Making a good script great

Acknowledgments

Preface to the Third Edition

Introduction

1. Gathering Ideas

2. The Three-Act Structure: Why You Need It and What to Do with It

3. What Do Subplots Do?

4. Act Two-How to Keep It Moving

5. Establishing a Point of View

6. Creating the Scene

7. Creating a Cohesive Script

8. Making It Commercial

9. Balancing Images and Dialogue

10. From Motivation to Goal: Finding Your Character's Spine

11. Finding the Conflict

12. Creating Multidimensional and Transformational Characters

13. Character Functions

14. A Case Study: Writer Paul Haggis in His Own Words

Index

About the Author

ch. 1. Gathering ideas

ch. 2. The three-act structure : why you need it and what to do with it

ch.3 . What do subplots do?

ch. 4. Act two : how to keep it moving

ch. 5. Creating the scene

ch. 6. Creating a cohesive script

ch. 7. Making it commercial

ch. 8. Creating the myth

ch. 9. From motivation to goal : finding the character spine

ch. 10. Finding the conflict

ch. 11. Creating dimensional characters

ch. 12. Character functions

ch. 13. On the road to the Academy Award : a case study of the rewrite of Witness.