Finally, a GPS system for screenwriters!
The potentially long and arduous journey of writing a screenplay was just made easier to navigate with The Screenwriter's Roadmap. Avoid the wrong turns, dead ends, gaping p(l)otholes, and other obstacles that result in frustration , wasted time, and wasted energy. The Screenwriter's Roadmap keeps you on track and helps you reach your destination- a finished, professional quality screenplay.
Neil Landau, a successful Hollywood screenwriter and script doctor with over 2 decades of experience, provides you with 21 Guideposts, that if implemented, will help you nail down your screenplay's story structure, deepen its character arcs, bolster stakes, heighten suspense, and diagnose and repair its potential weaknesses. These Guideposts are based on field-tested, in-the-trenches experiences that have been proven to work.
The Guideposts are augmented by interactive exercises, end of chapter "homework" assignments, examples from the latest blockbusters, as well as over 20 interviews with some of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters and directors, including David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel), David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, Panic Room, War of the Worlds, Angels & Demons), Melissa Rosenberg (The Twilight Saga: Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, Dexter (TV)), and Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich, The Good Shepherd, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close).
.
Table of Contents:
GuidePost 1: Clarify the Central Conflict of Your Premise
GuidePost 2: Think of Setting and Time Period as Another Character
GuidePost 3: Create an Iconic Protagonist with a Core Contradiction
GuidePost 4: Give Your Protagonist Something to Win and Something to Lose
GuidePost 5: Determine Your Protagonist's Most Significant Weakness and how they'll overcome it
GuidePost 6: Drafting the Architectural Foundation
GuidePost 7: Hook Your Audience into the Plight of Your Protagonist by Page 10
GuidePost 8: Inject a Potent Antagonistic Force to Obstruct the Goals of Your Protagonist
GuidePost 9: Plunge Your Protagonist into Crisis at the End of Act One (no later than page 25)
GuidePost 10: Fuelling and Consistently Stoking the Dramatic Fire
GuidePost 11: Infuse Your Story with a Central Mystery
GuidePost 12: The Center Can Hold: Ratcheting up the Stakes at the Midpoint of Act 2
GuidePost 13: Thicken the Plot with a Pivotal Character
GuidePost 14: Compel your Protagonist into Epiphany in Act 3
GuidePost 15: Situate Your Protagonist at a Crossroads at the End of Act 2
GuidePost 16: Set the Clock Ticking
GuidePost 17: Heighten the Climax
Guidepost 18: Pay-off the Setups
GuidePost 19: Crafting the Inevitable Conclusion
GuidePost 20: Illuminate the Central Thematic Question
GuidePost 21: Rewrites: Reconnecting to the Emotional Core of Your Screenplay
