Screenwriting 101: Mastering the Art of Story

Whether you want to write your own scripts or simply gain a deeper appreciation for the great stories you see unfold on the screen, Professor Angus Fletcher is here to show you the way in Screenwriting 101: Mastering the Art of Story. Professor Fletcher, Professor of English and Film at The Ohio State University, brings both a personal and scholarly perspective to this craft. As a screenwriter himself, he has experienced the ins and outs of the process first-hand. And as a key faculty member in Project Narrative, a think tank devoted to using cognitive science to study the effects of stories on the human mind, Professor Fletcher offers unique insight into storytelling from both a neuroscientific and a literary perspective.

Despite what you may have been told, writing a great script is not about formulas and three-act structure. Great scripts - great stories - are those that create the desired emotional response in audiences, something that can only be achieved by knowing which methods are most effective and how they suit the story you want to tell. As you study the work of over a dozen great screenwriters and several television shows, each story you encounter will use different tools to achieve a variety of psychological and emotional responses. From the redemption arc of the Western Unforgiven to the romantic longing of Annie Hall, each story offers invaluable insights you can bring to your own writing - and viewing - experiences.

There is no cookie-cutter formula for writing scripts and no checklist for what makes a film or television show great. What Screenwriting 101 offers instead is an infinitely flexible storytelling tool that has worked for the greats - from Euripides to Shakespeare to Pixar - and a selection of resources to show you how to put it to use. How you decide to use these limitless creative possibilities is up to you.