Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're writing a screenplay, 08 May 2008
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his belt - not unimpressive) but does tell you he was a 'reader' for major studios and has read thousands of scripts. And reading is the first part of the process (once you've done your bit) to getting it made. So, essentially, what you have here is a book that shows you how to make your screenplay INTERESTING - a reader telling you what reader loves and hates - end of story. Crack all 101 points and you're halfway there (though a good story will help too but that's for other books). If you're at all serious about writing screenplays for the big screen or tv, get this book. You will not be sorry.

Overpriced and disappointing., 05 Mar 2008
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. It is the one that gives the most detail on how to use screenplay elements such as "CUT TO:" and "CONT'd", however if you use the freely available script formatting program 'Celtx' you can avoid having to know a lot of the stuff this book tells you about formatting.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, if it were nearer the £6 mark. It is a slim tome and large chunks are given over to quoting scripts from films. As aspiring scriptwriters will probably already know, you get far fewer words to a page once you start formatting as a screenplay. This book is already only 200 pages long once you discard the index and appendices. Yet another 50 or more of those are given over to quoting screenplays. This leaves the author with little room to explore what he's telling you, so the overall effect is of a book that has been rushed to market.

My advice would be to look around at some of the websites that tell you how to format a screenplay. Then read lots of screenplays themselves (which, again, are available online). Then download Celtx and let that handle your formatting.

Fandabidozi, 22 Oct 2007
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).

As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so it does what it says on the tin.

It's an easy read too, and not a drudge. Even better. And has a lot of good ideas which once you read you wonder why no-one else pointed that out, or why you didn't think on it yourself.

This is how to write a screenplay, 13 Jan 2007
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.

Learning through mistakes, and professionals, 04 Dec 2000
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. The reason being that it teaches you, through mistakes and quality writing how to/ or not to write for film.

I found myself laughing at the witty comments the author makes. Often referring to bad writing submitted through 'quality agents'. It's a shame that the rest of the book tapers off towards the end.

The second part, is story developemt. The book only glazes over story. Other books dedicated to story development I would have to recommend, McKee's Story, for example.

The third section, only lasted a few pages, and is not worth mentioning about.

Overall, the book is very helpful. I've read about 9 other screenwriting books before, and this one made a very good impression on me. Despite its later flaws, it's still worth buying for the larger 1st part.

over and out, Daniel

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're writing a screenplay, 08 May 2008
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his belt - not unimpressive) but does tell you he was a 'reader' for major studios and has read thousands of scripts. And reading is the first part of the process (once you've done your bit) to getting it made. So, essentially, what you have here is a book that shows you how to make your screenplay INTERESTING - a reader telling you what reader loves and hates - end of story. Crack all 101 points and you're halfway there (though a good story will help too but that's for other books). If you're at all serious about writing screenplays for the big screen or tv, get this book. You will not be sorry.

Overpriced and disappointing., 05 Mar 2008
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. It is the one that gives the most detail on how to use screenplay elements such as "CUT TO:" and "CONT'd", however if you use the freely available script formatting program 'Celtx' you can avoid having to know a lot of the stuff this book tells you about formatting.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, if it were nearer the £6 mark. It is a slim tome and large chunks are given over to quoting scripts from films. As aspiring scriptwriters will probably already know, you get far fewer words to a page once you start formatting as a screenplay. This book is already only 200 pages long once you discard the index and appendices. Yet another 50 or more of those are given over to quoting screenplays. This leaves the author with little room to explore what he's telling you, so the overall effect is of a book that has been rushed to market.

My advice would be to look around at some of the websites that tell you how to format a screenplay. Then read lots of screenplays themselves (which, again, are available online). Then download Celtx and let that handle your formatting.

Fandabidozi, 22 Oct 2007
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).

As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so it does what it says on the tin.

It's an easy read too, and not a drudge. Even better. And has a lot of good ideas which once you read you wonder why no-one else pointed that out, or why you didn't think on it yourself.

This is how to write a screenplay, 13 Jan 2007
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.

Learning through mistakes, and professionals, 04 Dec 2000
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. The reason being that it teaches you, through mistakes and quality writing how to/ or not to write for film.

I found myself laughing at the witty comments the author makes. Often referring to bad writing submitted through 'quality agents'. It's a shame that the rest of the book tapers off towards the end.

The second part, is story developemt. The book only glazes over story. Other books dedicated to story development I would have to recommend, McKee's Story, for example.

The third section, only lasted a few pages, and is not worth mentioning about.

Overall, the book is very helpful. I've read about 9 other screenwriting books before, and this one made a very good impression on me. Despite its later flaws, it's still worth buying for the larger 1st part.

over and out, Daniel

absolute rubbish, 07 Sep 2008
This book is crap.

It annoys me so much when I see the Hollywood hanger-on community
not only making money out of public ignorance but also promoting
themselves as experts. It really is modern commercial evil. Even a humble
mechanic has to provide some kind of guarantee of his work, but a woman
like Linda Seger can dress up personal opinion as valuable teaching and get
away with it. She needs to be called on it by a warrior from the real world
and a tough negative review is one way to begin.

There isn't ONE insight in this book that is worth paying for. Linda Seger
has no understanding of how stories work, why audiences are attracted
to anything, or what makes a movie function. She might as well be saying,
'I really like my convertible because when the roof is down I can feel
the wind in my hair.' This kind of comment is not on the same level as
that of the engineer who describes how the body of the car was
strengthened to compensate for the fact that the metal connections
in the roof had been removed.

It is crucial for any serious writer to ignore this book and the kind of
thinking that has produced it. It is dangerous to engage with Linda
Seger's thinking in the belief that such engagement will produce
better writing. Reject the work of this con artist.

Inavluable, 28 Aug 2008
Truly great advice for intermediate level writers and above. For those of us who have mastered three-act structure and who understand the importance of character development, this book is a welcome breath of fresh air that can blow the cobwebs out of any dusty old script. With detailed notes on concepts such as the transformational arc and "making a script commercial", Linda Seger deals precisely with what many other books skirt around with woolly phraseology. The most useful feature for me was a very practical "application" section at the end of each chapter. I honestly don't know how I did without this book for so long, as it elevates your writing to a whole new level. Well worth investing in.



