THURSDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:

GAG REEL


Buy The 39steps dvd

One of those great debates on screenwriting message boards is whether or not to outline. I do not know any professional screenwriters who do not outline (though there may be some), and the more spontaneous the writing seems, the more likely the writer outlines - 70s icon and indie writer Paul Schrader outlines page-by-page and is a slave to his outline. The big argument against outlines seems to be that it removes creativity... or that it makes the script boring to write. Hey, a screenplay is not *just* the story, it's all of those great little details that make a moment come to life!

Once I have my outline and I know how the *story* works, I concentrate on making each scene interesting and surprising and creative when I write the screenplay - I *live* for coming up with some cool twist or detail or line of dialogue in each scene to make the scene itself fun to watch and fun for me to write.

Whenever I get roped into reading contest finalists, one of the common problems with the scripts is that they are sketchy. They often seem like the rough draft (and maybe they are) - the artist's charcoal sketch before he breaks out the brushes and oils and adds all of the color and texture and shading. The story - the thing you may create with an outline - is what happens, but every scene is filled with dozens of details that are the specifics of *how* things happen. None of those things are ever in the outline... and they are not in many of those scripts by writers who do not outline because they are thinking about making the *story* work, not making that moment work. Terry Rossio once said that when writers don't outline, their first draft is an outline... or part of several drafts that become the outline. They are finding the story by writing draft after draft. But that eighth of a page, that line, that sentence needs as much creativity as the story itself. So let's look at one of the detail elements in your screenplay... gags.

A few years ago the Director's Guild showed a bunch of John Ford silent movies, and I was amazed at the number and quality of the "gags" - those little details or actions that flesh out a scene. FOUR SONS must have had hundreds of great little detail moments that made every minute of that film great. Every second great. There was more creativity in any random scene than there is in many big Hollywood blockbusters.

HITCHCOCK GAGS

Buy The it happened one night dvd

Hitchcock's man-on-the-run film THE 39 STEPS (1935) holds up well, is still lots of fun... and is 75 years old! This is the film that created the subgenre, and created so many "standards" that you have seen dozens of times in other movies. When Harrison Ford escapes the police by blending in with a St. Patrick's Day Parade, this is the film that originated that cliche. It may also be the first film with bickering male and female leads who are on the run together and eventually fall in love (IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT was released the year before - but it's a rom-com). The banter still works, the suspense still works, the characters are charming and fun and deal with some real problems, there is one amazing plot twist that still packs a punch, but the one thing that is amazing about this film are the "gags". There is a density to films from the 1930s that we seem to have lost. Little details that are obviously the work of the writer.

The story has Canadian Richard Hannay living in London, where he meets a mysterious woman at a live variety show (musicians, dancers, jugglers, and Mr. Memory who memorizes pages of facts every day and is a human encyclopedia) who asks if she can come home with him... because she likes him. Um, he doesn't know her at all. But he's a man and she's hot... At his apartment, she tells him that she is a freelance spy and people are trying to kill her and she needs a place to crash that can't be traced to her. When Hannay wakes up the next morning, the woman has been murdered and two men are watching his building.

How does he escape?

Your outline might just say: "He gets past the two killers watching his building." Okay, maybe he goes out the back doors or something, it's not a chase scene or a fight scene, he gets past the two killers without altercation. But that scene can be just a scene that performs its function... or something clever and creative. Here's what happens:

The Milkman is making deliveries, and Hannay grabs him and asks if he can borrow his uniform. There's a dead woman spy in his apartment, and the killers are out there on the street waiting for him to leave. The Milkman doesn't believe a word of it. Killers and spies? Sounds like a pulp novel. So Hannay tries it again, this time telling the Milkman that he's a bachelor, was spending the night with a woman, seems she's married and her husband and brother are waiting outside to beat him up. This the Milkman believes, and loans Hannay his uniform so that he can escape. But there are additional details in the scene - from empty milk bottles to what to do with the milk truck once Hannay is done with it to a discussion of marital fidelity and bachelorhood versus marriage. Hannay doesn't just escape the apartment, there are details and reversals and gags along the way - dozens of them.

COLLARED & CUFFED!

