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