Simple guidance that helps a great deal, 20 May 2003
The best thing about this book is that it breaks down the structures and tools found in a screenplay and gives you enough information to feel confident enough to use them yourself.

The examples are clear and all help to illustrate the point.

I found this book extremely useful both for improving an existing screenplay and starting another.

It does not dictate how to write, but teaches you the tricks of the trade so that you can use them in whatever way you wish.

A superb structural reference manual - buy it.

a great book, 27 Nov 2000
I've only read about five scriptwriting books, but in terms of story structuring this ranks top. Great book.

Ignore the previous review. I don't know what magical scriptwriting bible this person's got but, in terms of story structuring, no book I've read goes into any more depth than this, and all the books I've read got 5 star averages.

Only for Beginners and Not Even All of Them, 03 Apr 2000
I found the content of this book to be far too basic for anyone but an absolute neophyte writer. Writers with some experience will not gain much from the material this book presents. I think anyone who is capable of turning out a good script is way, way beyond the scope of this book.

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're writing a screenplay, 08 May 2008
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his belt - not unimpressive) but does tell you he was a 'reader' for major studios and has read thousands of scripts. And reading is the first part of the process (once you've done your bit) to getting it made. So, essentially, what you have here is a book that shows you how to make your screenplay INTERESTING - a reader telling you what reader loves and hates - end of story. Crack all 101 points and you're halfway there (though a good story will help too but that's for other books). If you're at all serious about writing screenplays for the big screen or tv, get this book. You will not be sorry.

Overpriced and disappointing., 05 Mar 2008
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. It is the one that gives the most detail on how to use screenplay elements such as "CUT TO:" and "CONT'd", however if you use the freely available script formatting program 'Celtx' you can avoid having to know a lot of the stuff this book tells you about formatting.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, if it were nearer the £6 mark. It is a slim tome and large chunks are given over to quoting scripts from films. As aspiring scriptwriters will probably already know, you get far fewer words to a page once you start formatting as a screenplay. This book is already only 200 pages long once you discard the index and appendices. Yet another 50 or more of those are given over to quoting screenplays. This leaves the author with little room to explore what he's telling you, so the overall effect is of a book that has been rushed to market.

My advice would be to look around at some of the websites that tell you how to format a screenplay. Then read lots of screenplays themselves (which, again, are available online). Then download Celtx and let that handle your formatting.

Fandabidozi, 22 Oct 2007
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).

As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so it does what it says on the tin.

It's an easy read too, and not a drudge. Even better. And has a lot of good ideas which once you read you wonder why no-one else pointed that out, or why you didn't think on it yourself.

This is how to write a screenplay, 13 Jan 2007
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.

Learning through mistakes, and professionals, 04 Dec 2000
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. The reason being that it teaches you, through mistakes and quality writing how to/ or not to write for film.

I found myself laughing at the witty comments the author makes. Often referring to bad writing submitted through 'quality agents'. It's a shame that the rest of the book tapers off towards the end.

The second part, is story developemt. The book only glazes over story. Other books dedicated to story development I would have to recommend, McKee's Story, for example.

The third section, only lasted a few pages, and is not worth mentioning about.

Overall, the book is very helpful. I've read about 9 other screenwriting books before, and this one made a very good impression on me. Despite its later flaws, it's still worth buying for the larger 1st part.

over and out, Daniel

absolute rubbish, 07 Sep 2008
This book is crap.

It annoys me so much when I see the Hollywood hanger-on community
not only making money out of public ignorance but also promoting
themselves as experts. It really is modern commercial evil. Even a humble
mechanic has to provide some kind of guarantee of his work, but a woman
like Linda Seger can dress up personal opinion as valuable teaching and get
away with it. She needs to be called on it by a warrior from the real world
and a tough negative review is one way to begin.

There isn't ONE insight in this book that is worth paying for. Linda Seger
has no understanding of how stories work, why audiences are attracted
to anything, or what makes a movie function. She might as well be saying,
'I really like my convertible because when the roof is down I can feel
the wind in my hair.' This kind of comment is not on the same level as
that of the engineer who describes how the body of the car was
strengthened to compensate for the fact that the metal connections
in the roof had been removed.

It is crucial for any serious writer to ignore this book and the kind of
thinking that has produced it. It is dangerous to engage with Linda
Seger's thinking in the belief that such engagement will produce
better writing. Reject the work of this con artist.

Inavluable, 28 Aug 2008
Truly great advice for intermediate level writers and above. For those of us who have mastered three-act structure and who understand the importance of character development, this book is a welcome breath of fresh air that can blow the cobwebs out of any dusty old script. With detailed notes on concepts such as the transformational arc and "making a script commercial", Linda Seger deals precisely with what many other books skirt around with woolly phraseology. The most useful feature for me was a very practical "application" section at the end of each chapter. I honestly don't know how I did without this book for so long, as it elevates your writing to a whole new level. Well worth investing in.



Simple guidance that helps a great deal, 20 May 2003
The best thing about this book is that it breaks down the structures and tools found in a screenplay and gives you enough information to feel confident enough to use them yourself.

The examples are clear and all help to illustrate the point.

I found this book extremely useful both for improving an existing screenplay and starting another.

It does not dictate how to write, but teaches you the tricks of the trade so that you can use them in whatever way you wish.

A superb structural reference manual - buy it.

a great book, 27 Nov 2000
I've only read about five scriptwriting books, but in terms of story structuring this ranks top. Great book.

Ignore the previous review. I don't know what magical scriptwriting bible this person's got but, in terms of story structuring, no book I've read goes into any more depth than this, and all the books I've read got 5 star averages.

