Creative Screen Writing

Creativity is becoming increasingly important in an age of advanced audience sophistication. It's no longer enough to follow standard writing techniques - becoming a first-class screenwriter demands not only a command of craft, but an understanding of how to unleash and harness creativity. "The Creative Screenwriter" offers a wealth of inspiring writing exercises designed to help you produce better, more exciting scripts. Each essential area of screenwriting is covered in its own chapter, from learning how to build stories and finding good ideas, to deepening characters and experimenting with structure, to enhancing scene writing and improving pitching. Finally, a range of innovative DIY Script Surgeries encourage you to find solutions to common screenwriting problems, such as overcoming writer's block, managing the rewrite and selling your work. This is a book to return to again and again. It is a guide for aspiring screenwriters who want to develop a powerful writing practice; a manual for teachers and students seeking discussion and reflection; a bible for professionals wanting to hone their craft and solve script struggles. It will rekindle the creative spark; remind you of why you love writing; and help to express the stories you want to tell – and sell!

Christina Kallas argues for and sets out a genuinely original and creative approach to writing for the screen. This textbook aims to excite the imagination, inspiring and dramatizing stories with thematic richness, emotional depth and narrative rhythm. Structured like a screenplay, the book moves through the pre-credit sequence to the epilogue, interweaving theory, practice and case studies. Kallas combines an awareness of the history of dramatic writing with a very practical focus on how to find ideas and develop them. Supported by innovative and inspiring exercises that enable writers to create stories out of emotions and images, this book is challenging, motivating and essential reading for anyone interested in screenwriting.

Screenwriting: Creative Labor and Professional Practice analyzes the histories, practices, identities and subjects which form and shape the daily working lives of screenwriters. Author Bridget Conor considers the ways in which contemporary screenwriters navigate and make sense of the labor markets in which they are immersed. Chapters explore areas including: Screenwriting histories and myths of the profession Screenwriting as creative labor Screenwriters’ working lives Screenwriting work and the how-to genre Screenwriting work and inequalities Drawing on historical and critical perspectives of mainstream screenwriting in the USA and UK, as well as valuable interviews with working screenwriters, this book presents a highly original and multi-faceted study of screenwriting as creative labor and professional practice. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorandfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203080771

This revised and refreshed edition guides the contemporary screenwriter through a variety of creative and critical approaches to a deeper understanding of how to tell stories for the screen. With a renewed focus on theme and structure, the book is an essential guide for writers, script developers and teachers to help develop ideas into rich dynamic projects, and craft compelling, resonating screenplays. Combining creative tools and approaches with critical and contextual underpinnings, the book is ideal for screenwriting students who are looking to expand their skills and reflect on practices to add greater depth to their scripts. It will also inspire experienced writers and developers to find fresh ways of working and consider how new technology is affecting storytelling voices. Comprehensive and engaging, this book considers key narrative questions of today and offers a range of exercises to address them. Integrating creative guidance with rigorous scholarship, this is the perfect companion for undergraduate students taking courses in screenwriting. Encouraging and pragmatic, it will provide a wealth of inspiration for those wishing to work in the industry or deepen their study of the practice. New to this Edition: - Refreshed and revised edition to meet the demands of contemporary screenwriting - New case studies, models, tools and approaches to writing for the screen - Updated areas of industry practice, including web series, transmedia, VR and long-form storytelling - Includes practical approaches and creative exercises that can be used in the classroom

Screenwriting: Creative Labor and Professional Practice analyzes the histories, practices, identities and subjects which form and shape the daily working lives of screenwriters. Author Bridget Conor considers the ways in which contemporary screenwriters navigate and make sense of the labor markets in which they are immersed. Chapters explore areas including: Screenwriting histories and myths of the profession Screenwriting as creative labor Screenwriters’ working lives Screenwriting work and the how-to genre Screenwriting work and inequalities Drawing on historical and critical perspectives of mainstream screenwriting in the USA and UK, as well as valuable interviews with working screenwriters, this book presents a highly original and multi-faceted study of screenwriting as creative labor and professional practice.

Christina Kallas argues for and sets out a genuinely original and creative approach to writing for the screen. This textbook aims to excite the imagination, inspiring and dramatizing stories with thematic richness, emotional depth and narrative rhythm. Structured like a screenplay, the book moves through the pre-credit sequence to the epilogue, interweaving theory, practice and case studies. Kallas combines an awareness of the history of dramatic writing with a very practical focus on how to find ideas and develop them. Supported by innovative and inspiring exercises that enable writers to create stories out of emotions and images, this book is challenging, motivating and essential reading for anyone interested in screenwriting.

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!