Buy The four sons dvd

The best series of gags in the film revolves around a pair of handcuffs. In one of several great twists, Hannay is arrested by the police and manages to escape with handcuffs attached to one wrist. The dangling cuff creates all kinds of problems - each one a great little gag. When he's in that eventually-a-cliche parade escape, he must keep his cuffed hand hidden in his pocket. He ends up escaping into an auditorium where an evening political rally is being held, and he is mistaken for the speaker of honor! Not only must he hide the handcuff, he must make up a political speech on the spot (no idea what party the crowd is) and refer to the candidate by name... reading it upside down on the banner in front of the podium and getting it completely wrong, calling him "Mr. Crocodile", then having to come up with reason why he would call him that on the fly, and when he starts sweating like crazy from the pressure, almost wipes his brow with the cuffed hand! And because he's supposed to be a politician, everyone wants to shake hands with him! That handcuff keeps almost getting him in trouble!

But those aren't even the good handcuff gags!

A pair of detectives begin searching the auditorium for him... and in the crowd? A woman named Pam who recognizes him from a daring train escape earlier in the film. Hannay was being chased by the police on the train, saw her alone in a compartment, ran in and began kissing her so that his face would be covered and the police would see them as a couple, not a single man on the run. An unusual "meet cute". Well, the minute he stops kissing her, Pam yells for the police, and Hannay has no choice but to leave a speeding train. When she sees the two detectives searching the auditorium she points out Hannay to them. Busted! As the two detectives start to lead him away, he flirts with her (she's the female lead, even though she doesn't know it... and neither do we at this point), and then pleads with her to go to the police with a bit of information he's uncovered that may prove him innocent. Neither detective seems interested in Hannay as innocent... but now they become interested in Pam - she witnessed him escape from the train, she's a witness. So they take her along... slapping the empty handcuff on her.

Now the two are tethered together - and do not like each other. But on the way to the police station, the detectives take a crazy detour, and Hannay realizes they are not detectives after all, but the two killers from outside his apartment... taking both of them to the villain! When the fake police car gets stuck in a Scottish back road traffic jam (a huge herd of sheep), Hannay and Pam escape the car and go on the run. Well, Hannay goes on the run, and Pam is forced to follow since she is handcuffed to him.

And the handcuff gags swing into action in a couple of scene.

Trying to run away from the killers, Hannay jumps over a fence and Pam crawls under - except they are cuffed, so they get stuck. Hannay wipes his brow, and Pam's hand slaps him. Hannay has to drag her along behind him. A few other times they get hung up by the cuffs when running past a tree or fence or running in different directions. All of this time, she is not a willing escape partner. She knows those two guys were not detectives, but she also knows that Hannay is wanted for murdering a woman.

And she's a woman.

RANDY HANDS

Buy The lady vanishes dvd

They come to a Bed & Breakfast, and Hannay orders Pam to place her cuffed hand in his coat pocket - hiding both ends of the handcuffs but forcing her to hold his hand. They pretend to be a newlywed couple, eloping because her father doesn't like him... But Hannay's *right* hand is cuffed - he can not sign the register, he can not take the room key, he can not shake hands with anyone, he can't open the door or take the hot water bottle the wife of the B&B owner offers him. He must trust Pam, his prisoner, to do all of these things without giving away that she is a hostage!

Later, the B&B owner's wife tells her husband that the two are so much in love that they did not let go of each other the entire time.

And once they get in the room? One bed. They are cuffed together, no way for Hannay to sleep on the sofa or floor. They are brought a plate of sandwiches and some drinks, and eating and drinking proves a problem. When Hannay raises his glass, her hand follows. If she jerks her hand down, he spills his drink. The sandwich in her hand almost slaps Hannay in the face a few times. Every time one of them tries to take a bite, the handcuffs pull the other one closer. Neither can hold their drink in one hand and sandwich in the other without those handcuffs creating some sort of food mishap.

But here's the topper - the gag that everyone remembers. Because they've been chased through the cold, wet, night - their clothing is wet. They try to dry themselves by standing in front of the bedroom fireplace, but that really doesn't work. Hannay encourages Pam to find a way to take off her wet skirt, but she's having none of that... and there is no way to take off their wet coats while handcuffed together. Pam's stockings are soaked, but when she takes them off Hannay's hand rubs over her legs. Because of the cuffs, he gets to feel up her legs. And when she takes off the far stocking? Um, his hand is all over her! He can't help it, he's cuffed to her... but he takes advantage of the situation.

