PART 1 TOOLS OF THE SCREENWRITING TRADE CHAPTER 1: ASSEMBLING THE WRITER'S TOOLBOX What to do when you first get the idea to write a screenplay. CHAPTER 2: PUPPIES & PAPER: STEP #1 Understanding and writing a Story Treatment. A step-by-step guide to getting those first words on paper, an example of a treatment, and a checklist. CHAPTER 3: EASY AS A-B-C: STEP #2 How to find a producer who might be interested in producing your work. CHAPTER 4: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY (A Self-Journal) A self-quiz to compare how you write now to the way you write after you've studied this book. CHAPTER 5: ROUGH MOVIE DRAFT The step between your treatment and polished script that allows you to "see" your movie from beginning to end and to write it in thirty days or less. CHAPTER 6: CREATING THE SCREENPLAY Everything you need to know in order to write a screenplay that will be read and taken seriously by those in a position to buy it. CHAPTER 7: COLLABORATIVE ART, THE There's an entire film crew waiting for directions from you so that they can take your script from paper to film. PART II CREW SPEAK: THE LANGUAGE OF FILM CHAPTER 8: THE FORMAT, THE LANGUAGE, THE PROFESSION A script is nothing but a set of production notes to a film crew. You must learn their language. CHAPTER 9: 37 MISTAKES MOST NEW WRITERS MAKE--AND HOW TO AVOID THEM CHAPTER 10: SLUG LINES How to proof yourself so that you'll never write an incorrect one again. CHAPTER 11: SLUG LINES WITHIN A SCENE: INTERIOR How to move from one room to another. CHAPTER 12: SLUG LINES WITHIN A SCENE: EXTERIOR How to move from one location to another. CHAPTER 13: INSIDE/OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE/INSIDE If a character is inside looking out, and the audience sees both inside and outside at the same time, how do you describe it on a script page? CHAPTER 14: NIGHT AND DAY/WHICH IS THE ONE? The Lighting Technician needs certain information from you. To include more than that exposes you as a novice. CHAPTER 15: TRAINS, PLANES, AUTOMOBILES--AND SLUG LINES What the Transportation Coordinator and the Transportation Captain need from the Writer. CHAPTER 16: OPENING NARRATIVES The entire film crew reads this important paragraph which always appears under a Slug Line. CHAPTER 17: CAPS: NARRATIVE When and why capping is appropriate. CHAPTER 18: ONLY FOR THE GUTSY: CAPPING CAMERA DIRECTION Like the most delicate spice, use any camera direction very, very sparingly. CHAPTER 19: CAPS: DIALOGUE When it's appropriate and why. CHAPTER 20: MORE ABOUT DIRECTING THE DIRECTOR The difference between telling the story in a visual manner and flat-out directing the Director. CHAPTER 21: SETTING THE SCENE Another take on when to tell a little and when to tell a lot--and how to tell the difference. CHAPTER 22: MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS & UNSEEN CHARACTERS A shadow is lurking ... you don't want the audience to know who it is. How do you write that on a script page without ruining the surprise? CHAPTER 23: MYSTERIOUS MUTTERINGS & OTHER BACKGROUND CONVERSATIONS How to write obscure background conversations. CHAPTER 24: AD-LIBBED DIALOGUE THAT THE WRITER DOESN'T WRITE What you should know about The Loop Group. CHAPTER 25: AH! THE SIGHT OF YOUR SOUND How to write sound into your script properly. CHAPTER 26: PASSAGE OF THE WRITES Another fine line between writing too much and writing too little. CHAPTER 27: HIDDEN DIRECTION How to move from one onscreen moment to another without using camera direction. Tricky, but possible! CHAPTER 28: IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR POV Explanation of a point-of-view shot and how it's used. Easy-to-follow examples. CHAPTER 29: BACK ON SCENE What is meant by the term and how to use it correctly. CHAPTER 30: THE ABBREV. VERSION Why it's wise not to use abbreviations. Another Insider Tip. CHAPTER 31: USING AND ABUSING QUOTATION MARKS There's a right way and a wrong way to use them in a screenplay. CHAPTER 32: REPETITIOUS WORDS REPEATED It's easy to use the same words over and over, but it certainly bores your