Collaborative Screenwriting and Story Development

This is a comprehensive guide to teach writing and story development from a collaborative global perspective.

This book teaches writers how to take full advantage of emerging opportunities, both locally and globally. With an increasing number of international co-productions and many screenwriters now working collaboratively in writers rooms and development groups, author Marc Handler explains how to work cooperatively with others to break stories, plan seasons, create characters, and build series. To succeed, readers will learn how to give and receive feedback effectively, adapt to the style and constraints of executives and brands, and contribute to the team building process, all within an increasingly global media industry that is in constant flux. This book will help readers develop a global perspective, ensuring that they are prepared for new opportunities as they arise. Marc Handler provides cultural insight and understanding as he describes the fundamentals as well as advanced story skills.

This book is essential reading for students taking classes such as Screenwriting Fundamentals, Writing for Film and TV, Introduction to Television Writing, and Advanced Screenwriting, as well as aspiring and early career screenwriters, showrunners, producers, and creative executives.

Marc Handler is a former executive producer at The Walt Disney Company, China and is currently an international consultant for CCTV, China’s largest media company. He is an award-winning screenwriter who has written two popular animated feature films, and several animation series in China, Japan, and in the U.S., and has been a development executive for several successful live action TV series. His company, Thruline Productions, does development for American, Asian, and European media projects. He has taught screenwriting classes and workshops at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles City College (LACC), and at various venues in the U.S. and China.