Screenplay: Writing the Picture

So many times "how to" books in different areas can be downright dull, like a series of "do's" and "dont's" written in the manner of an old Sears Catalogue. Such is not the case here. This book uses numerous examples from scripts of major films to put the prospective writer on track in determining which techniques work as well as those that do not. The major element separating screenwriting from all other types of fictional writing endeavors is the all-important presence of the camera. Accordingly, the authors demonstrate the importance of stressing visuality and exercising word economy in crafting a professional level screenplay.

One area stressed which greatly assisted me, someone coming from a non-fiction and journalistic background, was the importance of using index cards to set up the story. The authors explain that the reason why this technique is so important in structuring a story is that, with the profound influence of the camera and the role it plays, it is important for a writer to see the scenes unfolding pictorially before beginning the process of writing words to accompany the images.

William Hare


The new favorite   July 5, 2004
Robert Graves (Thompson Station, TN USA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

The vast majority of screenwriting books fall into 2 categories: pretty good, or pretty average. Then there is the occasional book that is horrible - Robert Berman's "Fade In" for example - and the very rare book that is extraordinary. Screenplay: Writing the Picture falls into this last category.

The problem with most screenwriting books is that they manage to cover only a small angle of the process, or they try to span the gamut and do it so thinly as to be useless. Writing the Picture succeeds in covering every aspect of writing a screenplay (or any work of fiction for that matter), and presenting the info in a way that makes it sink in to an applicable level - more than any other book available.

It's written as a textbook, and will surely work its way into all screenwriting classrooms across the country within the next few years. Aside from the instruction, there are several great appendices, including a list of other screenwriting books that you need to have, specific clich?s to avoid for each genre, where to find scripts and where to attend graduate screenwriting programs.

I do have one complaint though. The degree to which these guys pander to political correctness in the use of gender-specific pronouns is truly staggering - I've never seen anything like it. If a subject is of an unspecified gender, they will always go with "she," and on the rare occasion they do use "he" they always write "he or she" or "s/he." They can't even write a simple euphemism like "The main man." They write - and this is not a joke - they write "the main wo/man," and then a page later write "right hand wo/man."

Personally, this really annoys me. It's distracting from the text, and approximately 1% of the population actually gives a rip about this anyway. It's unfortunate they chose this route over the much more readable usage in Robert McKee's "Story." In his book he states very simply, right up front, "...I have avoided constructions that distract the reader's eye, such as the annoying alternation of `she' and `her' with `he' and `him,' the repetitions `he and she' and `him and her,' the awkward `s/he' and `her/im,' and the ungrammatical `the' and `them' as neuter singulars. Rather I use the nonexclusive `he' and `him' to mean `writer.'" We have no such luxury in Writing the Picture, which is filled with enough "wo/man's" and "he or she's" to, well, write a book.



Fantastic! This is a great book   February 16, 2000
Diane Ambruso (Hollywood)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

As a story analyst, writer and professor of screenwriting, I find this book invaluable. Learning to write screenplays is a daunting experience even for someone with projects under his belt. Robin and Bill's book breaks down the whole process into digestible parts. My students enjoy reading it and I often re-read chapters before starting a new script or launching a scene. The authors have been in the trenches and generously give up their secrets.


Read Carefully   May 19, 2000
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

As a working screenwriter, and a former film school student, I've read just about every book on screenwriting that's come down the pike. "Screenplay:Writing the Picture" is one of the very best. It's full of useful information and inspiration regardless of your experience level. But like any book, in order to get the most out of it you have to actually read it. Skimming it while on the toilet or talking on the phone is not going to help much -- at least in terms of your writing. I mention this seemingly obvious observation because one recent "sincere" reviewer "dissed" the book on the basis of something the book's authors DIDN'T say about Rambo! In other words, the reviewer based his negative review on his own sloppy reading of the text! Don't be misled. If you want to improve your writing, IMPROVE YOUR READING. If you want to improve your screenwriting, as well as your chances of selling your work for big bucks, read "Screenplay: Writing the Picture.