Others say...

"A How To Guide"
How Not to Write a Screenplay is a terrific reminder for both the expereinced and beginning screenwriter of all those importnat details that we sometimes leave out of our scripts because we assume "Everyone Knows That". Denny Marting Flinn has a fresh and humourus way of reminding us that the screenplay is a visual medium.

"Great Advice"
In reading about screenwriting, I have come to understand that a screenplay is a highly technical document. A blueprint, if you will, for making a movie. And like all technical documents, it should be succinct and clear; above all else, clarity.

Yet it seems many pre-professional screenwriters like me are frustrated novelists who like to pack their work with overly descriptive prose. Flinn's book is a wonderful antidote to this creeping verbosity.

He divides the book into three parts--there is a very short third part that deals with development--but the first two are the major sections and deal with Form and Content, reasoning that screenplays are the same way. In Form, he dissects bad screenwriting and shows why it is bad then contrasts those examples with good ones from 43 screenplays.

Along the way, the author gives you certain guidelines about writing screenplays well. Like, "Do not write ideas and metaphors." I love the specificity of his advice, it's clear and straight to the point. This entire part is filled with such good advice, but the really wonderful thing about it is how easy the writing is; far from pedantic, it's jovial, funny and easily digestible. I read this section in one sitting. I know I will have to return for a more studious reading.

Part 1 or Form takes the lion share of the book. The second part, Content, gives some more examples from produced films to illustrate the author's ideas about what should go into a good movie. In the section on Structure, for example, Flinn discusses the different gurus (Syd Field's three act paradigm, Robert McKee's five part narrative, Truby's seven major steps, Seger's eight sections, and Campbell's Monomyth) and shows how their versions of structure all hardly matter in a practical sense.

What does matter, he writes, is that the writer have structure to a screenplay, pointing out that "in a linear art form (as opposed to painting and sculpture) there is always a start and a finish. You have to begin when the audience is in place, and you have to--eventually-let them go home. How you travel from the former to the latter is your structure."

He also discusses, briefly, such important topics as theme (Don't preach!), suspense, and character, among others. All the while using excerpts from screenplays to illustrate his ideas.

The third part is very short and deals with development. Some basic advice on how to deal with the Hollywood system.

I have given this book five stars because it covers the mechanics of good screenwriting that I haven't seen others do in any adequate manner (with the possible exception of The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script). "How Not to Write a Screenplay" should be on the desk of every aspiring screenwriter.

"Almost Worthless"
There are at least two valuable books on screenplay writing - this is not one of them. Once a writer has read David Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible" and Robert McKee's "Story", it is obvious that "How Not to Write a Screenplay" is full of obvious points and platitudes that are almost worthless. Most of this book is excerpts from screenplays that blatenly seem to be there so the book has more pages. Don't waste money your money on Flinn's book.

"Read this one - but not first."
I have several "How to" books on screenplay writing. If you do too, then you need this one. It tells you what you are doing wrong. I promise many more than one "Oop!" moment from this entertaining and easy to read work.

"Entertaining overview of the things most new screenwriters do wrong"
Flinn has a sense of humor. That is the first thing one notices while reading his book, and that's the one thing that makes it stand out.

"How NOT to Write a Screenplay" is a witty and entertaining tool for learning the DOs and DON'Ts of the screenwriting craft. Packed full of examples drawn from real and make-believe scripts, it can be a definite help to a writer new to the industry. Anyone who has ever read another of the many available books on script formatting will find his commentary amusing. For example:

"Don't use (CONTINUED) at the top and bottom of each page. You're wasting four lines. Anyone reading your screenplay who doesn't know he's supposed to turn the page is a numskull."

Or his comments regarding music suggestions:

"Leave the music track alone: 'THIS SHOULD BE AN UPBEAT SCENE WITH A GOOD MUSIC TRACK.' (Darn. The studio really wanted to use a bad music track.)"

The second half of the book, covering content and story development, provides similar information to that of books by more well-known authors such as Linda Seger or Syd Field, but offers that information encapsulated in smaller sections that make everything quite easy to relate to...sections such as "Suspense", "Believability", "Twists" and "Whammies".

While the book doesn't teach you how to write the perfect screenplay, it does cover many of the practical details. Its strength isn't in storycraft but rather in addressing all the little details screenwriters tend to forget or abuse. Though some of the information is repetitive, there are plenty of examples and excerpts from screenplays -- some good, most bad, and some you may even recognize. Flinn's advice coupled with the many examples can help you avoid the pitfalls so many screenwriters encounter.