After hanging her stockings up to dry, they climb into bed together - what else can they do, they are cuffed together? Pam doesn't want to be this close to an accused murdered, but has no choice. Neither can roll over without pulling the other one closer, and at one point she rolls onto her side dragging his arm around her. There are well over a dozen handcuff gags!

BULLET IN A BIBLE

Buy The young and innocent dvd

Some of the other great gags in THE 39 STEPS include a farmer with a question for Mr. Memory, who keeps asking it again and again... even when some shooting creates a riot in the music hall.

A pair of lingerie salesmen on the train who compare their products in front of a Priest who tries not to look interested... this scene is all about Hannay trying to read one of the salesmen's newspaper with a story about the manhunt for him.

The police chase on the train goes through the dining car, where a waiter with a tray full of food has to move and twist and turn when each person races down the narrow aisle past him, without spilling any of the food.

A jealous old Scottish farmer who rents a bed to Hannay but fears that his young wife may be interested in him... in reality, Hannay has spotted a newspaper with a story about the police search and is trying to hide it from the old farmer. There are many gags in the Farmer & wife scene based on the Farmer thinking that Hannay is trying to sleep with his wife - and everything Hannay does to hide from the police looks to the Farmer as if he's making moves on his wife. When the police get to the farmhouse, the wife gives Hannay her husband's "Sunday best" coat because it is black and will blend with the night better than Hannay's light colored jacket. Later, Hannay is shot in the chest and we think he's dead, but *twist* the bullet hit the old Farmer's hymnal in the coat pocket. First time for that gag! But it doesn't stop there - we get a barrage of puns and jokes about hymns and hymnals in the scene where we find out he's alive. Every scene has some great, amusing detail that creates some fun moments and makes the scenes seem real.

Once you come up with that detail, like the handcuffs, make a list of as many ways that detail impacts the scene and story. In Hitchcock's YOUNG AND INNOCENT an innocent man escapes by stealing some clothes and articles to create a disguise - including a pair of glasses. Problem is, the glasses are so thick everything becomes a blur and he can't see where he's escaping to. Those stolen glasses create a dozen little problems within that escape scene. So brainstorm up a list of "gags" for one element in your scene that will create a bunch of fun details that add texture and shading and great little moments in your scene. This also makes the scene seem real, because it's not just the sketch and the broad strokes, it's all of those real little bits that add density.

So, if the actual writing isn't exciting, you need to look at a script as more than just the story, but the interesting small choices and details within every scene. Bring your creativity and imagination to every moment in your screenplay and have some fun! How could this scene be unlike any other similar scene in any other movie? What are the details that make it seem real, and make it amusing? Fill your script with clever "gags" that turn your sketch of story into fine art that we will be viewing and discussing 75 years from now.

More on THE 39 STEPS later this month in the new book HITCHCOCK: MASTERING SUSPENSE.



COMING SOON!!!

Want to look like an expert?

bluebook

RESEARCH & WORLD BUILDING Blue Book!

Does this gun fire 6 shots or only 5? In all of the excitement of writing your action scene, you might not have done the research... and your hero could be out of ammo! Whether you are writing a novel or screenplay, you can save your hero, and your story, by doing a little research first! This book looks at Why you should research, Whether you should research First or Later, PLUS the importance of World Building in Science Fiction, Fantasy... and the worlds you explore in every other genre. Movies like JOHN WICK and THE GODFATHER take place in their own unique worlds... and writers must create them! YOU are the technical advisor on your Screenplay or Novel.

Using movie examples like TOP GUN, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BLUE CRUSH, ADVENTURE LAND, several of my produced films, JOHN WICK, the novels of Donald E. Westlake and Thomas B. Dewey, SPY KIDS, the LORD OF THE RINGS movies, SOYLENT GREEN (which takes place in the far off future of 2022), and many others we will look at researching stories and creating worlds. The 8 Types Of Research, the 10 Types Of Information To Look For, 12 Important Elements Of World Building. Plus chapters on How To Rob A Bank and Commit Murder And Get Away With It for those of you interested in crime fiction, and Researching The Future for those writing science fiction, and Levels Of Reality if you are writing about a version of the real world.

