Creating Unforgettable Characters by
In this book, Linda Seger shows how to create strong, multidimensional characters in fiction, covering everything from research to character block. Interviews with today's top writers complete this essential volume.
Screenplay by
Screenplay: Building Story Through Character is designed to help screenwriters turn simple or intricate ideas into exciting, multidimensional film narratives with fully-realized characters. Based on Jule Selbo's unique 11-step structure for building story through characters, the book teaches budding screenwriters the skills to focus and shape their ideas, turning them into stories filled with character development, strong plot elements based on obstacles and conflicts, and multifaceted emotional arcs. Using examples and analysis from classic and contemporary films across a range of genres, from The Godfather to Guardians of the Galaxy, Selbo's Screenplay takes students inside the scriptwriting process, providing a broad overview for both beginners and seasoned writers alike. The book is rounded out with discussion questions, writing exercises, a guide to the business of screenwriting, in-depth film breakdowns, and a glossary of screenwriting terms.
The Writer's Journey by
The udated and revised third edition provides new insights and observations from Vogler's ongoing work on mythology's influence on stories, movies, and man himself. The previous two editons of this book have sold over 180,000 units, making this book a 'classic' for screenwriters, writers, and novelists.
The Art of Dramatic Writing by
Egri's treatise The Art of Dramatic Writing was first published in 1946 and remains today one of the best creative writing how-to books ever written.
Screenplay by
A thoroughly revised and updated edition of the classic screenplay guide, from the "most-sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world."* *The Hollywood Reporter
Writing diverse characters for fiction, TV or film by 
Writing the Character-Centered Screenplay by
"We need good screenwriters who understand character." Everywhere Andrew Horton traveled in researching this book--from Hollywood to Hungary--he heard the same refrain. Yet most of the standard how-to books on screenwriting follow the film industry's earlier lead in focusing almost exclusively on plot and formulaic structures. With this book, Horton, a film scholar and successful screenwriter, provides the definitive work on the character-based screenplay. Exceptionally wide-ranging--covering American, international, mainstream, and "off-Hollywood" films, as well as television--the book offers creative strategies and essential practical information. Horton begins by placing screenwriting in the context of the storytelling tradition, arguing through literary and cultural analysis that all great stories revolve around a strong central character. He then suggests specific techniques and concepts to help any writer--whether new or experienced--build more vivid characters and screenplays. Centering his discussion around four film examples--including Thelma & Louise and The Silence of the Lambs--and the television series, Northern Exposure, he takes the reader step-by-step through the screenwriting process, starting with the development of multi-dimensional characters and continuing through to rewrite. Finally, he includes a wealth of information about contests, fellowships, and film festivals. Espousing a new, character-based approach to screenwriting, this engaging, insightful work will prove an essential guide to all of those involved in the writing and development of film scripts.
Writing for Emotional Impact by
Karl Iglesias breaks new ground by focusing on the psychology of the reader. Based on his acclaimed classes at UCLA Extension, Writing for Emotional Impact goes beyond the basics and argues that Hollywood is in the emotion-delivery business, selling emotional experiences packaged in movies and TV shows. Iglesias not only encourages you to deliver emtional impact on as many pages as possible, he shows you how, offering hundreds of dramatic techniques to take your writing to the professional level.
Character: the art of role and cast design for page, stage, and screen by 
Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage and Screen by 
Writing Subtext: What Lies Beneath by 
You Talkin' to Me? by
Unlike the chitchat of everyday life, dialogue in stories must express character, advance the story, suggest a theme, and include a few memorable lines that audiences will be quoting for decades to come.The best stories have dialogue that sparkles, but it's easy for inexperienced writers to fall into common pitfalls like creating dialogue that's wooden or too on the nose. Other writers end up with exposition awkwardly inserted into conversations, actors tripping over unnatural phrases, or characters who all speak exactly the same way. In You Talkin' to Me?, Linda Seger and John Winston Rainey are here to help with all your dialogue problems. In each chapter, they explore dialogue from a different angle and discuss examples of great dialogue from films and novels. To cap it all off, each chapter ends with examples of poor dialogue, which are annotated by Linda and then rewritten by John, so readers don't just learn how to recognize when it's done well--they also learn how to make dialogue better. Whether you're writing fiction or nonfiction, for the screen or for the page, this book will get your characters talking.
An Actor Prepares by
An Actor Prepares is the most famous acting training book ever to have been written and the work of Stanislavski has inspired generations of actors and trainers. This translation was the first to introduce Stanislavski's 'system' to the English speaking world and has stood the test of time in acting classes to this day. Stanislavski here deals with the inward preparation an actor must undergo in order to explore a role to the full. He introduces the concepts of the 'magic of' units and objectives, of emotion memory, of the super-objective and many more now famous rehearsal aids. Now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations series to mark the 150th anniversary of Stanislavski's birth, this is an essential read for actors, directors and anyone interested in the art of drama.
Creating Characters by
A jargon-free manual on the basics of developing interesting fictional characters Vibrant, believable characters help drive a fictional story. Along with a clever plot, well-drawn characters make us want to continue reading a novel or finish watching a movie. In Creating Characters, Dwight V. Swain shows how writers can invent interesting characters and improve them so that they move a story along. "The core of character," he says in chapter 1, "lies in each individual story person's ability to care about something; to feel implicitly or explicitly, that something is important." Building on that foundation--the capacity to care--Swain takes the would-be writer step-by-step through the fundamentals of finding and developing "characters who turn you on." This basic but thought-provoking how-to is a valuable tool for both the novice and the seasoned writer.