Only for Beginners and Not Even All of Them, 03 Apr 2000
I found the content of this book to be far too basic for anyone but an absolute neophyte writer. Writers with some experience will not gain much from the material this book presents. I think anyone who is capable of turning out a good script is way, way beyond the scope of this book.

Gets to the heart of dialogue, 01 Jul 2008
This is not a book about screenwriting but a book about dialogue and one which does the job excellently. I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in understanding the way speech works and how to transfer that speech into script dialogue that will come across as dynamic.

Very useful book, 03 Mar 2006
This is a great book. It gives great advice on how to write good dialogue dealing with many different styles of dialogue and how it changes between the different mediums of theatre and screen. The writing style is very easy to understand with no jargon being used without being first explained. I started around the same time that I bought this book and can see a clear difference in the quality of dialogue at the beginning and where I am now which shows just how useful this book is. I would reccommend this to anyone wishing to improve their skills at writing good dialogue for scripts.

Really bad, 21 Mar 2002
Do not buy this book! It is a waste of money. There are a lot of books on screenwriting. Some are good. Some are bad. This is not a good one. If you are interested in writing film/short films then stay away from this really terrible book. This book is about writing dialouge for PLAYS/not film/not radio. The author writes plays and pretends he writes screenplays. He has only been a script reader. Look, if you want to write plays - then buy this book. But if you want to write for film - do not buy this book!

If you want to write good dialogue, buy this!, 30 Apr 2001
An excellent book. The author begins by exploring how people really talk, then moves on to examine how we need to adapt this when writing fictional dialogue, to retain the essence of realism without the boredom factor. He goes on to look at the different styles of dialogue, from realism and heightened realism to the highly stylised dialogue written by people such as Oscar Wilde. Fascinating stuff, with gems of relevant info on every page.

Unlike many books on fiction writing, the author does not talk down to the reader. Neither does he include general fiction-writing info which is not strictly relevant to the title of the tome - a huge bonus, since it can be irritating when every fiction-writing guide you pick up, whatever its professed subject matter, tells you the same fundamental stuff you've read a thousand times before. Full marks for sticking to the subject and covering it in depth, rather than padding it out with "general" writing tips.

I strongly recommend this book.

Shows you how to improve dialogue and avoid the many traps, 23 Jan 2001
Although primarily aimed at scriptwriting, this book reveals how inexperienced writers tend to come out with atrocious lines when they attempt dialogue. The author presents good examples of the common pitfalls. I particularly like the section in Chapter Four when he examines a stretch of crap dialogue and then proceeds to fix the material up. I found this kind of practical advice very useful. In comparison,Stephen King's recent book on writing is a disappointing swindle.

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're writing a screenplay, 08 May 2008
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his belt - not unimpressive) but does tell you he was a 'reader' for major studios and has read thousands of scripts. And reading is the first part of the process (once you've done your bit) to getting it made. So, essentially, what you have here is a book that shows you how to make your screenplay INTERESTING - a reader telling you what reader loves and hates - end of story. Crack all 101 points and you're halfway there (though a good story will help too but that's for other books). If you're at all serious about writing screenplays for the big screen or tv, get this book. You will not be sorry.

Overpriced and disappointing., 05 Mar 2008
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. It is the one that gives the most detail on how to use screenplay elements such as "CUT TO:" and "CONT'd", however if you use the freely available script formatting program 'Celtx' you can avoid having to know a lot of the stuff this book tells you about formatting.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, if it were nearer the £6 mark. It is a slim tome and large chunks are given over to quoting scripts from films. As aspiring scriptwriters will probably already know, you get far fewer words to a page once you start formatting as a screenplay. This book is already only 200 pages long once you discard the index and appendices. Yet another 50 or more of those are given over to quoting screenplays. This leaves the author with little room to explore what he's telling you, so the overall effect is of a book that has been rushed to market.

My advice would be to look around at some of the websites that tell you how to format a screenplay. Then read lots of screenplays themselves (which, again, are available online). Then download Celtx and let that handle your formatting.

Fandabidozi, 22 Oct 2007
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).

As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so it does what it says on the tin.

It's an easy read too, and not a drudge. Even better. And has a lot of good ideas which once you read you wonder why no-one else pointed that out, or why you didn't think on it yourself.

This is how to write a screenplay, 13 Jan 2007
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.

Learning through mistakes, and professionals, 04 Dec 2000
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. The reason being that it teaches you, through mistakes and quality writing how to/ or not to write for film.

I found myself laughing at the witty comments the author makes. Often referring to bad writing submitted through 'quality agents'. It's a shame that the rest of the book tapers off towards the end.

The second part, is story developemt. The book only glazes over story. Other books dedicated to story development I would have to recommend, McKee's Story, for example.

The third section, only lasted a few pages, and is not worth mentioning about.

Overall, the book is very helpful. I've read about 9 other screenwriting books before, and this one made a very good impression on me. Despite its later flaws, it's still worth buying for the larger 1st part.

over and out, Daniel

absolute rubbish, 07 Sep 2008
This book is crap.

It annoys me so much when I see the Hollywood hanger-on community
not only making money out of public ignorance but also promoting
themselves as experts. It really is modern commercial evil. Even a humble
mechanic has to provide some kind of guarantee of his work, but a woman
like Linda Seger can dress up personal opinion as valuable teaching and get
away with it. She needs to be called on it by a warrior from the real world
and a tough negative review is one way to begin.

There isn't ONE insight in this book that is worth paying for. Linda Seger
has no understanding of how stories work, why audiences are attracted
to anything, or what makes a movie function. She might as well be saying,
'I really like my convertible because when the roof is down I can feel
the wind in my hair.' This kind of comment is not on the same level as
that of the engineer who describes how the body of the car was
strengthened to compensate for the fact that the metal connections
in the roof had been removed.

It is crucial for any serious writer to ignore this book and the kind of
thinking that has produced it. It is dangerous to engage with Linda
Seger's thinking in the belief that such engagement will produce
better writing. Reject the work of this con artist.

