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What our customer's say!

"A Great Mother Daughter adventure", My daughter has decided she wants to be a writer. Her first attempt at a novel had way to many minor details. She's a very visual person. I had taken a screenwriting course in college and thought of how she was automatically doing all the things I struggled to do "right". This book is a great tool to help me help her develop her gift.

"Great tool for the novice screenwriter", I've written my share of short stories, and even had some of them published. I couldn't tell you how many times I've started a story and after a strong opening scene and some character development, got completely flummoxed and didn't know what to do or where to take it. After reading this book, I may dig them back out...

This book, I found to be a great distillation of storytelling. Some may be put off by the "formula" or what has been called a "paint by numbers" approach that this book takes, which is far from accurate. Joseph Cambell distilled all world mythologies into his "Hero's Cycle" in THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, and you can apply any myth from any continent to his pattern. Syd Field has just done the same thing to what could be argued is the only active myth system left to Western Culture, film. Take a two-hour myth and distill it down to its raw elements. That's his book. His pattern fits.

How do I create my own screenplay/myth? I have a great idea for this scene... Well, this book will force you to focus on the bits you have to think about to turn that great idea into a full screenplay.

This book was perfect for where I am as a storyteller. I know how to craft a good tale - sometimes it just all comes out one paragraph at at time until the ending scene... but sometimes, you need a tool to help you think about the whole structure to get to that next part. This book? A good tool for that.

You are writing your own characters and plot. All this book does is help you focus on the "why's" and "when's" of the "what happens" in YOUR script. It is not a "paint by numbers." You don't fill in the blanks like a mad-libs! It gives you a pattern to help you refine your ideas.

So, yes, if you are a professional screenwriter, SCREENWRITER'S WORKBOOK will probably insult you, because it simplifies what you considered to be a magical gift - the ability to create a screenplay. For those of us who are looking for a little help to refine our craft, it is a great tool.

As far as the repetitiveness some reviewers mentioned, many of the repeated passages were film quotes that you may or may not know verbatim. When focusing on the subtlety of the subtext of dialog in one chapter (or class, as the chapters are arranged), and the plot points that move the story forward in another chapter, the dialog should be reproduced each time to illustrate how important the words are. Since good screenwriting seems to be about tight focus of action and refined dialog, any responsible teacher *would* repeat the exact dialog.

I also recommend THE STORY, by Robert McKee.

"Write a Screenplay Step by Step", I've tried writing a coherent and complete first draft of plays and screenplays without success. This book, coupled with Field's "Foundations of Screenwriting", guided me through using a systematic approach, and I completed a screenplay. I was actually amazed at myself.

The writing is clear, and Syd Field anticipates many problems a screenwriter will face along the way. I do credit this book with getting me to the finish line of writing a screenplay (this and MovieMagic Screenwriter). So, four stars from me.

On the negative side, it probably is best for beginning screenwriters. Plus, all the examples are movies from the '80s and earlier, so it seems fairly dated. However, his basic theories you can still see in most studio movies of today. It will also only lead you in writing the standard Hollywood epic structure type of screenplay.

"Systematic Approach to Writing Screenplays", This is a step-by-step approach to writing a screenplay. Basically there are 7 different stages or steps in the development of the final screenplay.
First the story or concept. General ideas.
Second, Syd Field wants a little more information, such as the Ending, the Beginning, and the Plot Points. It is not as important to name each section of the play as it is to development the play in small, manageable increments; with each increment building on the previous stage.
In the third step, Syd Field adds more description to the key sections of the play. Again, just an increment, but always moving toward the Resolution of your play.
The fourth step is to flesh out your ideas in a low-level outline. This outline may be index cards but a word processor with an outline feature (like Word) is best. This outline will act as a skeleton to help put new ideas and concepts into the context of the play.
The fifth step expands the outline to the point that there should be an entry for each scene. What happens in each scene, where it happens. This may be called a pseudo script since there is action and reaction.
Not until step six do we add dialogue. Not the final version but just what is said. Boring dialogue.
Step seven takes this initial dialogue and makes it "snappy". How something is said can and should have an impact on the action of the play.
No matter what you may name the different divisions in a screenplay - Act 2, Plot Point 1, Midpoint, or how many different devices you use - foreshadowing, payoff, time lock, anticipation; the 7 steps are the same.
Without an outline you will find yourself wandering through the twilight zone of writer's block. Syd Field develops each step and gives examples of what is created at each step. In most writing, an outline is helpful but when writing a screenplay, the outline is a necessity. You will find that writing with an outline takes a tremendous amount of pressure off your mind because any and all ideas may be inserted into the outline at any time and the process of editing will take care of itself. This leaves your mind free to do what it does best, be creative.


"How to develop a 120-minute story", I guess I won't find out just how effective the advice in the book is until I sell a screenplay, which means I need to write one first and then try to sell it. I do think this book will be helpful in that regard. It will help you structure your story and think about the primary issues - the writing part. However, if you are truly new to the screenplay genre you will need a companion volume that talks about simple presentation aspects, which are fairly precise in the screenplay business.

