Product Description

At last! The classic screenwriting workbook—now completely revised and updated—from the celebrated lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author, Syd Field: “the most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world”*

No one knows more about screenwriting than Syd Field—and now the ultimate Hollywood insider shares his secrets and expertise, completely updating his bestselling workbook for a new generation of screenwriters. Filled with new material—including fresh insights and anecdotes from the author and analyses of films from Pulp Fiction to Brokeback Mountain—The Screenwriter’s Workbook is your very own hands-on workshop, the book that allows you to participate in the processes that have made Syd Field’s workshops invaluable to beginners and working professionals alike. Follow this workbook through
to the finish, and you’ll end up with a complete and salable script!

Learn how to:
• Define the idea on which your script will be built
• Create the model—the paradigm—that professionals use
• Bring your characters to life
• Write dialogue like a pro
• Structure your screenplay for success from the crucial first pages to the final act

Here are systematic instructions, easy-to-follow exercises, a clear explanation of screenwriting basics, and expert advice at every turn—all the moment-to-moment, line-by-line help you need to transform your initial idea into a professional screenplay that’s earmarked for success.

The Perfect Companion Volume to Syd Field’s Revised and Updated Edition of Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

*Hollywood Reporter

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53150 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-31
• Released on: 2006-10-31
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.com
Screenplays, according to Field, are not so much written as they are built, and in this book he provides a clear explanation of what raw materials are needed to assemble the modern Hollywood movie script.In this cogently constructed workbook--one of the standards in the industry--Field elucidates the strict three-act structure of screenplays, talks about the nature of character, describes what plot points are and where they must fall, and provides exercises to help the screenwriter take an idea from the first germ of a concept, to outline, to rewritten script.

From the Publisher
Here is your very own hands-on workshop--the book that allows you to participate in the processes that have made Syd Fields workshops invaluable to beginners and working professionals alike.

About the Author
SYD FIELD is the internationally acclaimed screenwriter, producer, teacher, lecturer, and author of several bestselling books. He has been a script consultant for Roland Jaffe's film production company, 20th Century Fox, the Disney Studios, Universal Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures, and was the American Screenwriting Association's first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame. He lives in Beverly Hills, CA

Customer Reviews

A Great Mother Daughter adventure
My daughter has decided she wants to be a writer. Her first attempt at a novel had way to many minor details. She's a very visual person. I had taken a screenwriting course in college and thought of how she was automatically doing all the things I struggled to do "right". This book is a great tool to help me help her develop her gift.

Great tool for the novice screenwriter
I've written my share of short stories, and even had some of them published. I couldn't tell you how many times I've started a story and after a strong opening scene and some character development, got completely flummoxed and didn't know what to do or where to take it. After reading this book, I may dig them back out...

This book, I found to be a great distillation of storytelling. Some may be put off by the "formula" or what has been called a "paint by numbers" approach that this book takes, which is far from accurate. Joseph Cambell distilled all world mythologies into his "Hero's Cycle" in THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, and you can apply any myth from any continent to his pattern. Syd Field has just done the same thing to what could be argued is the only active myth system left to Western Culture, film. Take a two-hour myth and distill it down to its raw elements. That's his book. His pattern fits.

How do I create my own screenplay/myth? I have a great idea for this scene... Well, this book will force you to focus on the bits you have to think about to turn that great idea into a full screenplay.

This book was perfect for where I am as a storyteller. I know how to craft a good tale - sometimes it just all comes out one paragraph at at time until the ending scene... but sometimes, you need a tool to help you think about the whole structure to get to that next part. This book? A good tool for that.

You are writing your own characters and plot. All this book does is help you focus on the "why's" and "when's" of the "what happens" in YOUR script. It is not a "paint by numbers." You don't fill in the blanks like a mad-libs! It gives you a pattern to help you refine your ideas.

So, yes, if you are a professional screenwriter, SCREENWRITER'S WORKBOOK will probably insult you, because it simplifies what you considered to be a magical gift - the ability to create a screenplay. For those of us who are looking for a little help to refine our craft, it is a great tool.

As far as the repetitiveness some reviewers mentioned, many of the repeated passages were film quotes that you may or may not know verbatim. When focusing on the subtlety of the subtext of dialog in one chapter (or class, as the chapters are arranged), and the plot points that move the story forward in another chapter, the dialog should be reproduced each time to illustrate how important the words are. Since good screenwriting seems to be about tight focus of action and refined dialog, any responsible teacher *would* repeat the exact dialog.

I also recommend THE STORY, by Robert McKee.

Write a Screenplay Step by Step
I've tried writing a coherent and complete first draft of plays and screenplays without success. This book, coupled with Field's "Foundations of Screenwriting", guided me through using a systematic approach, and I completed a screenplay. I was actually amazed at myself.

The writing is clear, and Syd Field anticipates many problems a screenwriter will face along the way. I do credit this book with getting me to the finish line of writing a screenplay (this and MovieMagic Screenwriter). So, four stars from me.

On the negative side, it probably is best for beginning screenwriters. Plus, all the examples are movies from the '80s and earlier, so it seems fairly dated. However, his basic theories you can still see in most studio movies of today. It will also only lead you in writing the standard Hollywood epic structure type of screenplay.