No matter what you are writing, this book will help you find the facts... or make them up in a convincing way! END OF MARCH.


NEW!!!

Can You Make It bigger?

bluebook

BLOCKBUSTERS (and BEACH READS) Blue Book!

Writing something EPIC?

Over 500 pages - ONLY: $4.99!

Thinking about writing a big Disaster Movie? An Historical Epic? An Epic Adventure Film? Or maybe you like Gladiator Movies? This book looks at writing Blockbusters and those Big Fat Beach Read novels - anything epic! Usng movies like JAWS, POSEIDON ADVENTURE, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, and those MARVEL and FAST & FURIOUS flicks as examples. What *is* a Blockbuster? 107 years of Blockbuster history! Blockbuster Characters. Blockbuster Story Types! Why modern Blockbusters are soap operas! Social Issues in Blcokbusters? Big Emotions! Keeping All Of Those Characters Distinctive! How to avoid the Big problems found in Big Movies and books! More! If you are writing a Big Event Movie or a Big Fat Novel, there are tips and techniques to help you!

Only $4.99


BLUE BOOK BEST SELLERS!


REWRITES BLUE BOOK

bluebook

REWRITES Blue Book!

Rewriting In Waves?

When You Finish Your Screenplay Or Novel...
The Rewrites Begin!

The end is just the beginning! You’ve finished your story, but now the rewriting begins! This 405 page book shows you how to rewrite your screenplay or novel to perfection. Everything from Character Consistency to Shoeboxing to How To Give And Receive Notes to 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Long! and 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Short! to Finding The Cause Of A Story Problem to Good Notes Vs. Bad Notes to Finding Beta Readers to Avoiding Predictability to Learning To Be Objective About Your Work to Script Killer Notes and Notes From Idiots to Production Rewrites and What The Page Colors Mean? and a Complete Rewrite Checklist! The complete book on Rewriting Your Story!

Only: $4.99


OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC!

bluebook

OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC Blue Book.

ARE YOUR SCENES IN THE RIGHT ORDER?
AND ARE THEY THE RIGHT SCENES?

Your story is like a road trip... but where are you going? What's the best route to get there? What are the best sights to see along the way? Just as you plan a vacation instead of just jump in the car and start driving, it's a good idea to plan your story. An artist does sketches before breaking out the oils, so why shouldn't a writer do the same? This Blue Book looks at various outlining methods used by professional screenwriters like Wesley Strick, Paul Schrader, John August, and others... as well as a guest chapter on novel outlines. Plus a whole section on the Thematic Method of generating scenes and characters and other elements that will be part of your outline. The three stages of writing are: Pre-writing, Writing, and Rewriting... this book looks at that first stage and how to use it to improve your screenplays and novels.

Only $4.99!

NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!


DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

bluebook

DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book.

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

Only $4.99! - and no postage or handling!


bluebook

NEW AND HOT!

*** STRUCTURING YOUR STORY *** - For Kindle!


William Goldman says the most important single element of any screenplay is structure. It’s the skeleton under the flesh and blood of your story. Without it, you have a spineless, formless, mess... a slug! How do you make sure your structure is strong enough to support your story? How do you prevent your story from becoming a slug? This Blue Book explores different types of popular structures from the basic three act structure to more obscure methods like leap-frogging. We also look at structure as a verb as well as a noun, and techniques for structuring your story for maximum emotional impact. Most of the other books just look at *structure* and ignore the art of *structuring* your story. Techniques to make your story a page turner... instead of a slug!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS *** - For Kindle! (Exclusive)


Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


BRAND NEW!

bluebook

*** MITCH ROBERTSON #2: THE FAMILY'S JEWEL *** - For Kindle!

"The Presidential Suite of the Hollywood Hoover Hotel looked like a bloody battlefield: bodies everywhere, furniture broken, red liquid dripping from the walls, dead soldiers littering the elegant Berber rug as clouds of smoke overhead bounced between two air conditioning vents.

