Screenwriting: A Manual

From the information covered in most screenwriting manuals, you'd think that there's only one kind of scriptwriting: the kind that ends up (completely rewritten, of course) in big-screen, feature-length films. Granted, all those hopefuls pounding away past midnight are probably not dreaming of the infotainment big-time. But Jonathan Dawson can't possibly be the first to inform them that "the majority of screenwriters who earn a regular living do so from two forms of screenwriting: corporate work and series drama." Dawson gives as much attention in Screenwriting to corporates as he does to feature films. Soaps and series, documentaries, comedy, animation, children's TV, and multimedia also get their due. Dawson is refreshingly forthright about the role of the scriptwriter in Hollywood. He advises scriptwriters to try to keep their egos at bay--this is, after all, a process in which as many people as possible try to meddle with their work--but he also urges them to stand firm when it comes time for credits. Dawson teaches in Australia, but he's the best kind of insider: he knows what's needed to succeed, but he's not recommending anyone make too many compromises to get there. "Tell stories you want to tell," he says, "not what other people tell you to." And don't bother investing in software programs to help you do it; they "interrogate you like a major market research focus group," Dawson complains. With chapters on plot, characters, legal issues, and "the worrisome and grubby business of having to pitch your ideas." --Jane Steinberg