Inavluable, 28 Aug 2008
Truly great advice for intermediate level writers and above. For those of us who have mastered three-act structure and who understand the importance of character development, this book is a welcome breath of fresh air that can blow the cobwebs out of any dusty old script. With detailed notes on concepts such as the transformational arc and "making a script commercial", Linda Seger deals precisely with what many other books skirt around with woolly phraseology. The most useful feature for me was a very practical "application" section at the end of each chapter. I honestly don't know how I did without this book for so long, as it elevates your writing to a whole new level. Well worth investing in.



Simple guidance that helps a great deal, 20 May 2003
The best thing about this book is that it breaks down the structures and tools found in a screenplay and gives you enough information to feel confident enough to use them yourself.

The examples are clear and all help to illustrate the point.

I found this book extremely useful both for improving an existing screenplay and starting another.

It does not dictate how to write, but teaches you the tricks of the trade so that you can use them in whatever way you wish.

A superb structural reference manual - buy it.

a great book, 27 Nov 2000
I've only read about five scriptwriting books, but in terms of story structuring this ranks top. Great book.

Ignore the previous review. I don't know what magical scriptwriting bible this person's got but, in terms of story structuring, no book I've read goes into any more depth than this, and all the books I've read got 5 star averages.

Only for Beginners and Not Even All of Them, 03 Apr 2000
I found the content of this book to be far too basic for anyone but an absolute neophyte writer. Writers with some experience will not gain much from the material this book presents. I think anyone who is capable of turning out a good script is way, way beyond the scope of this book.

Gets to the heart of dialogue, 01 Jul 2008
This is not a book about screenwriting but a book about dialogue and one which does the job excellently. I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in understanding the way speech works and how to transfer that speech into script dialogue that will come across as dynamic.

Very useful book, 03 Mar 2006
This is a great book. It gives great advice on how to write good dialogue dealing with many different styles of dialogue and how it changes between the different mediums of theatre and screen. The writing style is very easy to understand with no jargon being used without being first explained. I started around the same time that I bought this book and can see a clear difference in the quality of dialogue at the beginning and where I am now which shows just how useful this book is. I would reccommend this to anyone wishing to improve their skills at writing good dialogue for scripts.

Really bad, 21 Mar 2002
Do not buy this book! It is a waste of money. There are a lot of books on screenwriting. Some are good. Some are bad. This is not a good one. If you are interested in writing film/short films then stay away from this really terrible book. This book is about writing dialouge for PLAYS/not film/not radio. The author writes plays and pretends he writes screenplays. He has only been a script reader. Look, if you want to write plays - then buy this book. But if you want to write for film - do not buy this book!

If you want to write good dialogue, buy this!, 30 Apr 2001
An excellent book. The author begins by exploring how people really talk, then moves on to examine how we need to adapt this when writing fictional dialogue, to retain the essence of realism without the boredom factor. He goes on to look at the different styles of dialogue, from realism and heightened realism to the highly stylised dialogue written by people such as Oscar Wilde. Fascinating stuff, with gems of relevant info on every page.

Unlike many books on fiction writing, the author does not talk down to the reader. Neither does he include general fiction-writing info which is not strictly relevant to the title of the tome - a huge bonus, since it can be irritating when every fiction-writing guide you pick up, whatever its professed subject matter, tells you the same fundamental stuff you've read a thousand times before. Full marks for sticking to the subject and covering it in depth, rather than padding it out with "general" writing tips.

I strongly recommend this book.

Shows you how to improve dialogue and avoid the many traps, 23 Jan 2001
Although primarily aimed at scriptwriting, this book reveals how inexperienced writers tend to come out with atrocious lines when they attempt dialogue. The author presents good examples of the common pitfalls. I particularly like the section in Chapter Four when he examines a stretch of crap dialogue and then proceeds to fix the material up. I found this kind of practical advice very useful. In comparison,Stephen King's recent book on writing is a disappointing swindle.

Does what it says on the tin!, 16 Mar 2006
I found Val Taylor's "Stage Writing: A Practical Guide" lived up to her titular boast. I have read several books on playwriting and Taylor's covers all the major topics. She looks at four elements of drama (movement, action, conflict and juxtaposition) and how these can be used to create exciting theatre. It's certainly a very refreshing slant and gave me food for thought with my own work. She helpfully advises on how to format plays for the UK market and gives practical tips on how to squeeze the juice out of a scene.

Each chapter has practical exercises to illustrate the concepts and techniques she's talking about. These are also brilliant ways to generate new ideas and encourage you to start writing. Her advice is applicable to the first-time writer as well as the more experienced. She uses examples from contemporary British playwrights during the book, rather than the tried and tested American heavy weights or 19th century Europeans. This makes the book seem more relevant in its approach and introduces some radical new ideas for how to approach scenes.

However, I withhold a star because her writing style has a tendency to lapse into the rather arid and academic. I found it hard to concentrate during lengthy paragraphs which could have been delivered more succinctly. That aside, I appreciated what Val Taylor had to say as she clearly understands what makes good drama.

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're writing a screenplay, 08 May 2008
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his belt - not unimpressive) but does tell you he was a 'reader' for major studios and has read thousands of scripts. And reading is the first part of the process (once you've done your bit) to getting it made. So, essentially, what you have here is a book that shows you how to make your screenplay INTERESTING - a reader telling you what reader loves and hates - end of story. Crack all 101 points and you're halfway there (though a good story will help too but that's for other books). If you're at all serious about writing screenplays for the big screen or tv, get this book. You will not be sorry.

Overpriced and disappointing., 05 Mar 2008
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. It is the one that gives the most detail on how to use screenplay elements such as "CUT TO:" and "CONT'd", however if you use the freely available script formatting program 'Celtx' you can avoid having to know a lot of the stuff this book tells you about formatting.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, if it were nearer the £6 mark. It is a slim tome and large chunks are given over to quoting scripts from films. As aspiring scriptwriters will probably already know, you get far fewer words to a page once you start formatting as a screenplay. This book is already only 200 pages long once you discard the index and appendices. Yet another 50 or more of those are given over to quoting screenplays. This leaves the author with little room to explore what he's telling you, so the overall effect is of a book that has been rushed to market.