Mitch Robertson stepped over the body of an ex-child star turned sex tape star turned pop star and entered the room, spotted a gun on the floor and picked it up... careful not to spill his coffee with three pumps of mocha syrup from Penny’s Coffee Shop. That coffee was gold, the only thing keeping him going in this dazed state of wakefulness. The gun felt light. Holding it, he saw the silhouette of an 80s action star sitting sideways on a tipped over chair. Motionless. Was he dead? Mitch was still hung over from the Awards Party the night before, and wondered whether this was all some sort of crazy nightmare that he would wake up from... but when he tripped over the brown legs of a bottomless Superhero, flaccid junk encased in a condom but still wearing his mask, and hit the edge of the sofa, gun skittering and coffee spilling, he realized that it was all very real. What the hell had happened here?"

Short Novel. SALE! ONLY 99 CENTS - and no postage!



Tips FAQ

My New Script Secrets Newsletter!


THE BLUE BOOKS!

bluebook

FIND A GREAT IDEA!

*** YOUR IDEA MACHINE *** - For Kindle!

****

Expanded version with more ways to find great ideas! Your screenplay is going to begin with an idea. There are good ideas and bad ideas and commercial ideas and personal ideas. But where do you find ideas in the first place? This handbook explores different methods for finding or generating ideas, and combining those ideas into concepts that sell. The Idea Bank, Fifteen Places To Find Ideas, Good Ideas And Bad Ideas, Ideas From Locations And Elements, Keeping Track Of Your Ideas, Idea Theft - What Can You Do? Weird Ways To Connect Ideas, Combing Ideas To Create Concepts, High Concepts - What Are They? Creating The Killer Concept, Substitution - Lion Tamers & Hitmen, Creating Blockbuster Concepts, Magnification And The Matrix, Conflict Within Concept, Concepts With Visual Conflict, Avoiding Episodic Concepts, much more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


FIGURE OUT YOUR STORY!

bluebook

OUTLINES & THE THEMATIC Blue Book.

ARE YOUR SCENES IN THE RIGHT ORDER?
AND ARE THEY THE RIGHT SCENES?

Your story is like a road trip... but where are you going? What's the best route to get there? What are the best sights to see along the way? Just as you plan a vacation instead of just jump in the car and start driving, it's a good idea to plan your story. An artist does sketches before breaking out the oils, so why shouldn't a writer do the same? This Blue Book looks at various outlining methods used by professional screenwriters like Wesley Strick, Paul Schrader, John August, and others... as well as a guest chapter on novel outlines. Plus a whole section on the Thematic Method of generating scenes and characters and other elements that will be part of your outline. The three stages of writing are: Pre-writing, Writing, and Rewriting... this book looks at that first stage and how to use it to improve your screenplays and novels.

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

GOT STRUCTURE?!

*** STRUCTURING YOUR STORY *** - For Kindle!


William Goldman says the most important single element of any screenplay is structure. It’s the skeleton under the flesh and blood of your story. Without it, you have a spineless, formless, mess... a slug! How do you make sure your structure is strong enough to support your story? How do you prevent your story from becoming a slug? This Blue Book explores different types of popular structures from the basic three act structure to more obscure methods like leap-frogging. We also look at structure as a verb as well as a noun, and techniques for structuring your story for maximum emotional impact. Most of the other books just look at *structure* and ignore the art of *structuring* your story. Techniques to make your story a page turner... instead of a slug!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

STORY: WELL TOLD!

*** STORY: WELL TOLD *** - For Kindle!


This book takes you step-by-step through the construction of a story... and how to tell a story well, why Story always starts with character... but ISN'T character, Breaking Your Story, Irony, Planting Information, Evolving Story, Leaving No Dramatic Stone Unturned, The Three Greek Unities, The Importance Of Stakes, The Thematic Method, and how to create personal stories with blockbuster potential. Ready to tell a story? Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 85,000 words - 251 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

START STRONG!

*** HOOK 'EM IN TEN *** - For Kindle!


Your story doesn't get a second chance to make a great first impression, and this book shows you a bunch of techniques on how to do that. From the 12 Basic Ways To Begin Your Story, to the 3 Stars Of Your First Scene (at least one must be present) to World Building, Title Crawls, Backstory, Starting Late, Teasers and Pre Title Sequences, Establishing Theme & Motifs (using GODFATHER PART 2), Five Critical Elements, Setting Up The Rest Of The Story (with GODFATHER), and much more! With hundreds of examples ranging from Oscar winners to classic films like CASABLANCA to some of my produced films (because I know exactly why I wrote the scripts that way). Biggest Blue Book yet! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 100,000 words - 312 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!


bluebook

MOVIES ARE CHARACTERS!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Kindle!

