Turn & Burn: The Scriptwriter's Guide to Writing Better Screenplays Faster (Writing Guides)

Do you want to develop scripts that leap off the page? Do you want to write scripts that grab readers by their lapels and offer you the best possible chance of success? Do you want to turn around scripts faster than ever before? Then read on!

Inspired by CJ Walley's extensive online posts and extended three-fold to include content on character development, dialogue, effective drafting, and building a career, the Turn & Burn methodology offers practical, real-world advice for quickly turning stories - within any genre - into engaging and authentic movie scripts.

Turn & Burn is a proven and systematic way to get the very best out of your ideas and your unique artistic voice.

In this book:

• Maximise the power of concept, structure, and theme to create absorbing stories.
• Nail down your characters - heroes, villains, and everyone in-between.
• Develop your hero's journey through the five-fold approach of: Yearn, Turn, Burn, Learn, and Earn.
• Recognise how the power of emotion ultimately captures hearts and minds.
• Take realistic and dramatic dialogue to the next level.
• Understand the complete journey of a scriptwriter's career, so you remain enthusiastic and motivated, even when rejection raises its ugly head.
• Avoid the pitfalls that can send you in circles by learning what not to do!
• Includes practical worksheets that bring process and structure to script development. (They can also be downloaded for free from the publisher's website.)

Table of Contents

FOREWORD

CHAPTER 1: CONCEPT BUILDING

CHAPTER 2: STORY STRUCTURE

CHAPTER 3: CHARACTERS

CHAPTER 4: SCENE WRITING

CHAPTER 5: DIALOGUE

CHAPTER 6: DRAFTING

CHAPTER 7: CAREER BUILDING

CHAPTER 8: HAPPINESS AND CREATIVITY

APPENDIX A: THE BEGINNER'S FIVE-STAGE REWRITE

APPENDIX B: CRAZY CRITICS

APPENDIX C: 23 LOVE STORY TYPES

APPENDIX D: 147 VICES

APPENDIX E: MORAL AFFECTIONS AND PROVERBS

APPENDIX F: FURTHER READING

Note: Some of the content within Turn & Burn was originally written for the web and is still available online. However, this book sees the addition of lots of fresh information, new topic areas, vastly expanded content, and actual movie examples.

CJ Walley is a working writer-producer with multiple feature films to his name that star household names from the past and present. Based in Staffordshire, England, he's managed to break into the filmmaking scene in Los Angeles while also founding Script Revolution, one of the biggest script hosting platforms in the world.