My advice would be to look around at some of the websites that tell you how to format a screenplay. Then read lots of screenplays themselves (which, again, are available online). Then download Celtx and let that handle your formatting.

Fandabidozi, 22 Oct 2007
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).

As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so it does what it says on the tin.

It's an easy read too, and not a drudge. Even better. And has a lot of good ideas which once you read you wonder why no-one else pointed that out, or why you didn't think on it yourself.

This is how to write a screenplay, 13 Jan 2007
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.

Learning through mistakes, and professionals, 04 Dec 2000
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. The reason being that it teaches you, through mistakes and quality writing how to/ or not to write for film.

I found myself laughing at the witty comments the author makes. Often referring to bad writing submitted through 'quality agents'. It's a shame that the rest of the book tapers off towards the end.

The second part, is story developemt. The book only glazes over story. Other books dedicated to story development I would have to recommend, McKee's Story, for example.

The third section, only lasted a few pages, and is not worth mentioning about.

Overall, the book is very helpful. I've read about 9 other screenwriting books before, and this one made a very good impression on me. Despite its later flaws, it's still worth buying for the larger 1st part.

over and out, Daniel

absolute rubbish, 07 Sep 2008
This book is crap.

It annoys me so much when I see the Hollywood hanger-on community
not only making money out of public ignorance but also promoting
themselves as experts. It really is modern commercial evil. Even a humble
mechanic has to provide some kind of guarantee of his work, but a woman
like Linda Seger can dress up personal opinion as valuable teaching and get
away with it. She needs to be called on it by a warrior from the real world
and a tough negative review is one way to begin.

There isn't ONE insight in this book that is worth paying for. Linda Seger
has no understanding of how stories work, why audiences are attracted
to anything, or what makes a movie function. She might as well be saying,
'I really like my convertible because when the roof is down I can feel
the wind in my hair.' This kind of comment is not on the same level as
that of the engineer who describes how the body of the car was
strengthened to compensate for the fact that the metal connections
in the roof had been removed.

It is crucial for any serious writer to ignore this book and the kind of
thinking that has produced it. It is dangerous to engage with Linda
Seger's thinking in the belief that such engagement will produce
better writing. Reject the work of this con artist.

Inavluable, 28 Aug 2008
Truly great advice for intermediate level writers and above. For those of us who have mastered three-act structure and who understand the importance of character development, this book is a welcome breath of fresh air that can blow the cobwebs out of any dusty old script. With detailed notes on concepts such as the transformational arc and "making a script commercial", Linda Seger deals precisely with what many other books skirt around with woolly phraseology. The most useful feature for me was a very practical "application" section at the end of each chapter. I honestly don't know how I did without this book for so long, as it elevates your writing to a whole new level. Well worth investing in.



Simple guidance that helps a great deal, 20 May 2003
The best thing about this book is that it breaks down the structures and tools found in a screenplay and gives you enough information to feel confident enough to use them yourself.

The examples are clear and all help to illustrate the point.

I found this book extremely useful both for improving an existing screenplay and starting another.

It does not dictate how to write, but teaches you the tricks of the trade so that you can use them in whatever way you wish.

A superb structural reference manual - buy it.

a great book, 27 Nov 2000
I've only read about five scriptwriting books, but in terms of story structuring this ranks top. Great book.

Ignore the previous review. I don't know what magical scriptwriting bible this person's got but, in terms of story structuring, no book I've read goes into any more depth than this, and all the books I've read got 5 star averages.

Only for Beginners and Not Even All of Them, 03 Apr 2000
I found the content of this book to be far too basic for anyone but an absolute neophyte writer. Writers with some experience will not gain much from the material this book presents. I think anyone who is capable of turning out a good script is way, way beyond the scope of this book.

Gets to the heart of dialogue, 01 Jul 2008
This is not a book about screenwriting but a book about dialogue and one which does the job excellently. I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in understanding the way speech works and how to transfer that speech into script dialogue that will come across as dynamic.

Very useful book, 03 Mar 2006
This is a great book. It gives great advice on how to write good dialogue dealing with many different styles of dialogue and how it changes between the different mediums of theatre and screen. The writing style is very easy to understand with no jargon being used without being first explained. I started around the same time that I bought this book and can see a clear difference in the quality of dialogue at the beginning and where I am now which shows just how useful this book is. I would reccommend this to anyone wishing to improve their skills at writing good dialogue for scripts.

Really bad, 21 Mar 2002
Do not buy this book! It is a waste of money. There are a lot of books on screenwriting. Some are good. Some are bad. This is not a good one. If you are interested in writing film/short films then stay away from this really terrible book. This book is about writing dialouge for PLAYS/not film/not radio. The author writes plays and pretends he writes screenplays. He has only been a script reader. Look, if you want to write plays - then buy this book. But if you want to write for film - do not buy this book!

If you want to write good dialogue, buy this!, 30 Apr 2001
An excellent book. The author begins by exploring how people really talk, then moves on to examine how we need to adapt this when writing fictional dialogue, to retain the essence of realism without the boredom factor. He goes on to look at the different styles of dialogue, from realism and heightened realism to the highly stylised dialogue written by people such as Oscar Wilde. Fascinating stuff, with gems of relevant info on every page.

Unlike many books on fiction writing, the author does not talk down to the reader. Neither does he include general fiction-writing info which is not strictly relevant to the title of the tome - a huge bonus, since it can be irritating when every fiction-writing guide you pick up, whatever its professed subject matter, tells you the same fundamental stuff you've read a thousand times before. Full marks for sticking to the subject and covering it in depth, rather than padding it out with "general" writing tips.

I strongly recommend this book.

