Alternative Scriptwriting: Beyond the Hollywood Formula

Learn the rules of scriptwriting, and then how to successfully break them!

Unlike other screenwriting books, this unique guide pushes you to challenge yourself and break free of tired, formulaic writing--bending or breaking the rules of storytelling as we know them. Like the best-selling previous editions, seasoned authors Dancyger and Rush explore alternative approaches to the traditional three-act story structure, going beyond teaching you "how to tell a story" by teaching you how to write against conventional formulas to produce original, exciting material. The pages are filled with an international range of contemporary and classic cinema examples to inspire and instruct.

New to this edition:

New chapter on the newly popular genres of feature documentary, long-form television serials, non-linear stories, satire, fable, and docudrama

New chapter on multiple-threaded long form, serial television scripts

New chapter on genre and a new chapter on how genre’s very form is flexible to a narrative

New chapter on character development

New case studies, including an in-depth case study of the dark side of the fable, focusing on The Wizard of Oz and Pan’s Labyrinth

Ken Dancyger is a Professor of Film and Television at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University as well as the author of numerous books on screenwriting, editing, and production.

Jeff Rush is an Associate professor at Temple University's Department of Film & Media Arts as well as author of numerous articles on screenwriting and narrative theory.