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THE EVERYTHING SCREENWRITING BOOK
By Robert Pollock
Published by Adams Media Corporation @2003
Book Review - By Matthew Terry
There are "EVERYTHING" Books on, well, everything! From Wills to Dating to Pet Care to, of course, Screenwriting.
The Everything Books are done in the vein of the "Dummies" books. Lots of big words, lots white space, some parts highlighted, some parts in bold, etc. It's almost as if they decided: "Let's take an 80 page book and turn it into a 300 page book!"
Is the book any good? Yes and no. If you are a seasoned writer with a handful of scripts under your belt, a lot of what you will be reading will be confirming what you have already learned through hard work and perseverance. But if you are new to screenwriting this book could be invaluable.
Robert Pollock, with surprisingly few credits, covers most everything in the pages of this book. From starting out to finishing up. How to get an agent, how to work the system, how to write for television and where to go for help. Where the book fails is in giving good solid examples of what he's talking about. There are no examples of a television script. The movie script example he gives, of the screenplay he wrote, is mediocre at best and he has a formatting error (he places each characters name in ALL CAPS every time we see them - I had learned to do it the first time and leave it at that). He does, though, encourage you to purchase a good formatting program.
Where the book also fails is in regards to the opening up of the Internet and Contests. There's no mention of many of the websites that are out there to help screenwriters and he doesn't touch on Contests as a way of getting noticed by Hollywood. Both of these subjects are becoming more the norm and many struggling first time screenwriters are accessing them both to learn and find a way into the business.
Where the book succeeds is in its basic layout and information. It IS a very easy read. No scary big words here. And I found that most of what I teach in my screenwriting class is covered pretty thoroughly in this book.
The 22 Chapters range from the History of Film to The Protagonist to Valuable Writing Techniques to Working with Independent Film Companies.
If you are a first time screenwriter looking for basic information on how to get started - this book is for you. $14.95 well spent. If you are a seasoned screenwriter with a few scripts under you belt - you may want to pass this one by - you are not going to learn a lot of new information here.
One other point I'd like to make... Most screenwriting books are plastered with quotes and testimonials from screenwriters, directors, producers, etc. This book is, surprisingly, absent of any sort of recommendation from someone in the business.
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