reader. How to overcome this irritating habit. CHAPTER 33: FOUR-LEGGED THESPIANS Why it might be wise to reconsider writing a furry thing into your script: costs, problems, and how to get around them. CHAPTER 34: CHILDREN IN FILMS: LITTLE THINGS COST A LOT The costs and problems related to hiring children for your production that Producers consider even as they read your Submission Script. CHAPTER 35: FLASHBACKS, MONTAGES, QUICK CUTS, SERIES of SHOTS, INSERT SCENES When to use them, the differences between them, and how they look on the written page. CHAPTER 36: CHARACTER NAMES & NAMING CHARACTERS What happens when a character changes names in the middle of your story? CHAPTER 37: O.C., O.S., V.O. The differences between speaking off-camera, off-screen, and voice-over. CHAPTER 38: NAME CALLING All dialogue must have a name over it. You need to know why. CHAPTER 39: DIALOGUE (CONT'D) What to do when dialogue is interrupted by narrative or continues onto the following page. CHAPTER 40: DOUBLE TALK: TWO CONVERSATIONS AT ONCE How it looks on the page when two characters onscreen speak at the same time. CHAPTER 41: (DIALOGUE DIRECTION) There's a reason for the space which is under the character's name and over their dialogue. CHAPTER 42: PHONE CONVERSATIONS What the crew needs you to tell them in order to create a phone scene for you. CHAPTER 43: INTERCUTTING PHONE SCENES How to set up the scenes and move from one of them to the other. CHAPTER 44: DIALOGUE: TALKING THE TALK Tips that will help you achieve the most believable dialogue possible. CHAPTER 45: TRUE STORY OF DOTS & DASHES Three dots mean one thing on a script page and a dash means something entirely different. CHAPTER 46: GET THE PICTURE? Talking to the crew in their own insider language so that they, too, "get the picture". CHAPTER 47: EXPOSING EXPOSITION How to get characters in your script to convey something to an audience that everyone on screen already knows. CHAPTER 48: JUST PUT IT ON THE TAB The reason tabs are set the way they are, and why you should care. CHAPTER 49: TO CUT OR NOT TO CUT? Should you use CUT TO? Who says? CHAPTER 50: ENDING YOUR SCRIPT PAGE How you end your script page tells your reader whether or not you're a pro, a wanna-be, or a forget-it. CHAPTER 51: "CONTINUED"--IT ISN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER Despite what you hear, there's a real reason why the word "continued" is needed in your script. CHAPTER 52: Q: HOW LONG IS A SCREENPLAY? A: ELEVEN INCHES The reason why some people want scripts that run 120 pages--and how to break the rule. CHAPTER 53: HE HASN'T FELT SO GOOD SINCE HE EDIT The importance--and the difficulty--of editing your own script. CHAPTER 54: PRACTICE SAFE SCRIPTS Important Writers Guild of America information. PART III MARKETING CHAPTER 55: TO AGENT OR NOT TO AGENT:THAT IS THE QUESTION Why it may not be in your best interest to look for an agent--until you've made a sale! CHAPTER 56: CONSUMMATE QUERY, THE What makes up the perfect query letter? CHAPTER 57: A WRITER'S TRACKING DEVICE A system for keeping track of where to send queries, treatments, and other data. Your personal marketing system. CHAPTER 58: WHAT'S A RELEASE FORM? Information on its risks and protections. CHAPTER 59: ONE PAGE Two examples of a "one page" to send with your signed Release Form to production companies. CHAPTER 60: HOW TO OPTION A STORY & ADAPT A BOOK There are many ways to structure a deal so that you can tell someone else's story. CHAPTER 61: REJECTION It's a fact in a writer's life, but what does it really mean? CHAPTER 62: WRITERS GROUPS They can serve a real purpose, or they can make you feel like swamp gas. PART IV FILM FESTIVALS All 250 of 'em! PART V JOBS IN THE INDUSTRY Who's Who--Doing What? PART VI TELEVISION *For Sale: One Movie-of-the-Week, Like New *Television Concepts *It's All in the Timing *How Many Pages in a Television Script? *TV Formats PART VII AFFAIRS OF THE HEART *To Market, To Market To Buy--What? *When Did The Madness Begin? *Upside Down, Wrongside Out: Who Really Knows? CARE OF DREAMS BARROW, BARROW & JONES EPILOGUE INDEX