Writing Love: Screenwriting Tricks for Authors II
Alexandra Sokoloff [Sokoloff, Alexandra]Learn how to write your own romance novels or scripts by watching and learning from the romantic movies you love!
From award-winning author and screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff: the second in her acclaimed **Screenwriting Tricks For Authors series, with a special emphasis on writing love stories.
Whether you're a published author or a brand-new one, this extremely practical and encouraging workbook will take you step by step through the key story elements and techniques of crafting a romance, with examples from romantic comedy, romantic suspense, and romantic adventure, including ten full story breakdowns of popular romantic movies.
Screenwriting is a compressed and dynamic storytelling form that carries enormous emotional power, and the techniques of screenwriting are easily adaptable to novel writing. You can jump-start your plot and bring your characters and scenes vibrantly alive on the page - by watching your favorite movies and learning from the storytelling tricks of the filmmakers YOU love.
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Review"Sokoloff's advice is spot-on, and her teaching style is direct and effective. A must-have book for authors and screenwriters."
*--- Bestselling author JA Konrath, A Newbie's Guide To Publishing
"Sokoloff is a generous mentor with the gifted ability to address a storyteller's practical concerns while encouraging artistic integrity and every author's unique voice. Only three of my half dozen novels have been written with her unwitting guidance, but I can guarantee that with this book at my fingertips, all my future work- and my reading audience - will benefit from her advice. Recommended without reservation. "
--- Vicki Pettersson, author of the Sign of the Zodiac series
"I loved this book! Alexandra Sokoloff breaks down the screenwriting process in easy-to-understand steps with examples from current movies and the BEST practical examples. Her unique and always lots of fun lessons are empowering for first-time writers as well as those with finished screenplays looking to take their project to the next level. Indispensable."
--- George LaVoo, co-writer Real Women Have Curves, writer/director A Dog Year
From the Inside FlapTABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
PART ONE: STORY STRUCTURE
- The Master List
- What's Your Premise?
- First, You Need an Idea
- What KIND of Story Is It?
- The Three-Act, Eight-Sequence Structure
- The Index Card Method
- Story Elements Checklist
- Elements of Act I
- Plan, Central Question, Central Story Action
- What's The Plan?
- Hero/ine, Protagonist, Main Character
- Hero and Heroine, Lover and Loved One
- What Makes A Great Villain?
- Elements of Act Two
- Elements of Act Two, Part 2
- Elements of Act Three
- Top Ten Endings
- What Makes a Great Climax?
- Act Climaxes Overview and Examples
- Expanding on the Key Story Elements
- Expanded Story Elements Checklist
- Love Story Elements
- Fairy Tale Structure
- Meta Structure
- What is "High Concept"?
- The Rule of Three
- Voice
- First Chapters
- Theme and Thematic Image Systems
- Visual Storytelling
- Creating Suspense
- Plants and Payoffs
- The Big Twist
- Character Introductions
- Using Character Clusters
- Your First Draft is Always Going to Suck
- Top Ten Things I Know About Editing
- A Process for Writing
PART TWO: STORY BREAKDOWNS
The Breakdowns
40. Leap Year
41. While You Were Sleeping42. Notting Hill
43. Four Weddings and a Funeral
44. The Proposal
45. New in Town
46. Groundhog Day
47. Sense and Sensibility
48. Romancing the Stone
49. Sea of Love
PART THREE: THE BUSINESSLife is a Pitch Meeting
- How Do I Get a Literary Agent?
- Internet Resources for Writers
- So You Want to Know About Screenwriting
- Recommended Reading
Figure 1: Story Grid