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    The Guide for Every Screenwriter: From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed
    The Guide for Every Screenwriter: From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed
    The Guide for Every Screenwriter: From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed
    Ebook141 pages1 hour

    The Guide for Every Screenwriter: From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed

    By Geoffrey D Calhoun

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    About this ebook

    Screenwriting made simple. The Guide for Every Screenwriter is one of the most efficient instruction manuals on the craft. This book cuts past the verbose exposition, and gets straight to work, delivering sample-driven outlines and templates that anyone can follow. It is quick to use and apply to your work as a side-by-side checklist f

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWe Fix Your Script
    Release dateMay 3, 2019
    ISBN9781733989619
    The Guide for Every Screenwriter: From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed
    Author

    Geoffrey D Calhoun

    Geoffrey D. Calhoun (Heroes from Heaven - S.O.S. - Lily) is a top 100 indie screenwriter and has received multiple awards from international film festivals including the coveted Louis Mitchell Award for Excellence in Writing. Geoffrey is sought out as a script consultant and a re-writer for various stages of development and production in film. He is known for his fast-paced thrillers but has also won awards for comedies and dramas. Geoffrey believes everyone is a writer at heart and has dedicated himself to help others learn the craft.

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      Book preview

      The Guide for Every Screenwriter - Geoffrey D Calhoun

      THE GUIDE FOR EVERY

      SCREENWRITER

      From Synopsis to Subplots:

      The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed

      By

      Geoffrey D. Calhoun

      © Copyright 2019 by We Fix Your Script - All rights reserved. It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited.

      ISBN: 978-1-7339896-1-9

      Editor: Jayne Southern

      Cover photo and design: Adam Flor

      Contents

      Foreword

      Introduction

      PART I: DEVELOPMENT

      What is Screenwriting?

      The Write Attitude for Success

      Time, Talent, & Tenacity

      How to Write in Any Genre

      Myth: Write What You Know

      The Break Down

      Concept Development

      High Concept

      High Concept tips

      Low Concept

      Concept Template

      Mind Map

      Mind Map Tips

      The Logline

      How to build your logline

      Theme

      Theme Variations

      Theme Template

      Heavy-handed vs. Weak Themes

      Character

      Sympathetic vs. Empathetic

      Tips on Sympathy/Empathy

      Internal vs. External Conflict

      Designing Your Character

      Character Sheet

      Supporting Characters

      Tips for Great Characters

      6 Keys to Working with a Co-Writer

      PART II: STRUCTURE

      Syd Field’s Three-Act Paradigm

      Nine Point-Main Plot Outline

      Beyond the Nine

      Subplots

      Main plot & Subplot Arcs Combined

      Structure Tips

      PART III: FORMAT

      Reading vs. Shooting Script

      Passive vs. Active Speech

      Basic Formatting

      Series of Shots vs. Montage

      Subtext

      Visual Subtext

      Formatting Tips

      PART IV: WHAT COMES NEXT

      WGA Registration vs. Copyright

      Rewrites

      Coverage/Notes

      Feedback

      Synopsis

      Guide for a Synopsis

      Synopsis Template

      Treatment

      The Query

      Agents vs. Managers

      PART V: NETWORKING

      Branding

      Building your online presence

      Online Networking

      Tips on Networking

      Awards

      Film Festivals

      Full Script – A Mighty Quest

      A Mighty Quest – Analyzed

      In Conclusion

      Bibliography

      Acknowledgements

      About the Author

      "I read The Guide for Every Screenwriter in one sitting. Geoffrey D. Calhoun’s book provides insight any storyteller, not just screenwriter, can use. The guide had me thinking about my script and inspired me to write within the first ten pages.

      What makes this book elemental for a writer is the specific simple framing of an extraordinarily complex process. Everyone has bits of their movie in their head… for those of us still learning the craft, it’s easy to let a story overwhelm us and lead to failure. Geoffrey’s book reaches down and provides accomplishable steps to not only get past the pitfalls, but also profoundly improve a great idea into a wonderful one."

      - Pete A. Turner, Host of the Break It Down Show

      This is the book I wish I’d read ten years ago! A no nonsense, straightforward, and vital easy to follow guide for screenwriters both new and experienced. This is my new go-to guide for all things screenwriting. You better believe it’ll be close by from now on.

      - Cat Connor, Author of the Byte Series

      "There are so many books on screenwriting. Although many of them offer tips on structure, and development, few books deliver the information into something digestible for aspiring writers. Most books can leave people feeling more confused than when they started.

      The Guide for Every Screenwriter is one of the most efficient instruction manuals on the craft.

      Geoffrey D. Calhoun cuts past the verbose film school expository, and gets straight to work, delivering a sample-driven checklist that anyone can follow. What’s remarkable about this book is how quick it is to apply to your work. It serves as a side-by-side checklist for the writing process.

      I recommend this book to anyone looking to write a screenplay, and to any professional needing a refresher."

      - Kelly Schwarze, Director - Indie Film Factory

      Foreword

      Like Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, this book aims to give the reader and the writer a map to guide them. It takes the writers hand and assists them with proper fundamentals and structure. I like this book. I like what it does if you use it properly. This miniature tome gives you the keys to the kingdom.

      I’ve been involved with writing for over four decades. I have run over 30 Written Word Competitions over the last twenty years, read thousands of scripts, written over 300 episodes of Network Television and produced 5 films from my own screenplays (including the script for Behind The Gate with Academy Award Winner Joe Pesci). In short, I’ve seen it all. You could read one hundred books on screenwriting and still never get a tenth of the pure truth for the scribe that comes from cracking these pages open and then cracking open your mind to accept the truth of structure, process, intuition, and skill.

      With this brilliant book, Calhoun has not only drawn a line, but he has also made a bulwark of design in language, style, and instruction that anyone can follow. The question is, Will they? I really hope they do because there are a million ways to go wrong but only a few ways to get it right. Getting it right begins with structure.

      Screenwriting is one of the most difficult and rewarding crafts of all the crafts that have ever existed in the world. Think of all the trades and skills that have died over the last two thousand years. Now consider the fact that writers have outlasted them all. Why? Because the true heroics of a story is the ability to properly format, design, create, and launch your story successfully out into the universe.

      -Del Weston

      This book is dedicated to:

      My Muse, My Heart, and My Soul. To my wife, my son, & my mother. This one’s for you.

      "We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are

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