*** CREATING STRONG PROTAGONISTS *** - For Nook!

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting protagonists! A step-by-step guide to creating "take charge" protagonists. Screenplays are about characters in conflict... characters in emotional turmoil... Strong three dimensional protagonists who can find solutions to their problems in 110 pages. But how do you create characters like this? How do you turn words into flesh and blood? Character issues, Knowing Who Is The Boss, Tapping into YOUR fears, The Naked Character, Pulp Friction, Man With A Plan, Character Arcs, Avoiding Cliche People, Deep Characterization, Problem Protagonists, 12 Ways To Create Likable Protagonists (even if they are criminals), Active vs. Reactive, The Third Dimension In Character, Relationships, Ensemble Scripts, and much, much more. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is once again around 205 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)


Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

bluebook

DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book.

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

Only $4.99 and no postage!


bluebook

PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

***

Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

***

What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS *** - For Kindle! (Exclusive)


Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS *** - For Kindle!


Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


All About Endings!

bluebook

GRAND FINALES Blue Book!

The Perfect Ending For Your Story!

The First Ten Pages Of Your Screenplay Are Critical,
But What About The Last 10 Pages?

Creating the perfect ending to your story! This 100,000 word book shows you how to end your story with a bang, rather than a whimper. Everything from Resolution Order to Act Three Tools to Happy or Sad Endings? to How The Beginning Of Your Story Has Clues To The Ending (in case you were having trouble figuring out how the story should end) to Falling Action to How To Avoid Bad Endings to Writing The Perfect Twist Ending to Setting Up Sequels & Series to Emotional Resolutions to How To Write Post Credit Sequences to Avoiding Deus Ex Machinas, to 20 Different Types Of Ends (and how to write them) and much more! Everything about endings for your screenplay or novel!

Only: $4.99


NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!


All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

bluebook

LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! Blue Book!

Distilling Your Screenplay!

Loglines, Treatments, Pitching, Look Books, Pitch Decks, One Pagers, Rip-O-Matics?

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

272 Pages - ONLY $4.99!


READY TO BREAK IN? bluebook

THE BUISINESS SIDE

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK *** - For Kindle!


Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 400 pages!

$4.99 - and no postage!




Making Your Own Movie?

WRITE IT: FILM IT BOOK! WriteItFilmIt



Making Your Own Movie?
Writing An Indie Film?
Writing A Low Budget Genre Script To Sell?
Writing A Made For TV Holiday Movie?

You will be writing for BUDGET. On a standard spec screenplay, you don’t have to think about budget, but these types of screenplays writing with budget in mind is critical!

If you are making your own movie, budget, is even more important - and you need to think about budget *before* you write your screenplay... or you will end up with a script that you can’t afford to make (or is a struggle to make). Everyone is making their own films these days, and even if you have done it before there are lots of great techniques in this book to get more money on screen - for less money! You can make a film that looks like it cost millions for pocket change.

344 Pages - ONLY: $9.99!


bluebook

THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL!

*** THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING *** - For Kindle!

*** THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING *** - For Nook!


Why pay $510 for a used version of the 240 page 2000 version that used to retail for $21.95? (check it out!) when you can get the NEW EXPANDED VERSION - over 500 pages - for just $9.99? New chapters, New examples, New techniques!

"SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING is the best book on the practical nuts-and-bolts mechanics of writing a screenplay I've ever read." - Ted Elliott, co-writer of MASK OF ZORRO, SHREK, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and the sequels (with Terry Rossio). (ie; 4 of the top 20 Box Office Hits Of ALL TIME.)

Only $9.99 - and no postage!


NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!


The new  MP3s are available now!

AUDIO CLASS!

