What do you think about it so far? It was on a list recommended to people who enjoyed the mysteries of the TV series Gravity Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon and The Third Policeman by Brian O'Nolan.

Wayne Dyer: Your Erroneous Zones

Self help classic.

Never did get into Lost nor read the two books you named (will gladly look into them though.) As for HoL, about half done, I've never read something like it before. Looking forward to being able to watch the 3hr vid that NightMind did on the book when I am done.

I've been reading John Yorke's Into The Woods which is a really useful book for anyone interested in studying how films and television is written. Structure, characterisation, themes, visual storytelling is all explored in a way that's accessible but never patronising. A brilliant book I've been revisiting for uni.

Hi there. Since you are reading this book, I would like to ask you, in case you find it out there:

There is a visual figure of storytelling, I do not know how do they call it. Figures in literature are well known, like metaphor, comparison, repetition... But tv and cinema have their own visual language. So, this figure that has me intrigued happens whenever there is a scene, and then a different scene comes where there is something that visually remembers what happened in the preceding scene, but in a totally different context. For example, imagine someone brushing their teeth, and in the next scene someone is having their shoes polished, and the camera is focused on the shoe brush.

This figure happens all the time, especially in American films & tv series (but not only American). Since they include it all the time, they probably have a name for it. If you or anyone knows, I would appreciate to hear about it. Also about other techniques of visual language in films and tv.

Hi, I know what you mean, and I imagine that editors may have a specific term for it, but when it comes to writing screenplays, I'd personally refer to it as simply connecting images. From one action to another, we find the similarity in the brushing of teeth to the polishing of shoes - the brush.

Right now I'm trying to improve the way I develop characters (how they grow or change through the story, if they change at all that is, as well as the elements that make up a character - how they react to situations they're pushed into and what motivates each of their actions) and keeping a story visual (visual storytelling isn't just about spectacle, but can also include subtle details too, like the passing of a piece of paper in class from student to student). I've been trying to push myself to avoid dialogue and exposition (any time characters speak together and the dialogue delves into over-explanations, and while exposition can be useful, it can often feel clunky if not carefully implemented) and trying to write my scripts in a more visual way. The past few scripts I've written haven't had any dialogue in at all, which allows me to just focus on the visuals and character of the story. :)

Sorry for my little ramble lol. If you have any other questions, I'll try my best to answer them.

Thanks for your answer! Connecting image is not a bad name for it.

Indeed, the visual possibilites of the medium are a blast when well used. An instant or a few seconds can be much more powerful than lenghty discussion, sometimes. I remember a criticism from the producer of The Unit (he might have been David Mamet) to the team of writers. He chastised them for lazy scripting. He said something along the lines that "whenever two people are talking about one third, that is a waste and should go". Meaning, it was becoming an overused way of explaining things to the spectator in the series. "Use all the possibiilities of this medium that is television".

I wonder how did you started working on scripts? What would you suggest to someone interested in doing so?

Now I'm reading En busca del unicornio (In Search of the Unicorn) by Juan Eslava Galán. In 1471, the King of Castille sends an expedition to Africa with the goal of finding and hunting a mythical beast.

Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage

I used to write little short stories as a kid and I was watching as many films as I could - world cinema, experimental, classics, mainstream, modern, etc. I usually would spend my free time just looking up films I hadn't heard of before and finding ways to watch them (preferably I'd buy them on DVD or blu-ray but unfortunately not every film is available this way).

I studied a BA on filmmaking before starting my MA in Screenwriting although you don't necessarily have to do that really as long as you learn basic screenwriting formatting, structure, characterisation, thematic development - the tools necessary for writing a screenplay. Basic formatting is easy-peasy when you use Final Draft or Celtx (Final Draft is usually the industry standard but it's also quite pricey), the software makes it a lot easier to format your scripts.

If you want some good book recommendations for screenwriting, here's some I'd recommend:

John Yorke's Into The Woods - I know I mentioned it already but it's a fab way to get a good, thorough understanding of structure, writing characters, writing dialogue and building scenes without it becoming overwhelming. The book also includes handy diagrams and tables of different variances on film structure.

Robert McKee's Story/McKee's Dialogue - Story and Dialogue are two different books but are such detailed understandings of how to develop the structure, dialogue and characters in your scripts. McKee is such a good go-to writer for this stuff, he has detailed examples and can be easy to follow, albeit a little overwhelming as Story is quite a dense book.

David Corbett's The Art Of Character - fantastic, accessible read on how to detail your characters. You don't need to apply everything he says to a single character, but it's fascinating and very useful to see what would and wouldn't work for the characters you are writing. His experience is usually in novels but the book gives a great insight into characters for novels, screenplays and TV.

Clive Frayne's The Process Of Screenwriting - A really gentle way to get into different aspects of screenwriting. World-building, writer's voice, visualisation, themes, characterisation, Clive gives a really easy breakdown of all of these. He also goes into some personal reflections about his own experience as a writer which are interesting too. This book definitely makes writing scripts a lot more easier to understand.

I hope these might be useful for you! All the best!

Was spricht fuer den Kapitalismus? - Teil 5: Das Trickle-Down Prinzip by Brend Tragen

Thanks a lot for the great advice and reading list!!! Any recommendation to learn about script formatting?

"The Hobbit or There and Back Again" by J.R.R. Tolkien (German translation)

The hunger games. It's a slow burn on my kindle. Things are just starting to get interesting at the 30 % mark.