A Guide to Screenwriting Success

Writing for Film, Television, and Digital Streaming, Second Edition

Stephen V. Duncan

A Guide to Screenwriting Success, Second Edition provides a comprehensive overview of writing—and rewriting—a screenplay or teleplay and writing for digital content. Duncan's handy book teaches new screenwriters the process of creating a professional screenplay from beginning to end. It shows that inspiration, creativity, and good writing are not elusive concepts but attainable goals that any motivated person can aspire to. Duncan includes sections on all aspects of screenwriting—from character development to story templates—and breaks down the three acts of a screenplay into manageable pieces. A Guide to Screenwriting Success contains dozens of exercises to help writers through these steps. The second half of Duncan's practical book covers another, often overlooked, side of screenwriting—the teleplay. Aspiring writers who also want to try their hand at writing for television will need to learn the specifics of the field. The book breaks down this area into two parts, the one-hour teleplay and the situation comedy. There is a section on writing and producing digital content that embraces the “Do It Yourself” attitude to approaching a career in the entertainment industry. Success in screenwriting is no longer a dream but an achievable goal for those who pick up Duncan's guide.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 378 • Trim: 7½ x 10½

978-1-5381-2891-6 • Hardback • July 2020 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-5381-2892-3 • Paperback • July 2020 • $56.00 • (£43.00)

978-1-5381-2893-0 • eBook • July 2020 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / Screenwriting, Performing Arts / Screenplays, Performing Arts / Television / Screenwriting

A Guide to Screenwriting Success

Writing for Film, Television, and Digital Streaming, Second Edition

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

A Guide to Screenwriting Success, Second Edition provides a comprehensive overview of writing—and rewriting—a screenplay or teleplay and writing for digital content. Duncan's handy book teaches new screenwriters the process of creating a professional screenplay from beginning to end. It shows that inspiration, creativity, and good writing are not elusive concepts but attainable goals that any motivated person can aspire to. Duncan includes sections on all aspects of screenwriting—from character development to story templates—and breaks down the three acts of a screenplay into manageable pieces. A Guide to Screenwriting Success contains dozens of exercises to help writers through these steps. The second half of Duncan's practical book covers another, often overlooked, side of screenwriting—the teleplay. Aspiring writers who also want to try their hand at writing for television will need to learn the specifics of the field. The book breaks down this area into two parts, the one-hour teleplay and the situation comedy. There is a section on writing and producing digital content that embraces the “Do It Yourself” attitude to approaching a career in the entertainment industry. Success in screenwriting is no longer a dream but an achievable goal for those who pick up Duncan's guide.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 378 • Trim: 7½ x 10½

978-1-5381-2891-6 • Hardback • July 2020 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-5381-2892-3 • Paperback • July 2020 • $56.00 • (£43.00)

978-1-5381-2893-0 • eBook • July 2020 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / Screenwriting, Performing Arts / Screenplays, Performing Arts / Television / Screenwriting

Author

Stephen V. Duncan is a tenured professor of screenwriting at the Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television in Los Angeles, Calif. He has served as chair of the screenwriting department and interim dean. His produced credits include co-creator and executive consultant of the critically acclaimed, award-winning, Emmy nominated CBS-TV one-hour Vietnam War series Tour of Duty, writer-producer of the Emmy nominated ABC-TV one-hour action series A Man Called Hawk, and the co-writer of the Emmy nominated Turner Network Television original movie The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Introduction
PART I. Writing the Feature Film
CHAPTER 1: Develop a Solid Premise
CHAPTER 2: Invent Interesting Characters
CHAPTER 3: Craft a Strong Story
CHAPTER 4: Frame an Engaging Story with Sound Structure
CHAPTER 5: Writing Visual Description
CHAPTER 6: Dialogue Writing Techniques
CHAPTER 7: Start Writing the Rough Draft
PART II. Rewriting the Feature Screenplay
CHAPTER 8: The Rewriting Process
CHAPTER 9: Analyze Scene by Scene
CHAPTER 10: Rewrite Act 1
CHAPTER 11: Rewrite Act 2 First Half
CHAPTER 12: Rewrite Act 2 Second Half
CHAPTER 13: Rewrite Act 3
CHAPTER 14: The Polish
CHAPTER 15: The First Draft Spec Feature
PART III. Writing for Television
CHAPTER 16: Which Series to Write
CHAPTER 17: Television Characters
CHAPTER 18: Television Writing Basics
CHAPTER 19: Overview of Television Story Structure
CHAPTER 20: Developing the One-Hour Episode
CHAPTER 21: Writing the One-Hour Teleplay
CHAPTER 22: Rewriting the One-Hour Teleplay
CHAPTER 23: Writing the Half-Hour Comedy
CHAPTER 24: The Television Production Process
CHAPTER 25: Writing Original Teleplays
CHAPTER 26: A Career Writing for Television
PART IV. Writing for Digital Media: Streaming Video Platforms
CHAPTER 27: Types of Digital Platforms
CHAPTER 28: Developing and Writing Short-Form Digital Content
CHAPTER 29: Developing and Writing Long-Form Digital Content
CHAPTER 30: Embrace the “Do It Yourself” Age
CHAPTER 31: The Shifting Demographic of the Audience
CHAPTER 32: Becoming a Professional Screenwriter
Appendix
EXHIBIT 1: Character Development Template
EXHIBIT 2: Basic Story Development Template
EXHIBIT 3: Story Structure Development Template
EXHIBIT 4: Classic Hollywood Male Protagonist Love Story Structure
EXHIBIT 5: Television Beat Sheet Development Template
EXHIBIT 6: Beat Sheet Template: Sample Act Structure Format
EXHIBIT 7: A Structure Analysis of the Film Witness by Steve Duncan
Notes
Glossary of Screenwriting Terminology
Index
About the Author

Reviews

"As an early student of Duncan’s teachings I was able to profoundly change my approach to multi-platform writing and content creation with his guidance. Duncan’s book is a must read and a must practice guide for anyone wanting to crack the writing code."

— Charles Segars, media executive and creator; producer of the National Treasure movie franchise

A Guide to Screenwriting Success

Writing for Film, Television, and Digital Streaming, Second Edition

Stephen V. Duncan

A Guide to Screenwriting Success

Writing for Film, Television, and Digital Streaming, Second Edition

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