Wednesday, May 9, 2012

My Review of COFFEE BREAK SCREENWRITER by Pilar Alessandra

COFFEE BREAK SCREENWRITER by Pilar Alessandra is a really helpful book for anyone who has ever wanted to write a screenplay but find it difficult to make time to do so. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was in junior high, and I’m always trying to learn how to be a better writer and tell better stories.

Screenwriting is a great opportunity to learn how to write stories that people can visualize, and it’s a condensed story structure where every element, every word, must serve the overall story. Alessandra gives writers several small chunks of instruction on how to write a screenplay, and the book is especially great because she walks writers through writing a screenplay from beginning to end.

From how to come up with a compelling story idea, to structuring and outlining its elements, to developing characters and writing dialogue, to writing the first draft and revising to a final draft, COFFEE BREAK SCREENWRITER reads like a workbook that guides a writer through the complete process of producing a winning screenplay.

I came to the book knowing a little about screenwriting and having written some scenes before, but the book added so much to my knowledge base on screenwriting. It’s a great book for beginning screenwriters, and it really is a great resource for finding the time to write a screenplay in ten-minute chunks of time. Alessandra’s discussion of scene intention really opened my eyes on how to craft scenes and what I need to accomplish in a scene.

COFFEE BREAK SCREENWRITER is a book that I’m going to keep close as I’m crafting a story because it will be a really helpful reminder of exactly what things I need to think through to structure a great story. If you’ve ever wanted to write a screenplay, this is a great resource on how to do it.

I received this book for free for review from Michael Wiese Productions

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