The Screenwriter's Problem Solver - (Dell Trade Paperback) by Syd Field (Paperback)

About the Book

For aspiring and seasoned professional screenwriters alike, Syd Field, "the most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world" ("The Hollywood Reporter"), offers the ultimate trouble-shooting guide to screenwriting, expertly illustrating what makes a screenplay work--and what makes it bomb faster than you can say "Action!"

Book Synopsis

The definitive guide to identifying and fixing common screenwriting problems from "the most sought-after screenwriter teacher in the world" (Hollywood Reporter)

"If I were writing screenplays . . . I would carry Syd Field around in my back pocket."--Steven Bochco, writer/producer/director, L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues

All writing is rewriting. But what do you change, and how do you change it? All screenplays have problems. They happened to Die Hard: With a Vengeance and Broken Arrow--and didn't get fixed, leaving the films flawed. They nearly shelved Platoon--until Oliver Stone rewrote the first ten pages and created a classic. They happen to every screenwriter. But good writers see their problems as a springboard to creativity.

Bestselling author Syd Field, who worked on over 1,000 screenplays a year, gives you step-by-step instructions on how to make your screenplay shine. With The Screenwriter's Problem Solver, you'll learn how to:

-Understand what makes great stories work
- Make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using Thelma & Louise and Dances With Wolves as models
- Use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight
- Make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does
- Recover when you hit the "wall"--and overcome writer's block forever

Field provides the professional secrets that make movies brilliant--secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success . . . or even Cannes.

From the Back Cover

Now bestselling author Syd Field, who works on over 1,000 screenplays a year, tells you step-by-step how to identify and fix common screenwriting problems, providing the professional secrets that make movies brilliant - secrets that can make your screenplay one headed for success...or even Cannes. Learn how to understand what makes great stories work; make your screenplay work in the first ten pages, using Thelma & Louise and Dances With Wolves as models; use a "dream assignment" to let your creative self break free overnight; make action build character, the way Quentin Tarantino does; and recover when you hit the "wall" - and overcome writer's block forever.

Review Quotes

With examples from Pulp Fiction, How to Make an American Quilt, The Shawshank Redemption, Crimson Tide, Broken Arrow...and more of Hollywood's biggest hits

"The most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world."--The Hollywood Reporter

"If I were writing screenplays...I would carry Syd Field around in my back pocket wherever I went."--Steven Bochco, writerproducerdirector, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue

"I based Like Water For Chocolate on what i learned in Syd's books. Before, I always felt structure imprisoned me, but what I learned was structure really freed me to focus on the story."--Laura Esquivel

About the Author

Syd Field (1935-2013), the internationally renowned "guru of screenwriting," was the author of eight bestselling books on the subject, including Screenplay, published in twenty-three languages and used in hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide and around the world. He was inducted into the Final Draft Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame of the American Screenwriting Association. He was also a special consultant to the Film Preservation Project for the Getty Center.