Story Maps: How to Write a Screenplay has received another glowing review, from best-selling author Joan Reeves on her site, Slingwords.com. Here’s some excerpts from the review…
-Joan Reeves
Keep reading, and, by the end of the book, it’s as if you absorbed the structure. There’s a harmonic resonance between the story map structure and your writer’s consciousness.
read more
I recently found the deleted opening scene from Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, which is rumored to have cost $10 million (huh?) and was meant to show where Superman went and thus where he’s returning from (thus the title), so I was psyched to view it since I’ve always felt that this unanswered question in the theatrical release was the biggest thing that torpedoed the first half of the film (and the second half’s torpedo came in the form of Lex Luthor’s preposterous real-estate plan). read more
Black Swan is a tight, merciless thriller that forges one, driving throughline that is supported by every character and element in the story. In order to become the Black Swan and achieve her dream of ballet perfection, Nina must prove to her director Thomas that she can transform herself on stage, fight off her mother’s attempts to stifle her and defeat her rival Lily, all while suffering from the rapid deterioration of her psyche. She loses the battle for her mind but she achieves her artistic dream, dancing a perfect Black Swan, at the ultimate cost of her life.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a flawless classic and my favorite film of all time. It is the benchmark of the action/adventure genre and features one of the most iconic heroes in cinema history.
My Story Maps Booster Pack #1 includes a Full Story Map for the first Sex and the City movie, which is a great example of a well-written modern Romantic Comedy.
Sex and the City took proven, beloved characters from the television series and wove them into a classic Hollywood Romantic Comedy for the big screen. The first rule of the TV adaptation is “go bigger,” so they gave all of the women life-changing conflicts to navigate.
The Story Maps Booster Pack #1 is now available! The Booster Pack breaks down 12 GREAT MOVIES, primarily from the past decade, into a detailed but easy-to-follow structural analysis known as the Story Map.
The Booster Pack #1 analyzes these twelve films:
These hit movies are great examples of professional screenwriting in many different genres and budget levels aimed at varied audiences. I stand by each title as a strong example of its genre and as a primer to learn the screenwriting craft at the level that you need to be: the “submission ready” tier that makes a good script into a GREAT script.
The Booster Pack is now available for purchase at a special rate with my E-Book Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay or on its own. It is in PDF format and compatible with PC and Mac and any e-readers that can open PDFs. Other E-Reader formats are coming soon.
I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to working with you. Any questions, please feel free to email me via any of the contact forms on the left column of most pages on the site.
Good Luck and Happy Writing!
Dan
Related: Learn More about Story Maps: How to Write a Great Screenplay
Related: The Wrestler Story Map
*Illustration by Dustin Tanner. Images used without permission for educational purposes only. Copyright credits can be found in the Booster Pack document.
Excerpt from Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay, coming soon.
Scott Rosenberg is a very successful screenwriter whose produced credits include Armageddon, Beautiful Girls, Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead and Gone in 60 Seconds. I had been a fan of his for years before I met him at the Austin Screenwriters Conference. read more
This exciting new screenwriting book is available now…
Design by Sonia Fiore
This book is the culmination of over twenty years of working with screenplays and screenwriters. Reading, analyzing, evaluating, studying, teaching and coaching. read more
