How to Build a Great Screenplay

by David Howard

Drawing of decades of practical experience David Howard deconstructs the craft of screenwriting and reveals how to build a good story from the ground up. Eschewing the 'system' provided by other books he emphasises that a good screenplay requires dozens of decisions by the author to make it unique, to allow it to take on a life of its own.
David Howard offers in-depth lessons in:
- How to build a story, and how to involve the audience in the story
- The creation of drama
- Creating living characters and their motivation
- How to weave in subplots
- Storytelling myths, legends and lies.
Throughout the book, each lesson is clarified through examples from some of the most successful movies ever, including Pulp Fiction, American Beauty, Chinatown, Saving Private Ryan and The Usual Suspects.

Genres: Writing, Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

I attack stories and storytelling from a variety of perspectives. I write both fiction and non-fiction books as well a screenplays. I have written or co-written more than two dozen produced film and television projects which have won a number of national, international and festival awards. I have taught screenwriting for a long time at USC where I am a tenured full professor in the School of Cinematic Arts and have published two books on the art and craft of screenwriting. When I'm not working on my own stories, I'm helping my students and a variety of professionals finesse their projects.

Reviews

[hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 4 class. Said a lot of the same things as the tools of screenwriting but with a more storytelling approach over format. Learned a lot!

[Madeleine McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on how to write a screenplay. This is a must read for anyone wanting to get into Hollywood or where ever else they make movies. Also has some good ideas for other writers, esp in characterization as long as you use your own head, too.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative dive into story-telling. Honestly, a better understanding of stories than Joseph Campbell.

Cons - well, it felt like I was reading it for a year, when it was only a few months. Basically, I felt its length, and I can imagine other readers would too. But again, worth one read for the dissection of stories and scripts.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for class.
Incredible! I have never written a full screenplay but I now feel as prepared as possible. Howard talks through each aspect of developing a screenplay in a clear and understanding way. The examples he uses make it easy to understand each element, and he isn’t preachy either. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to get into screenwriting!

[CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get through all of it. Dense paragraph after even denser paragraph with no real accessible structure it any of it, just a lot of rambling along. Nope.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dry.