener's Son received two Emmy Award nominations and was screened at the Berlin and Edinburgh Film Festivals.

Intended to be kept at a screenwriter's fingertips, The Hollywood Standard provides what even the best script software can't: clear, concise instructions and hundreds of examples to take the guesswork out of a multitude of formatting questions that perplex even seasoned screenwriters. Contents include: - When a new scene heading is appropriate and when it isn't - How to format shot headings, dialogue, direction and transitions - How to control pace with formatting - How to make a script page visually inviting to the reader - What to capitalize and why - How to get into and out of a POV shot - How to handle text messages and Zoom meetings - How Hollywood's most innovative screenwriters are pushing the boundaries of format - How format for animation differs from live action formats Simply put, Riley knows more about script format than anyone in Hollywood and shares it all in this indispensable guide.

WILLIAM GOLDMAN FOUR SCREENPLAYS WITH ESSAYS

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!

A companion volume to one of the most original works of recent American Cinema*

Donnie Darko was the surprise cult hit of 2001. Appearing nationwide on critic's year-end top-ten lists, the quirky independent film's effortless blending of science fiction, horror, adolescent angst, and social satire defied description while simultaneously providing an unexpectedly poignant catharsis for Sept. 11 blues (Jan Stuart, Newsday). Its Möbius strip-like narrative about Donnie, a troubled teenager who can see into the future, continues to inspire fans to obsessive heights. The Donnie Darko Book includes the film's screenplay, an in-depth interview with writer-director Richard Kelly, facsimile pages from The Philosophy of Time Travel book that Donnie uses to go back in time, as well as photos and drawings from the film and the artwork it inspired.

The long-awaited follow-up to the perennially bestselling writers' guide Story, from the most sought-after expert in the art of storytelling.
Robert McKee's popular writing workshops have earned him an international reputation. The list of alumni with Oscars runs off the page. The cornerstone of his program is his singular book, Story, which has defined how we talk about the art of story creation.

Now, in Dialogue, McKee offers the same in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech. Famous McKee alumni include Peter Jackson, Jane Campion, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Haggis, the writing team for Pixar, and many others.

My Story Can Beat Up Your Story! is the same powerful, easy-to-learn system that industry insiders have used to generate millions of dollars in script sales and ?assignments. In a clear, step-by-step fashion, this book is a fun, eye-opening, ?brain-expanding, and often irreverent guide to writing stories that sell. Covering everything from Heroes to Villains, from Theme to Plot Points, from cooking up good ideas to a business plan for smart writers, this book forever eliminates that horrible feeling every writer goes through -- staring at the blank page and wondering what comes next?

A substantial update of the previous edition, Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach deconstructs recent feature films and offers a new section analysing popular television series.

A proven screenwriting method in emotionally engaging an audience, the sequence approach emphasises the underlying motives of each story plot to better convey its relation to the work as a whole. In this expanded second edition, Paul Gulino includes analyses of recent noteworthy films and serial dramas, such as Parasite, Barry and Breaking Bad, with an eye to how they manage audience attention, convey vital information and deliver their emotional payloads. The aim of the book is to help writers move readily from the feature film to the serial form, mastering both. It is perfect for both beginning writers and those with experience in the feature screenplay form.

Nominated for 8 Academy Awards(R) including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay

She's everything. He's just Ken. The exclusive screenplay of the film phenomenon by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach.

*Featuring an exclusive introduction by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach and 8 pages of full-color photos from the film*

Greta Gerwig's bold and inventive Barbie breaks the mold. BBC Culture

A near-miraculous achievement. Independent

Brilliant, beautiful, and fun as hell. The New Yorker

For the first time, the BARBIE screenplay is now available in print. Anarchically hilarious and unexpectedly emotional, BARBIE is a magical cinematic confection of absurdity, heart, and Technicolor musicals. Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have created a deeply personal and idiosyncratic film from the icon that is the Barbie doll. The movie celebrates the perfection of imperfection, and affirms that everyone, even Allan, is Kenough.

BARBIE(TM) and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by, and used under license from, Mattel. (c)2023 Mattel.

This modern film classic, an extraordinary tale of hope and survival inside a maximum security prison, follows the complex twenty-year relationship between two convicts who have little in common--except friendship. Based on the novella Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, director/screenwriter Frank Darabont's film, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, was nominated for seven Academy Awards(R), including Best Picture and Best Screenplay and has been named one of the 100 Best Films of All Time by the American Film Institute.

The Newmarket Shooting Script Series(R) book includes:

• Introductions by Stephen King and Frank Darabont
• Complete shooting script
• Analysis of script-to-screen changes
• Behind-the-scenes photos
• Storyboards
• Complete cast and crew credits
• Memo from the Trenches by Frank Darabont

What gets your heart rate going more: reading a story about dinosaurs, or being chased by one? The emerging discipline of immersive storytelling recognizes the power of creative works that put the viewer at the center of the action. In Immersive Storytelling, theme park designer Margaret Kerrison shares tips and tricks for writers on teams tasked with bringing a narrative to life. How do you take an idea from inspiration to manifestation? How do you move from telling a story to creating a world? In this richly illustrated book, the first of its kind written specifically for writers, Kerrison lays out the craft of immersive storytelling. She uses case studies to show what works, and highlights the essential role of the writer on a complex creative team. Ready to take the kernel of an idea and turn it into a full-fledged experience? This book gives you the blueprint.

**Winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture**

The complete screenplay of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer centers on the life of the father of the atomic bomb. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film stars Cillian Murphy as the man who led the effort, in the midst of a world war, to unleash the power of the atom.

Christopher Nolan has fashioned a story of discovery bathed in the light of a thousand suns - but one that is darkened by government surveillance and the travesty of a trial to which Oppenheimer was subjected.

In his introduction to the screenplay, Kai Bird, co-author of American Prometheus, praises Nolan's skill in taking an extremely complex life story and miraculously turning it into visual art that is faithful both to the history and the man.

Originally an influential memo Vogler wrote for Walt Disney Animation executives regarding The Lion King, The Writer's Journey details a twelve-stage, myth-inspired method that has galvanized Hollywood's treatment of cinematic storytelling. A format that once seldom deviated beyond a traditional three-act blueprint, Vogler's comprehensive theory of story structure and character development has met with universal acclaim, and is detailed herein using examples from myths, fairy tales, and classic movies. This book has changed the face of screenwriting worldwide over the last 25 years, and continues to do so.

In this classic bestselling screenwriting guide--now revised and updated--author and film consultant Viki King helps screenwriters go from blank page to completed manuscript through a series of clever and simple questions, ingenious writing exercises, and easy, effective new skills.

Viki King's Inner Movie Method is a specific step-by-step process designed to get the story in your heart onto the page. This method doesn't just show how to craft a classic three-act story but also delves into how to clarify the idea you don't quite have yet, how to tell if your idea is really a movie, and how to stop getting ready and start. Once you know what to write, the Inner Movie Method will show you how to write it. This ultimate scriptwriting survival guide also addresses common issues such as: how to pay the rent while paying your dues, what to say to your partner when you can't come to bed, and how to keep going when you think you can't.

How to Write a Movie in 21 Days, first published in 1987, has been translated in many languages around the world and has become an industry-standard guide for filmmakers both in Hollywood and internationally.

For accomplished screenwriters honing their craft, as well as those who have never before brought their ideas to paper, How to Write a Movie in 21 Days is an indispensable guide. And Viki King's upbeat, friendly style is like having a first-rate writing partner every step of the way.