The Guide for Every Screenwriter: From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed

THE GUIDE FOR EVERY

SCREENWRITER

From Synopsis to Subplots:

The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed

By

Geoffrey D. Calhoun

© Copyright 2019 by We Fix Your Script - All rights reserved. It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited.

ISBN: 978-1-7339896-1-9

Editor: Jayne Southern

Cover photo and design: Adam Flor

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

PART I: DEVELOPMENT

What is Screenwriting?

The Write Attitude for Success

Time, Talent, & Tenacity

How to Write in Any Genre

Myth: Write What You Know

The Break Down

Concept Development

High Concept

High Concept tips

Low Concept

Concept Template

Mind Map

Mind Map Tips

The Logline

How to build your logline

Theme

Theme Variations

Theme Template

Heavy-handed vs. Weak Themes

Character

Sympathetic vs. Empathetic

Tips on Sympathy/Empathy

Internal vs. External Conflict

Designing Your Character

Character Sheet

Supporting Characters

Tips for Great Characters

6 Keys to Working with a Co-Writer

PART II: STRUCTURE

Syd Field’s Three-Act Paradigm

Nine Point-Main Plot Outline

Beyond the Nine

Subplots

Main plot & Subplot Arcs Combined

Structure Tips

PART III: FORMAT

Reading vs. Shooting Script

Passive vs. Active Speech

Basic Formatting

Series of Shots vs. Montage

Subtext

Visual Subtext

Formatting Tips

PART IV: WHAT COMES NEXT

WGA Registration vs. Copyright

Rewrites

Coverage/Notes

Feedback

Synopsis

Guide for a Synopsis

Synopsis Template

Treatment

The Query

Agents vs. Managers

PART V: NETWORKING

Branding

Building your online presence

Online Networking

Tips on Networking

Awards

Film Festivals

Full Script – A Mighty Quest

A Mighty Quest – Analyzed

In Conclusion

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

About the Author

"I read The Guide for Every Screenwriter in one sitting. Geoffrey D. Calhoun’s book provides insight any storyteller, not just screenwriter, can use. The guide had me thinking about my script and inspired me to write within the first ten pages.

What makes this book elemental for a writer is the specific simple framing of an extraordinarily complex process. Everyone has bits of their movie in their head… for those of us still learning the craft, it’s easy to let a story overwhelm us and lead to failure. Geoffrey’s book reaches down and provides accomplishable steps to not only get past the pitfalls, but also profoundly improve a great idea into a wonderful one."

- Pete A. Turner, Host of the Break It Down Show

This is the book I wish I’d read ten years ago! A no nonsense, straightforward, and vital easy to follow guide for screenwriters both new and experienced. This is my new go-to guide for all things screenwriting. You better believe it’ll be close by from now on.

- Cat Connor, Author of the Byte Series

"There are so many books on screenwriting. Although many of them offer tips on structure, and development, few books deliver the information into something digestible for aspiring writers. Most books can leave people feeling more confused than when they started.

The Guide for Every Screenwriter is one of the most efficient instruction manuals on the craft.

Geoffrey D. Calhoun cuts past the verbose film school expository, and gets straight to work, delivering a sample-driven checklist that anyone can follow. What’s remarkable about this book is how quick it is to apply to your work. It serves as a side-by-side checklist for the writing process.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to write a screenplay, and to any professional needing a refresher."

- Kelly Schwarze, Director - Indie Film Factory

Foreword

Like Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, this book aims to give the reader and the writer a map to guide them. It takes the writers hand and assists them with proper fundamentals and structure. I like this book. I like what it does if you use it properly. This miniature tome gives you the keys to the kingdom.

I’ve been involved with writing for over four decades. I have run over 30 Written Word Competitions over the last twenty years, read thousands of scripts, written over 300 episodes of Network Television and produced 5 films from my own screenplays (including the script for Behind The Gate with Academy Award Winner Joe Pesci). In short, I’ve seen it all. You could read one hundred books on screenwriting and still never get a tenth of the pure truth for the scribe that comes from cracking these pages open and then cracking open your mind to accept the truth of structure, process, intuition, and skill.

With this brilliant book, Calhoun has not only drawn a line, but he has also made a bulwark of design in language, style, and instruction that anyone can follow. The question is, Will they? I really hope they do because there are a million ways to go wrong but only a few ways to get it right. Getting it right begins with structure.

Screenwriting is one of the most difficult and rewarding crafts of all the crafts that have ever existed in the world. Think of all the trades and skills that have died over the last two thousand years. Now consider the fact that writers have outlasted them all. Why? Because the true heroics of a story is the ability to properly format, design, create, and launch your story successfully out into the universe.

-Del Weston

This book is dedicated to:

My Muse, My Heart, and My Soul. To my wife, my son, & my mother. This one’s for you.

"We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are