Another use that might be handy for you is if you have an idea for a good story that would work better in a setting for which you just don't have enough background for a book. For instance, I have such an idea in mind and there are certain parts of it that would require volumes of research far in excess of the real need in order to make the context work credibly. In a movie the short sequences and focused view can get the main message across without having to have a PHD in 1920's something-or-other just in case readers want to pick the details apart, which the leisure of a book allows. Whether you want to turn it into a screenplay or just use the movie-story format to help give your novella some shape, the commercial success of the movie format ought to be at least one option you consider.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"for beginners, yes, but helpful if used with caution", It is unfair to criticize a book for containing only the basics. Beginning writers have to learn the fundamentals somewhere. An intermediate book would be a bad book for an absolute beginner. The advantage of this book over other beginning books is that it does not bob and weave over every point for fear of being wrong.
This book is also criticized for its use of the three-act structure. In fact, however, Field implicitly acknowledges the inadequacy of this structure, although he invents other terms to hide this fact. "Act II is twice the length of Acts I and III; it is a unit of action that is 60 pages long" (p. 122). This makes it 60% of the whole screenplay. But then, Act II is broken into two parts, called "First Half" and "Second Half". The turning point that leads from one to the other, Field calls "the midpoint" (p.131). First Half and Second Half, moreover, are divided by a "pinch" (p. 155). So, in fact, Field's structure is not the boring work turned out by so many screenwriters, in which something happens on page 20, something further happens on page 80, and the entire second act marches in place or repeats the same impressions over and over with additional behavior in different places. In Field's paradigm, some important development occurs every 15 to 20 pages. These points are illustrated by extended examples from a number of movies. And in fact, these examples occupy about 80% of the space in this very short book.

Still, this (six Act?) structure may be too rigid for experienced screenwriters. Why not have several things happen in a row? If you've got enough material, you can do it. The problem with most beginners is, they don't invent a long enough story or a story with enough events or steps in it. Being presented with a structure like Field's at least forces such writers to come up with something! But it also gives aid and comfort to those people who think it is a sign of quality to throw out all structure and write a film in which nothing happens and even the characters repeat themselves endlessly.

In short, beginning screenwriters will find this book less vague than many other beginning books. The only trap is to avoid both the extremes of (a) thinking that every screenplay has to fit Field's mold or (b) thinking that you can do anything and get away with it.


"This is it!", At first I was reluctant to tell how good this book is for a beginning screenwriter. Why would I want to share that with my competition? But then I thought of all the bad movies I've seen. The more books I read on screenwriting, the more I realize the value of this book. I always thought this was a good book; an easy read with great exercises to make you think the entire story thru. After reading a few others, I wonder where I'd be without this book. The others are good for enhancing my existing "Words on Paper" draft, but, I doubt I'd have a complete draft if I had started with those books. They all mention the same principles Syd mentions (Grab the reader in the 1st 10 pages, show instead of tell, etc.). But they only tell me what to do, Syd provides tools so you learn how to do it. Also, one book had a pretty narrow view of how a story should be written. I think that would have stifled the writing process had I read this when beginning my screenplay. While Syd suggests a basic structure to follow, the content is totally up to you. Also, he gives advice, not hard/fast rules.

"A must read!", I recommend anyone wanting to write a script to read this book along with his others. He makes the process so easy. From the beginning to the end. He will take you step by step in the process and make each step easy and great. This book and his other book Screenplay are what they use in film schools and I can see why. Some authors try to impress you with their knowledge of the subject while confusing you, and Syd Field explains things so that we can all understand.

"Useful after reading Syd's Screenplay", This book is most useful because it makes you work with the structure that Syd Field expounded in his preceding book Screenplay. This book introduces an additional element from the first book - what he calls the "confrontation". It divides the second act into two halves.

Syd Field recommends using 3x5 cards with a sentence describing what happens - one card for each 2 pages of screenplay. It is a method that some people find limiting, others may find it liberating. It allows you to "edit" your movie by shuffling cards before you ever put a word of dialog onto paper.

The book is structured around writing each act in succession. The weakness is that he does not address in enough detail the editing process. This is probably because Syd Field writes from the perspective of a consumer of writing - that is, a reader of screenplays for a studio.

Editing is something that some successful writers know almost nothing about. Examples are Stephen King and Ray Bradbury. They have the genius to write in one draft.

Syd Field gets a lot of bad reviews on Amazon, because he focuses on the three act structure, turning on two plot points. Many would-be writers want to break the mold. Few movies that get made break with the structure (Pulp Fiction being everyone's favorite example of a movie not structured in three acts). Most movies are in three acts.

"Buy this book!", No matter what anyone says. If you have an interest in becoming a screenwriter and don't know how to begin writing one. Buy this book. It is inspirational, full of easy terminology and explanation. This is by far the best screenwriting book I have bought so far. Originally I wanted to take a course on screenwriting but because this book is based on his workshops it actually serves as a class without the costs of one. There are excercises after each chapter for you to do. And he concentrates on the creative writing aspect first, and allows you to not be too critical about your writing. After all the first draft is about creativity and writing from the heart. The re-writing process is about grammar, spelling, and technicalities. The essence of the story is more important and if you have writers block this is the book for you.