Writing for the Screen, 1st Edition
Posted by Maura Nicolaita
About
Writing for the Screen is a collection of essays and interviews exploring the business of screenwriting. This highly accessible guide to working in film and television includes perspectives from industry insiders on topics such as breaking in; pitching; developing and nurturing business relationships; juggling multiple projects; and more. Writing for the Screen is an ideal companion to screenwriting and filmmaking classes, demystifying the industry and the role of the screenwriter with real-world narratives and little-known truths about the business. With insight from working professionals, you’ll be armed with the information you need to pursue your career as a screenwriter.
- Contains essays by and interviews with screenwriting consultants, television writers, feature writers, writer-directors of independent film, producers, and professors.
- Offers expert opinions on how to get started, including preparing your elevator pitch, finding mentors, landing an internship, and moving from an internship to the next step in your career.
- Reveals details about taking meetings, what development executives are looking for in a screenwriter, how and when to approach a producer, and how to pitch.
- Explores strategies for doing creative work under pressure, finding your voice, choosing what to write, sticking with a project over the long haul, overcoming discrimination, and reinventing yourself as a writer.
- Illuminates the business of screenwriting in the United States (New York and Los Angeles) as compared to other countries around the globe, including England, Ireland, Peru, France, Australia, and Belgium.
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Edited by Anna Weinstein Routledge 254 pages Paperback: 9781138945128 pub: 2017-02-24
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED EXIT STRATEGIES Preparing to Leave School and Begin Your Screenwriting Career By Gabrielle Kelly TEN ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE To Be an Active Hero in Your Career By Jen Grisanti IMPRESSING THE DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE By Trai Cartwright WRITING FOR TELEVISION What It Takes An Interview With Fern Field Brooks WHERE DO YOU BEGIN? Notes From the Screenwriting Guru An Interview With Erik Bork FROM WRITER’S ASSISTANT TO SHOWRUNNER Interning, Knocking on Doors, and Making Connections An Interview With Stacy A. Littlejohn CHAPTER 2: STICKING IT OUT THE SCREENWRITER’S JOURNEY By Pat Verducci WHAT IS A PITCH…? And Why and How Do You Do It? By Joshua Malkin BUILDING A SCREENWRITING CAREER Advice From the Entertainment Career Coach An Interview With Carole Kirschner A SCRIPT READER’S PERSPECTIVE How to Love What You Do When You Can’t Do What You Love By James Napoli THE ART OF DISCIPLINE AND PERSISTENCE Moving Toward Creative Success An Interview With Anne Fontaine A VETERAN PRODUCER’S TAKE ON SCREENWRITING An Interview With Bruce Gilbert By Chuck Erven NEGATIVE FEEDBACK How to Find the Positive By Hugo Van Laere CHAPTER 3: FINDING SUCCESS BUILDING YOUR TEAM Insights From the Screenwriting Consultant An Interview With Linda Seger INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING Working With an Independent Film Producer An Interview With Mary Jane Skalski DECIDING WHAT TO WRITE By Kira-Anne Pelican A WORKING SCREENWRITER’S JOURNEY IN AUSTRALIA By Susan Macgillicuddy THE PATH TO WRITING AN ICONIC FILM Navigating the Business of Hollywood An Interview With Barry Morrow CHAPTER 4: GETTING AHEAD A BOLD MOVE Running With an Unexpected Story An Interview With Mary Harron SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN HOLLYWOOD Eight Principles to Empower Your Writing and Your Life By Jim Jennewein FROM CREATIVITY TO CRAFT IN SCREENWRITING By Mark Readman WRITING FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE A Strategy of Forward Motion An Interview With Claudia Llosa RISKS AND REWARDS Following a Passion An Interview With Jay Paul Deratany SCREENWRITING AND MENTAL FITNESS Thoughts From a Mental Health Professional An Interview With David Silverman CHAPTER 5: STARTING AGAIN REINVENTION Writing the Next Great Script By William Rabkin ART VS. COMMERCE The Cage Match in My Brain Continues By Shalom Auslander EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD… I Learned From Writing Scripts By Rosanne Welch STARTING OVER IN AMERICA From Writing to Directing and Back Again An Interview With Kirsten Sheridan LIFE LESSONS IN WRITING FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES Wisdom From the Head Writer for Sesame Street An Interview With Lou Berger INDEX
Reviews
"This book answers all the hard questions every aspiring writer asks and the rest of the screenwriting manuals avoid. It's astonishing that this essential addition to every screenwriting library hasn't existed before—and a cause for celebration that it finally does now." —William Rabkin, Author of Writing the Pilot, Professor of Television Writing and Producing at Long Island University’s TV Writers Studio "An essential book – so accessible, so beautifully written, so encouraging and realistic and specific. It covers all the bases. Anyone contemplating a career as a screenwriter MUST read this book!" —Dr. Linda Seger, Script Consultant, Author, Seminar Leader "Writing for the Screen is perhaps the most powerful book on 'making it' in screenwriting that I've read in years. It is feverishly real, with raw truths and unabashed encouragement. I love the book's kaleidoscopic portrait and its solid approaches to the unique challenges of succeeding as a screenwriter today." —Dr. Pieter Aquilia, Head, Screenwriting, Australian Film Television & Radio School
About the Editor
Anna Weinstein is the Series Editor for PERFORM. A writer and editor with over fifteen years of experience in educational publishing, she received her MFA in Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California at Riverside-Palm Desert and her BA in Communication Studies/Performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She teaches introductory and advanced screenwriting at Auburn University, and she is a frequent contributor to Film International, where she publishes interviews with award-winning female directors in her series "Diva Directors Around the Globe."
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