Shows you how to improve dialogue and avoid the many traps, 23 Jan 2001
Although primarily aimed at scriptwriting, this book reveals how inexperienced writers tend to come out with atrocious lines when they attempt dialogue. The author presents good examples of the common pitfalls. I particularly like the section in Chapter Four when he examines a stretch of crap dialogue and then proceeds to fix the material up. I found this kind of practical advice very useful. In comparison,Stephen King's recent book on writing is a disappointing swindle.

Does what it says on the tin!, 16 Mar 2006
I found Val Taylor's "Stage Writing: A Practical Guide" lived up to her titular boast. I have read several books on playwriting and Taylor's covers all the major topics. She looks at four elements of drama (movement, action, conflict and juxtaposition) and how these can be used to create exciting theatre. It's certainly a very refreshing slant and gave me food for thought with my own work. She helpfully advises on how to format plays for the UK market and gives practical tips on how to squeeze the juice out of a scene.

Each chapter has practical exercises to illustrate the concepts and techniques she's talking about. These are also brilliant ways to generate new ideas and encourage you to start writing. Her advice is applicable to the first-time writer as well as the more experienced. She uses examples from contemporary British playwrights during the book, rather than the tried and tested American heavy weights or 19th century Europeans. This makes the book seem more relevant in its approach and introduces some radical new ideas for how to approach scenes.

However, I withhold a star because her writing style has a tendency to lapse into the rather arid and academic. I found it hard to concentrate during lengthy paragraphs which could have been delivered more succinctly. That aside, I appreciated what Val Taylor had to say as she clearly understands what makes good drama.

Comprehensive - but clunky, 20 May 2006
Well, it certainly covers a lot of ground. This book covers *almost* every involved in creating characters, but omits some of the most basic things, like naming them (something which I, as a writer, find very difficult). The book also feels rather longer than it is, and could probably have been shortened by 10-15% with no effect other than becoming easier to read.

If you have the patience, this is certainly worth it. But you'll get no help with getting the beginnings of your characters, just the bits that round them off.

OK but plods in places - 10 page distillation required!, 27 Feb 2002
The approach that this book takes is to present an idea eg "The Inner Backstory Defines Character". There's an all-too brief discussion, then possibly some reports of what Freud, Jung, and/or some other lesser-known writers might have said to support the idea, and then we're into the case studies.

I have to admit that this approach is not really my cup of tea. I want to get to the meat that the author has to offer, and avoid the flabby case-study filler. Perhaps if it was written in a more engaging way, I might feel differently, but as it is, I'm tempted to skip long tracts looking for the useful bits. At least the summaries at the end of each chapter help in this - I quickly concluded that the book would be more useful as a set of reference cards pasted up from the introduction to each idea, and these summary pages.

I'm currently reading "Characters and Viewpoint" by Orson Scott Card, and thinking comparatively about the two books is what prompted me to write this review. I'm finding Card's approach to be far more engaging and usable. Even his section headings are directly informative, as opposed to the simple descriptions used in Seger's book.

In short: check the Card book out before making a decision on this one.

Characterization is the most important element in a script., 24 Aug 1999
Linda Seger gives screenwriters the tools to write vivid, well developed characters with this book. I recommend it to all my screenwriting students! Marisa D'Vari, author, Script Magic.

The 2nd most valuable guide in my collection!, 20 Dec 1998
As an aspiring writer, I have quite a collection of reference material, and outside of my Thesaurus, this is the most important book I have. Ms Seger gives a fantastic guide to character development, which in my mind is key to great writing. No one will care about the plot if they don't care about the characters, and following this book, the audience will care about the characters.

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days using this book.

a book that gets you writing, 07 May 2004
Yes it's hokey and american, but this is a true gem of a book. It commands, challenges and inspires you to write. Yes it's three act stuff, and probably most suitable to Hollywood formula stuff, but...it actually gets you writing.

This book sets you exercises to write. Who ever read Robert McKee and tried to hone their writing skills while reading it? More likely they put that book down for a stiff gin and a bracing walk to avoid getting a DVT.

It's not perfect, but it's as perfect as you are going to get. It will stop you reading and start you writing, and that's more than half the battle.

You may buy others first, but please buy this eventually, and realise its condensed, inspiring magic.

This book lays bare the truth of many writers: we all dream of writing a work of genius, yet in dreaming, never write a word.

This book tells you to keep dreaming, and keep writing.

A reference book you need to have by your side - assuming you're writing a screenplay, 08 May 2008
I got this book and a couple of others last week. This one is astounding. Denny Martin Flinn opens by telling you he isn't some successful writer (he has one Star Trek under his belt - not unimpressive) but does tell you he was a 'reader' for major studios and has read thousands of scripts. And reading is the first part of the process (once you've done your bit) to getting it made. So, essentially, what you have here is a book that shows you how to make your screenplay INTERESTING - a reader telling you what reader loves and hates - end of story. Crack all 101 points and you're halfway there (though a good story will help too but that's for other books). If you're at all serious about writing screenplays for the big screen or tv, get this book. You will not be sorry.

Overpriced and disappointing., 05 Mar 2008
I've recently bought several books on screenwriting and this is the most disappointing of the lot by a long way. It is the one that gives the most detail on how to use screenplay elements such as "CUT TO:" and "CONT'd", however if you use the freely available script formatting program 'Celtx' you can avoid having to know a lot of the stuff this book tells you about formatting.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, if it were nearer the £6 mark. It is a slim tome and large chunks are given over to quoting scripts from films. As aspiring scriptwriters will probably already know, you get far fewer words to a page once you start formatting as a screenplay. This book is already only 200 pages long once you discard the index and appendices. Yet another 50 or more of those are given over to quoting screenplays. This leaves the author with little room to explore what he's telling you, so the overall effect is of a book that has been rushed to market.

My advice would be to look around at some of the websites that tell you how to format a screenplay. Then read lots of screenplays themselves (which, again, are available online). Then download Celtx and let that handle your formatting.

Fandabidozi, 22 Oct 2007
The best book I've read on how to write a screenplay (and I've got and read loads).

