Secrets of Film Writing by Tom Lazarus

Secrets of Film Writing by Tom Lazarus

Most books about screenplays instruct on three-act structure, character arcs, and how to format a script. But you already know all that.

Secrets of Film Writing reveals a working writer's secrets-the tips, short cuts, tricks, and insider advice that will get your story down on paper, maximize your idea, and seduce your readers. Do you know why actors pick scripts out of a stack? Why montage sequences don't work? Why the traditional three-act structure is obsolete? Lazarus lifts the veil with dozens of secrets like these.

Lazarus's insights and techniques will smooth and improve any screenwriter's process and will make any script more readable and ultimately more salable. Secrets of Film Writing takes you behind the scenes of feature and television writing and demystifies, once and for all, the Hollywood System.

Tom Lazarus' feature credits include the original story for the George Burns/Brooke Shields motion picture Just You and Me, Kid, and the #1 film in America upon its release, Stigmata. He has had nine feature films made from his original screenplays, and has directed five feature films. Additionally, he has written over 100 hours of television programming (Jake and the Fat Man, Star Man, and Mike Hammer). Lazarus preaches the Last Word: Definitive Answers to All Your Screenwriting Questions at UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and various speaking engagements throughout the country.