Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

I just finished reading Screenplay and it was eye opening. Most of the book is about crafting stories. Creative techniques recommended for screenwriters. But I find most of those techniques can be applied to crafting novels. A few months ago, I finished a first draft of a novel that was much too short. The second act was sparse, and I hadn't adequately shown why a very unlikely pair fell in love. I clearly didn't fully understand the story I was trying to tell. What I learned from Screenplay in one reading has already given me a growth spurt as a writer. I have a vision and thematic understanding I didn't have before, thanks to this book. Field is a teacher of screenwriting, and his teaching chops show in this book. It is an easy and comfortable read. The writing style is conversational and encouraging and the book is well organized to introduce you to creating stories for the screen in a logical progression, promoting well-accepted methods. So, not only is Screenplay a valuable book for screenwriters, it is a worthwhile read for other storytellers, including novelists.

This is an outstanding book for any writer I bought it several years ago and now I’ve just started reviewing it. I should have read it a long time ago. The solid principles he includes can be applied at any level.

As a someone who is just a novice in screenwriting, I can't speak to the process with any great enlightenment. Still, I found Syd Field's book an outstanding tool in beginning my journey. Field lays out the work process from soup to nuts in a manner that is to understand and apply to your beginning work. Coming away from the book, I picked up a tremendous amount of information and simple techniques I am currently applying to my work. Whether or not I end up producing anything of import is absolutely up to me -- not to mention, a good sprinkle of luck -- but I feel a lot more comfortable having read Fields' book. In fact, I can say fairly convincingly that I probably would not have been able to get off the ground had I not followed Fields' advice in picking up a cork board and using notecards to plot out acts and scenes one at a time. Assuredly, this is not something that Fields patented, but it's pieces of guidance like this that make the book a valuable pick-up for aspiring screenwriters like me. In fact, I would recommend that any others aspiring to write a great script, or writers in general who are interested in sharpened the tools in the toolbox read this in concert with Robert McKee's "Story." McKee's book is more advanced and more complex than Field's by a good stretch -- it took me a couple of weeks to fully digest McKee's book, versus a few days for Field's -- but the works are parallel tracks, and reading them back-to-back provided me with a wealth of perspectives and ideas that work quite well together. Forgive me if it sounds elitist, but I think McKee's book is more of a cerebral, thinking-man's tome; though it is itself an incredible book that really helped me out. I would just read them both -- "Story," followed by "Screenplay" -- and you'll be on your way.

Having now read and reviewed a few more books on Screenwriting, I need to take this one down to 4 stars. It's quite dated. The bar is noticeably higher in the theater today than even 20 years ago, but certainly much higher than when Citizen Kane came out. Also, while there are genuine bits of solid gold in this book, it's far less specific or insightful than my new favorite story writing books: The Anatomy of Story by John Truby and How to Write Screenplays That Sell by Michael Hague. Having read those two books, and seeing the level of specifics and insights therein, puts this book down to 4 stars. I still think every screen writer should read it, but it is not "the" book for screenwriting today. When you go reading screenwriting book reviews, you'll notice that seemingly everybody thinks seemingly every book is the greatest screenwriting book ever. And I see now that that's definitely not true in this case. Just start with Michael Hague and John Truby. Those are densely packed with extremely useful insights. Read this one for historical context, in your spare time. Original Review Below: ___________________________________________ First, it truly is about the foundations of screenwriting. If you’re brand new as a writer in general, start here. You’ll get a very good foundation indeed. Like more novelists and screenwriters than I previously realized, I come from about 6 years of professional writing in advertising. Writing advertising is actually what got me into learning story telling, and now hooked on screenwriting. You’d be surprised how much the two styles of writing have in common. Anyway, with that as a back drop, having written well over 2,000,000 words and read over 700 books in the last 7 years… …this book is foundational. Did I mention that yet? For me, I made the effort to read these foundations simply to know the history of this new hobby of mine, also knowing I’d gather plenty of golden insights along the way. I often judge books by insight density, and for this, personally, I can’t give it 5 starts. But that’s just where I am as a writer. Your mileage will vary. I’ve found Michael Hague’s writing to be much more specific, concise, and higher density. That’s more my speed. But for insight impact, this book is off the charts. And hey, I didn’t even know Syd Fields before Michael Mentioned him… And he taught an endless list of writers including James Cameron, so you can’t go discounting this much! Study the masters. Then study the masters teachers. And here you have that: Syd Fields. As for delivering on a promise of foundations, I give it 5 stars. And I don’t think any serious screenwriter could be taken seriously without having read it. Plus the golden nuggets along the way, those bursts of brilliance, are priceless. Priceless I say. Get it now. You’ll be so glad you did!

Perfect for coming up with the next big hit.

Having read dozens of screenwriting manuals over the years, this one by Mr. Field is still the most helpful and practical work on the subject. This doesn't mean it's the only book a student will ever need to read, but it's certainly foundational (no pun intended). If you're an aspiring screenwriter, of if you simply want to learn how to analyze Hollywood films, read this first and come back to it often.

I have worn this book ragged. The section on the two different types of research is so important: “Too many people start writing their material with only a vague, half-formed idea in their heads. This works for about thirty pages, then falls apart.” Field teaches the value of spending the majority of time on research. The library will become your best friend if you really want to flesh out a script that doesn’t fall apart. His pointers on live research are so helpful, such as Don’t be afraid to ask people questions. Most likely they will be willing to help. “Remember: the more you know, the more you can communicate.” So many important nuggets of wisdom can be found in this book. It is an absolute must-read, must-own, must-mark-up-like-a-serial-killer type of book. It’s probably not a good idea to begin writing a script without reading this book first.

I have never written a screenplay. I really hadn't even thought about it. I was looking for books on different writing methods to improve my skills and abilities when I picked up this little jewel. This book shed new light on the world of film for me. I look at films in a whole new way and I'm thankful to Mr. Field for bringing that in to my life. It also showed me that writing a screenplay is something that is absolutely possible. As I said I was looking for books on different approaches to writing. This book provided me with more than just a little direction on how to write a screenplay, but gave me a whole new perspective on writing in general. "Screenplay" is worth reading for anyone who is looking to write in a structured way improving their skills in the realm of creative writing. Thank you Mr. Field for sharing your vast knowledge and techniques. The world of writing is better place due to your investment in creating this wonderful little book. I highly recommend it.

Dieses Buch ist nicht ohne Grund ein absoluter Klassiker. Es erklärt das Handwerk des Drehbuchschreibens so klar, strukturiert und verständlich, dass man direkt Lust bekommt, selbst in die Tasten zu hauen. Besonders die Erklärungen zur Drei-Akt-Struktur und zum Plotting geben ein fundamentales Verständnis dafür, wie erfolgreiche Filme aufgebaut sind. Ein unverzichtbares Nachschlagewerk – egal ob für Einsteiger oder erfahrene Autoren, die ihr Fundament festigen wollen. Jeden Cent wert!

One of the worst books you will ever read. If you have set experience and have read screenplay before or write before this book won’t help adding any value his information can be found online nowdays I wasted my money and time buying this book

Een heel goed boek om de grondbeginselen van screen writing te leren. Leest lekker weg met tal van praktijkvoorbeelden en situaties.

The screenwriting bible. If you only get one screenwriting book, this is the one. Informative, descriptive and practical. Excellent book.

So useful to read and also to go back to it whenever im stuck or need a little guidance.