As another reviewer says this is how to write the screenplay rather than the story so it does what it says on the tin.

It's an easy read too, and not a drudge. Even better. And has a lot of good ideas which once you read you wonder why no-one else pointed that out, or why you didn't think on it yourself.

This is how to write a screenplay, 13 Jan 2007
This is not a book on story, or archetypes, but a great guide on how your screenplay should be written. That's your screenplay, not how your story should be written. This book is for someone who is ready to write, and all the questions that will come up about what you should put on the page, and how you should put it on the page, will be answered.
If you are ready to write your screenplay this is the book you will need at hand to dip into everytime you need to know how to formatt a telephone call or how not to give stage or acting directions to the actor.
Extremly helpful book you'll keep referring to as you write.

Learning through mistakes, and professionals, 04 Dec 2000
The book is devided into 3 sections. The first section (the most part of the book) I would give 5 stars. The reason being that it teaches you, through mistakes and quality writing how to/ or not to write for film.

I found myself laughing at the witty comments the author makes. Often referring to bad writing submitted through 'quality agents'. It's a shame that the rest of the book tapers off towards the end.

The second part, is story developemt. The book only glazes over story. Other books dedicated to story development I would have to recommend, McKee's Story, for example.

The third section, only lasted a few pages, and is not worth mentioning about.

Overall, the book is very helpful. I've read about 9 other screenwriting books before, and this one made a very good impression on me. Despite its later flaws, it's still worth buying for the larger 1st part.

over and out, Daniel

absolute rubbish, 07 Sep 2008
This book is crap.

It annoys me so much when I see the Hollywood hanger-on community
not only making money out of public ignorance but also promoting
themselves as experts. It really is modern commercial evil. Even a humble
mechanic has to provide some kind of guarantee of his work, but a woman
like Linda Seger can dress up personal opinion as valuable teaching and get
away with it. She needs to be called on it by a warrior from the real world
and a tough negative review is one way to begin.

There isn't ONE insight in this book that is worth paying for. Linda Seger
has no understanding of how stories work, why audiences are attracted
to anything, or what makes a movie function. She might as well be saying,
'I really like my convertible because when the roof is down I can feel
the wind in my hair.' This kind of comment is not on the same level as
that of the engineer who describes how the body of the car was
strengthened to compensate for the fact that the metal connections
in the roof had been removed.

It is crucial for any serious writer to ignore this book and the kind of
thinking that has produced it. It is dangerous to engage with Linda
Seger's thinking in the belief that such engagement will produce
better writing. Reject the work of this con artist.

Inavluable, 28 Aug 2008
Truly great advice for intermediate level writers and above. For those of us who have mastered three-act structure and who understand the importance of character development, this book is a welcome breath of fresh air that can blow the cobwebs out of any dusty old script. With detailed notes on concepts such as the transformational arc and "making a script commercial", Linda Seger deals precisely with what many other books skirt around with woolly phraseology. The most useful feature for me was a very practical "application" section at the end of each chapter. I honestly don't know how I did without this book for so long, as it elevates your writing to a whole new level. Well worth investing in.



Simple guidance that helps a great deal, 20 May 2003
The best thing about this book is that it breaks down the structures and tools found in a screenplay and gives you enough information to feel confident enough to use them yourself.

The examples are clear and all help to illustrate the point.

I found this book extremely useful both for improving an existing screenplay and starting another.

It does not dictate how to write, but teaches you the tricks of the trade so that you can use them in whatever way you wish.

A superb structural reference manual - buy it.

a great book, 27 Nov 2000
I've only read about five scriptwriting books, but in terms of story structuring this ranks top. Great book.

Ignore the previous review. I don't know what magical scriptwriting bible this person's got but, in terms of story structuring, no book I've read goes into any more depth than this, and all the books I've read got 5 star averages.

Only for Beginners and Not Even All of Them, 03 Apr 2000
I found the content of this book to be far too basic for anyone but an absolute neophyte writer. Writers with some experience will not gain much from the material this book presents. I think anyone who is capable of turning out a good script is way, way beyond the scope of this book.

Gets to the heart of dialogue, 01 Jul 2008
This is not a book about screenwriting but a book about dialogue and one which does the job excellently. I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in understanding the way speech works and how to transfer that speech into script dialogue that will come across as dynamic.

Very useful book, 03 Mar 2006
This is a great book. It gives great advice on how to write good dialogue dealing with many different styles of dialogue and how it changes between the different mediums of theatre and screen. The writing style is very easy to understand with no jargon being used without being first explained. I started around the same time that I bought this book and can see a clear difference in the quality of dialogue at the beginning and where I am now which shows just how useful this book is. I would reccommend this to anyone wishing to improve their skills at writing good dialogue for scripts.

Really bad, 21 Mar 2002
Do not buy this book! It is a waste of money. There are a lot of books on screenwriting. Some are good. Some are bad. This is not a good one. If you are interested in writing film/short films then stay away from this really terrible book. This book is about writing dialouge for PLAYS/not film/not radio. The author writes plays and pretends he writes screenplays. He has only been a script reader. Look, if you want to write plays - then buy this book. But if you want to write for film - do not buy this book!

If you want to write good dialogue, buy this!, 30 Apr 2001
An excellent book. The author begins by exploring how people really talk, then moves on to examine how we need to adapt this when writing fictional dialogue, to retain the essence of realism without the boredom factor. He goes on to look at the different styles of dialogue, from realism and heightened realism to the highly stylised dialogue written by people such as Oscar Wilde. Fascinating stuff, with gems of relevant info on every page.

Unlike many books on fiction writing, the author does not talk down to the reader. Neither does he include general fiction-writing info which is not strictly relevant to the title of the tome - a huge bonus, since it can be irritating when every fiction-writing guide you pick up, whatever its professed subject matter, tells you the same fundamental stuff you've read a thousand times before. Full marks for sticking to the subject and covering it in depth, rather than padding it out with "general" writing tips.

I strongly recommend this book.

