Screenwriting Fundamentals

Screenwriting Fundamentals: The Art and Craft of Visual Writing takes a step-by-step approach to screenwriting, starting with a blank page and working through each element of the craft. Written in an approachable anecdote-infused style that’s full of humor, Bauer shows the writer how to put the pieces together, taking the process of screenwriting out of the cerebral and on to the page. Part One of the book covers character, location, time-frame and dialogue, emphasizing the particularity in writing for a visual medium. Part Two of the book focuses on the narrative aspect of screenwriting. Proceeding incrementally from the idea and story outline, through plotting and writing the treatment, the workshop-in-a-book concludes with writing the First Draft.A unique emphasis on the visual elements of storytelling because the camera is always present—the screenplay must act as a guide for the director and the editor. A "workshop in a book" approach that walks the reader step-by-step through a screenplay—focusing on character, location, time frame, visual components, and transitions—with plenty of exercises that generate material for the narrative writing process. A process-oriented approach, combined with a lighthearted tone and approachable style, that allows the reader to ease into the daunting task of writing a First Draft and takes them all the way through to the end— First Draft in hand.

Irv Bauer’s vast experience in teaching screenwriting includes undergraduate programs at New York University and Sarah Lawrence College, playwriting at many universities and venues, and non-performance workshops for writers at the New Dramatists. Bauer has mentored countless up-and-coming industry writers and directors and taught his own very successful classes and tutorials, drawing students from all over the world. He is the author of several produced and optioned plays and screenplays as well as many commissioned rewrites of film and television scripts and stage plays. Irv is also widely known for the animated series Courage The Cowardly Dog on Cartoon Network. Learn more at www.bauerscreenwriting.com