NOIR & MYSTERY80 minute MP3 packed with information on writing Film Noir and Mystery scripts. Using examples from CHINATOWN to OUT OF THE PAST to DOUBLE INDEMNITY you'll learn how to create stories in this dark, twisted genre. How to plant clues, red herrings, suspects, victims, spider women, fallen heroes, the funhouse mirror world of noir supporting characters... and the origins of Film Noir in literature Noir dialogue and how noir endings are different than any other genre. All of the critical elements necessary to write in this critically popular genre.
The Noir & Mystery Class is only $15 .

RECESSION SALE! $5 OFF!

IDEAS AND CREATIVITY - 80 minute MP3 packed with information. Tools to find ideas that are both personal *and* commercial. Hollywood wants scripts with High Concept stories... but not stupid scripts. Developing *intelligent* high concept ideas. How to turn your personal story into a blockbuster - or find your personal story in a high concept idea. Brainstorming and being creative. Ideas and Creativity is $10.00 (plus $5 S&H)

WRITING INDIES - Writing an Indie film? This class covers everything you need to know - from Central Locations to Confined Cameos. Using examples from SWINGERS, THE COOLER, STATION AGENT and others, this 80 minute MP3 is packed with information. How Indoe films challenge the audience (while mainstream films reassure the audience). Structures, using BOYS DON'T CRY, RUN LOLA RUN, HILARY & JACKIE, and others as example. Writing for a budget, writing for non-actors, getting the most production value out of your budget. Writing Indies is $10.00 (plus $5 S&H)

WRITING HORROR - The essentials of a horror screenplay - what do ROSEMARY'S BABY, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE EXORCIST, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE OTHERS and OPEN WATER have in common? This class will tell you! All of the critical elements necessary to write a script that scares the pants off the audience. Writing Horror is $10.00 (plus $5 S&H).

Click here for more information on CLASS MP3s!



STORY IN ACTION SERIES!

bluebook

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES

NEW: Updates On Films 7 & 8 Casting!

All Six Movies analyzed! All of the mission tapes, all of the “that’s impossible!” set pieces and stunts, the cons and capers - and how these scenes work, the twists and double crosses, the tension and suspense (and how to generate it), the concept of each film as a stand alone with a different director calling the shots (broken in the sixth film), the gadgets, the masks, the stories, the co-stars and team members (one team member has been in every film), the stunts Tom Cruise actually did (and the ones he didn’t), and so much more! Over 120,000 words of fun info!

THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MOVIES - 347 Pages - Only $3.99 !


bourne

BRAND NEW!

*** THE BOURNE MOVIES

NEW: Updates on TREADSTONE TV show!

All five "Bourne" movies (including "Legacy" and it's potential sequels) - what are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? Reinventing the thriller genre... or following the "formula"? Five films - each with an interesting experiment! A detailed analysis of each of the films, the way these thrillers work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

Only $3.99 - and no postage!


bluebook

Over 240 pages!

*** THE TERMINATOR MOVIES *** - For Kindle!


He's back! The release of "Terminator: Dark Fate" is set to begin a new trilogy in the Terminator story... 35 years after the first film was released. What draws us to these films about a cybernetic organism from the future sent back in time? Why is there a new proposed trilogy every few years? This book looks at all five Terminator movies from a story standpoint - what makes them work (or not)? What are the techniques used to keep the characters and scenes exciting and involving? How about those secret story details you may not have noticed? Containing a detailed analysis of each of the five films so far, this book delves into the way these stories work... as well as a complete list of box office and critical statistics for each film. This book is great for writers, directors, and just fans of the series.

ONLY $3.99 - and no postage!


NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!



HITCHCOCK FOR WRITERS!

hitchcock

Strange Structures!

*** HITCHCOCK: EXPERIMENTS IN TERROR! *** - For Kindle!

***

Contained Thrillers like "Buried"? Serial Protagonists like "Place Beyond The Pines"? Multiple Connecting Stories like "Pulp Fiction"? Same Story Multiple Times like "Run, Lola, Run"?
HITCHCOCK DID IT FIRST!

This book focuses on 18 of Hitchcock's 52 films with wild cinema and story experiments which paved the way for modern films. Almost one hundred different experiments that you may think are recent cinema or story inventions... but some date back to Hitchcock's *silent* films! We'll examine these experiments and how they work. Great for film makers, screenwriters, film fans, producers and directors.

Only $5.99 - and no postage!