Shows you how to improve dialogue and avoid the many traps, 23 Jan 2001
Although primarily aimed at scriptwriting, this book reveals how inexperienced writers tend to come out with atrocious lines when they attempt dialogue. The author presents good examples of the common pitfalls. I particularly like the section in Chapter Four when he examines a stretch of crap dialogue and then proceeds to fix the material up. I found this kind of practical advice very useful. In comparison,Stephen King's recent book on writing is a disappointing swindle.

Does what it says on the tin!, 16 Mar 2006
I found Val Taylor's "Stage Writing: A Practical Guide" lived up to her titular boast. I have read several books on playwriting and Taylor's covers all the major topics. She looks at four elements of drama (movement, action, conflict and juxtaposition) and how these can be used to create exciting theatre. It's certainly a very refreshing slant and gave me food for thought with my own work. She helpfully advises on how to format plays for the UK market and gives practical tips on how to squeeze the juice out of a scene.

Each chapter has practical exercises to illustrate the concepts and techniques she's talking about. These are also brilliant ways to generate new ideas and encourage you to start writing. Her advice is applicable to the first-time writer as well as the more experienced. She uses examples from contemporary British playwrights during the book, rather than the tried and tested American heavy weights or 19th century Europeans. This makes the book seem more relevant in its approach and introduces some radical new ideas for how to approach scenes.

However, I withhold a star because her writing style has a tendency to lapse into the rather arid and academic. I found it hard to concentrate during lengthy paragraphs which could have been delivered more succinctly. That aside, I appreciated what Val Taylor had to say as she clearly understands what makes good drama.

Comprehensive - but clunky, 20 May 2006
Well, it certainly covers a lot of ground. This book covers *almost* every involved in creating characters, but omits some of the most basic things, like naming them (something which I, as a writer, find very difficult). The book also feels rather longer than it is, and could probably have been shortened by 10-15% with no effect other than becoming easier to read.

If you have the patience, this is certainly worth it. But you'll get no help with getting the beginnings of your characters, just the bits that round them off.

OK but plods in places - 10 page distillation required!, 27 Feb 2002
The approach that this book takes is to present an idea eg "The Inner Backstory Defines Character". There's an all-too brief discussion, then possibly some reports of what Freud, Jung, and/or some other lesser-known writers might have said to support the idea, and then we're into the case studies.

I have to admit that this approach is not really my cup of tea. I want to get to the meat that the author has to offer, and avoid the flabby case-study filler. Perhaps if it was written in a more engaging way, I might feel differently, but as it is, I'm tempted to skip long tracts looking for the useful bits. At least the summaries at the end of each chapter help in this - I quickly concluded that the book would be more useful as a set of reference cards pasted up from the introduction to each idea, and these summary pages.

I'm currently reading "Characters and Viewpoint" by Orson Scott Card, and thinking comparatively about the two books is what prompted me to write this review. I'm finding Card's approach to be far more engaging and usable. Even his section headings are directly informative, as opposed to the simple descriptions used in Seger's book.

In short: check the Card book out before making a decision on this one.

Characterization is the most important element in a script., 24 Aug 1999
Linda Seger gives screenwriters the tools to write vivid, well developed characters with this book. I recommend it to all my screenwriting students! Marisa D'Vari, author, Script Magic.

The 2nd most valuable guide in my collection!, 20 Dec 1998
As an aspiring writer, I have quite a collection of reference material, and outside of my Thesaurus, this is the most important book I have. Ms Seger gives a fantastic guide to character development, which in my mind is key to great writing. No one will care about the plot if they don't care about the characters, and following this book, the audience will care about the characters.

Impressed, 17 Jan 2008
A clearly written, informative, entertaining and incredibly useful book - and not just for playwriting. I am a short story writer and I found the exercises invaluable for discovering and developing ideas. If you teach writing you may find it useful to know the book includes exercises for groups as well as individuals with an estimate of the time each exercise will take.This is a book for anyone interested in writing of any kind - I can't praise it enough.

Essential reading, 24 Jan 2006
This book is great. It covers practical exercises so you can develop your work and find your own voice. It has flexible exercises you can use as a teacher or as a writer and throughout emphasises imaginative use of language and gaining confidence in your own work. I use it to develop my own writing as well as in classes. Can't recommend it enough.

Wouldn't rave about it, 25 Aug 2007
Not entirely sure why everyone seems to be raving about this book. It's not a bad book but there are *much* better screenwriting books than this kicking around out there e.g. Save The Cat, or How Not To Write A Screenplay, or the quite excellent Teach Yourself Screenwriting and Pocket Essential Writing A Screenplay and so on.

Maybe it's me but I've just stuck my copy in a charity bag...!

Thank you Viki!, 09 Nov 2005
I ordered this book because, although I've had a bit of experience with writing screenplays, I wanted to refresh myself for the adaption of my novel. I spent just over a month following Viki's advice and finished my script. I have now secured a Hollywood agent on the basis of this script and I'm sure that Viki's advice in the book was partly responsible for this. So thank you Viki. My only complaint is that having just moved house, I have managed to lose my well-thumbed copy, so I am going to have to buy another!

A wicked reference for your movie, 28 Mar 2005
This is an excellent book to give you pointers on writing your movie. It is remarkebly easy to read and understand and is just the right size to take anywhere with you with great ease.
This book helps to solve the small as well as the large problems you may have with simplicity. It helps you with the visualisation of your movie, even when you don't have too much to go on.
The suggested layouts are quite conventional though but this is easily solved with a little visualisation and imagination on the writers part and actually helps you to know what it is that you want out of your script and its layout. There are some great pointers for each stage of your movie and some basic tips to get you through the day and any fears that you might have.

I really did write a screenplay in 21 days!, 31 Oct 2004
Does what it says on the tin. I managed to get out a screenplay in 21 Days following this book.
It still needs polishing but it got my idea onto paper. Highly recommended - and it was recommended to me by someone who wrote a screenplay in 21 Days usin