Essentials of Screenwriting

"Anyone fortunate enough to win a seat in Professor Richard Walter's legendary class at UCLA film school can be confident their career has just taken a quantum leap forward. His students have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus hundreds of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious indie productions, including two Oscar winners for best original screenplay—Milk (2008) and Sideways (2006).

In this updated edition, Walter integrates his highly coveted lessons and principles from Screenwriting with material from his companion text, The Whole Picture, and includes new advice on how to turn a raw idea into a great movie or TV script-and sell it. There is never a shortage of aspiring screenwriters, and this book is their bible."

- Goodreads

Take a look at how real scripts are analyzed and critiqued by industry professionals.

Essentials of Screenwriting covers all the big stuff in detail-- theme, conflict, character, and dialogue. But this book goes deeper, exploring the interplay of psychology, art, and commerce before defining a 'foolproof, shockproof, waterproof, tamper resistant' method for reaching an agent. It cuts to the chase with more style, wisdom, and humor than all other screenwriting books combined. It's a fun, and informative read packed with practical knowledge about the biz along with profound insights on every conceivable subject, mistake, obstacle, and challenge a screenwriter is likely to face. For example, professor Walter knows that movies are much more than just a way to kill a few hours on a Saturday night. Great movies express the love, pain, suffering, joy, triumph, and tragedy of the human experience. That's why we love them. This book will help you write them.