LEARN SUSPENSE FROM THE MASTER!

*** HITCHCOCK: MASTERING SUSPENSE *** - For Kindle!

Alfred Hitchcock, who directed 52 movies, was known as the *Master Of Suspense*; but what exactly is suspense and how can *we* master it? How does suspense work? How can *we* create “Hitchcockian” suspense scenes in our screenplays, novels, stories and films?

This book uses seventeen of Hitchcock’s films to show the difference between suspense and surprise, how to use “focus objects” to create suspense, the 20 iconic suspense scenes and situations, how plot twists work, using secrets for suspense, how to use Dread (the cousin of suspense) in horror stories, and dozens of other amazing storytelling lessons. From classics like “Strangers On A Train” and “The Birds” and “Vertigo” and “To Catch A Thief” to older films from the British period like “The 39 Steps” and “The Man Who Knew Too Much” to his hits from the silent era like “The Lodger” (about Jack The Ripper), we’ll look at all of the techniques to create suspense!

Only $5.99



bluebook

ADVICE FROM 1920!

*** VINTAGE #1: HOW TO WRITE PHOTOPLAYS *** - For Kindle!

***

Screenwriting books have been around as long as films have. This series reprints vintage screenwriting books with a new introduction and history, plus new articles which look at how these lessons from almost 100 years ago apply to today’s screenplays. Anita Loos book is filled with information which still applies. In addition to the full text of the original book, you get the full screenplay to Miss Loos' hit THE LOVE EXPERT, plus several new articles on the time period and women in Hollywood.

ONLY $2.99 - and no postage!




hcd

MOVIE MAGIC SOFTWARE

Movie Magic Screenwriter is the best selling screenplay formatting software and the choice of Hollywood professionals. Screenwriter automatically formats while you write so you can focus on what you're writing, not where it goes on the page. It also formats for television, stage, novels and comic book scripts so you've got an all in one package for any story you want to write. Academy Award Tech Winner!

* * * Buy It!

copyright 2023 by William C. Martell


eXTReMe Tracker
E BOOKS PAGE

bluebook E BOOKS: New Blue Books and Novelettes!
I am expanding all of the Blue Books from around 44 pages of text to around 200 pages! Some are over 250 pages! See what is availabale and what is coming soon!Also, I've been writing Novelletes and there will soon be novels.
E BOOKS: BLUE BOOKS & NOVELLETES

ONLINE CLASSES
Furious Action Class
MY OTHER SITES

B MOVIE WORLD
Cult Films, Exploitation, Bikers & Women In Prison, Monster Movies.

FIRST STRIKE PRODUCTIONS
Producing my own scripts, investment possibilities, pipe dreams.

NAKED SCREENWRITING MP3s

Naked Class The NAKED SCREENWRITING CLASS ON MP3! The 2001 London Class on 8 CDs worth of MP3s! Recorded *live* the morning after the Raindance Film Festival wrapped. The two day class on 8MP3s, plus a workbook,.
The 2 Day Class on MP3!

THE BLOG!

A Whole Week Of Programming!
SEX IN A SUBMARINE
(no actual sex is involved)
From Trailer Tuesday to Film Courage Plus to THRILLER Thursday to Fridays With Hitchcock and more! My blog has all kinds of great stuff! Check it out! Lots of cool stuff every day!

BOOKLETS & PRODUCTS

bluebook FIRST STRIKE BLUE BOOKS
Each Blue Book is 48 pages and focuses on a different aspect of screenwriting. Dialogue. Visual Storytelling. Your First Ten Pages. Act 2 Booster. Protagonists. Great Endings.
Seventeen Blue Books now available!

THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING The Best Nuts & Bolts Screenwriting Book On The Market!

BILL'S CORNER

My nineteen produced films, interviews with me in magazines, several sample scripts, my available scripts list... And MORE!
...............................BILL'S CORNER


Available Scripts

CLASSES ON MP3

Class MP3s CLASSES ON MP3! Take a class on MP3! GUERRILLA MARKETING - NO AGENT? NO PROBLEM! and WRITING THRILLERS (2 MP3s). Full length classes on MP3. Now Available: IDEAS & CREATIVITY, WRITING HORROR, WRITING INDIE FILMS, more!
Take classes on MP3!