Chapter & Content Description
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
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- by Esther Luttrell
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Esther Luttrell
estherwrites@aol.com
USA
