The Soul of Screenwriting: On Writing, Dramatic Truth, and Knowing Yourself

Author:   Keith Cunningham
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN:  

9780826428691


Pages:   496
Publication Date:   15 November 2008
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Soul of Screenwriting: On Writing, Dramatic Truth, and Knowing Yourself


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Overview

"Uniquely inspired by the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell and psychologist Jean Houston, The Soul of Screenwriting demonstrates how the ""screenwriting by numbers"" approach that offers templates into which the writer may mechanically drop his or her story idea is fundamentally incomplete. Keith Cunningham maintains that in doing so, one ignores the process of writing. Screenwriting is a long journey and even the most gifted screenwriters get lost along the way. Getting lost, Cunningham reminds us, is part of the process too. What the writer experiences in the act of writing has never been taken into account, yet this is where the screenplay comes from: the writer's here-and-now experience while working on the story. Information-left-brain concepts and techniques about plot structure, character development and orchestration, the dynamics of scenes and sequences-is all necessary. But it is what one does with the information that makes a truly great screenplay. In The Soul of Screenwriting, Cunningham demonstrates that good screenwriting is more than hitting the big ""plot points"" with exciting action. G ood screenwriting also has integrity and authenticity. It has a ""voice,"" and because it has a voice it speaks to the audience. To gain a voice, the writer needs the heat of creative imagination: passion, commitment, enthusiasm, a drive to know the truth of the characters, and an urge to get to the core of the dramatic conflict without resorting to escapism. These are qualities of the heart, and as Cunningham argues, screenwriting can indeed be, in Carlos Castañeda's phrase, a path with heart."

Full Product Details

Author:   Keith Cunningham
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Dimensions:   Width: 15.30cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.80cm
Weight:   0.748kg
ISBN:  

9780826428691


ISBN 10:   082642869
Pages:   496
Publication Date:   15 November 2008
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Part One : The Living Story Chapter One: The Night of the King Coho Chapter Two: Mirrored in the Story Chapter Three: The Mythic Dimension of Screenwriting Chapter Four: Need vs. Mode, The Core of Conflict Chapter Five: The Story Molecule Chapter Six: Character Webs and Story Worlds Chapter Seven: Orchestrating Character and Style Part Two: Plot and the Dynamics of Creation Chapter Eight: The Soul of Screenplay Structure Chapter Nine: The Journey in Four Movements Chapter Ten: Act, Sequence, Scene, Beat: The Dramatic Present Chapter Eleven: The Sixteen Story Steps Chapter Twelve: The Creative Journey of Story Development Epilogue: Writing Practice is Life Practice

Reviews

Mention --Book News, November 2008 Mention -Book News, November 2008 Mention Book News, November 2008 [This book] demonstrates that good screenwriting is more than hitting the big plot points with exciting action Writers Forum, November 2008 Keith Cunningham's The Soul of Screenwriting: On Writing, Dramatic Truth, and Knowing Yourself...offers an unusual survey inspired by the mythic approach of Joseph Campbell and tinged by the psychology background of Jean Jouston, providing a survey of the act of screenwriting and how the writer's brain and experience juxtaposes to influence technique, character development, scene dynamics and results. It's a scholarly analysis recommended for any film or drama collection. -Midwest Book Review, (The Bookwatch), December 2008 US script-writing guru Keith Cunningham's hefty self-help guide Total film, 1 May 2009--Sanford Lakoff


US script-writing guru Keith Cunningham's hefty self-help guide Total film, 1 May 2009--Carmen Gray


US script-writing guru Keith Cunningham's hefty self-help guide Total film, 1 May 2009--Sanford Lakoff


US script-writing guru Keith Cunningham's hefty self-help guide Total film, 1 May 2009--,


Author Information

Keith Cunningham is a screenwriter and consultant based in Chicago, Illinois and Munich, Germany. He taught for many years in the Columbia College Film and Video Department. With Tom Schlesinger, he has been leading screenwriting and story development seminars worldwide since 1984-including seminars for the Director's Guild, and The Writer's Guild of America. His essays on myth, cinema, and creativity have appeared in numerous journals and books.

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