Linda J. Cowgill

"The Art of Plotting starts where other screenwriting books leave off and will help you make your script jump off the page. Written by one of the industry's top teachers, this single volume clearly explains the principles of plot; provides instruction on integrating plot, characterization, and exposition to make your stories more compelling; demonstrates how to plot for emotion and suspense to deepen your characterizations and your audience's involvement; and teaches how to recognize and overcome common plot problems."--BOOK JACKET.

How to Add Emotion, Excitement, and Depth to Your Writing

The Art of Plotting

Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas all began their careers making a short film. By contrasting and comparing the differences and similarities between feature films and short films, 'Writing Short Films, 2nd Edition', offers readers the essential requirements necessary to make their writing crisp, sharp and compelling. Emphasising characters, structure, dialogue and story, Linda Cowgill dispels the 'magic formula' concept that screenplays can be constructed by anyone with a word processor and a script formatting program. This new edition has been completely updated and revised along with the addition of several new chapters and new film examples. Currently, this title remains the best selling university text book on writing short film screenplays.

Structure and Content for Screenwriters

Writing Short Films

The complete, clear guide to creating compelling plots for film -Integrate plot, characterization, and exposition to make stories real - Examples from new and classic movies examine great plots in action Plot must be as much about the emotions of the characters as it is about the events of the story. That’s the message of The Art of Plotting, which teaches screenwriters how to integrate plot, characterization, and exposition to make stories compelling. Using examples from recent and classic movies, author Linda J. Cowgill demonstrates how the plot springs naturally from the characters--and how that technique makes audiences connect with the story on a more intimate level. Examples include American Beauty, Shakespeare in Love, Erin Brockovich, Spider-Man, Chinatown, Jaws, and more. Easy exercises reveal common plot problems and help writers overcome them. Clear and easy to understand and to use, The Art of Plotting shows exactly how great plotting evolves from characters caught in life-changing conflicts--and how to create great plots driven by that idea.

Linda J. Cowgill

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