How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method
by Viki King
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.53 You Save: $10.46 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.40 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method
Book Review: Excellent guide for any starting writer
Summary: 4 Stars
As a writer, my biggest problem is slowing down to fix what I'm writing before I've finished writing it. It's very easy for me to get so caught up in making something sound perfect that I never get around to finishing the piece--just write it off as another imperfect work-in-progress and go on to something else.King's approach gets you writing, writing, writing, writing, writing. You don't even think about editing until the whole story has been written down--even if it's written down in a thoroughly unreadable form. Her reasoning? It's easier to make something good from something mediocre (or even bad) than it is to make something good from nothing.
I've written a few screenplays (none sold yet, doggone it), but only one using exactly the plan outlined in this book. I found that, while her method works and works very well, just going through it once showed me where the span of my writing approach needed her kind of support and where it stood firmly on my own abilities.
I continue to use her 8-minute exercises because they are wonderful for getting you writing while preventing you from thinking about writing: if you only have 8 minutes to cover a topic, you'd better get those words onto paper as fast as you can. 8 minutes is the perfect limit because it's enough to get a substantial amount written--but only if you don't spend your time diddling with the words. Longer than 8 minutes and an old diddler like me will be tempted to diddle.
I don't use her "write 20 pages in 2 hours" approach, but I do write each scene in a block from beginning to end without stopping, for as many pages as that first visceral "heart draft" of the scene needs to be.
It's been a long time since I've read this book--though I do give it a once-over before I start a project--and many things she teaches in it have stuck with me as personal approaches to writing. It's a small book, but that's only because she doesn't waste time getting to her point.
A very rich find--it should serve every screenwriter well.
Book Review: Great insights into movie writing, writing, and life
Summary: 5 Stars
In this short (less than 200 pages) book, Viki King explores both a method for writing a movie and some of the basic issues that all writers must face from time to time. Although King is writing specifically about the movie business, her lessons are generally applicable to all types of writing. King addresses issues such as what to write, how to go about writing, and how to overcome obstacles. Writers are frequently faced with the challenge of how to write when the rest of the world is calling on us to do something else. King's suggestions on the `junk job,' writing with (or without) partners, and creating time and place to write are universals that are valuable to all types of writers. I also enjoyed some of her tricks--creating the whole book with blank paper and an end note, then filling in the rest as you went--to overcome writers block. Writers who want to explore screenwriting, or who just want to look at writing from a different slant will enjoy HOW TO WRITE A MOVIE IN 21 DAYS.
Although I don't write screenplays, I re-read How to Write... occasionally just to remind myself of what I'm trying to do (write novels) and how to keep the priorities of my life straight. My wife, who does write screenplays, has adapted the Viki King approach to meet her needs--she finds that having her task for the day set out makes it a lot easier to get it done than if she was just given the formatting and plot and had to take it from there.
If you've ever thought about writing a movie, or if you're a writer looking for a little inspiration, I highly recommend this book.
Book Review: Glad I Finally Bought It
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll admit, I put off buying this book for some time. C'mon. A movie in 21 days? I'm not into "get-rich" quick scams. So I bought other books, and more books, and finally this one. I love it. I honestly don't think anyone will write a movie in 21 days by using this book and in my opinion the title should be changed. But what I love most about this book is this - *it gets you writing*. I was sitting there with about a dozen good ideas but not really doing anything with them. Sure, I'd sit down and peck out my thoughts on one of them every day - procrastinating in the guise of progress - and then Viki King's book arrived in the mail. Through her writing I learned how to pick the best idea from my pool of several, how to develop it, and how to write it in the most effective way. Her main point is that we write from our hearts and then rewrite from our heads. She clearly instructs the writer how to accomplish this seemingly intangible task.
The book is also filled with great tidbits on various aspects of the writing life... paying the bills until you sell a script, dealing with loved ones, etc.
And lastly, as I mentioned earlier, this book gets you into gear and *writing*. She provides several easy and productive "assignments" that move you in the direction of completing your script. I hope this was helpful!
Book Review: Useful book if you're seeking the discipline to get your script finished
Summary: 4 Stars
Following the steps outlined in King's book won't guarantee you'll end up with a ready-to-sell script in 21 days, but it will give you a shot at finding the discipline to get your idea on paper and the tools to develop it into something worthwhile.
The notion of turning out a completed script -- even a first draft -- in 21 days is unrealistic for some aspiring screenwriters, but what this book does best is get you writing. The hardest part for most new writers is finding the motivation and discipline to stick to a regular writing schedule and get the script finished, and King provides a useful solution via a day-by-day program that breaks the process down into manageable steps.
This is writing by the numbers. King adheres to the "screenwriter's master chart" of locking critical story events into specific page numbers in what she calls "The 120-page Marathon." While many writers find this sort of rigid structure confining, it may be useful to new writers struggling to make the pieces fit.
King's program of daily writing assignments keeps you asking the important questions -- Who is my character? What is he questing after? -- and helps you come up with the answers. Although this book can't promise you'll live up to the title, it can point you in the right direction.
Book Review: A Great Encouragement!
Summary: 5 Stars
"How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method" is a MUST HAVE for any beginning writer. I read Viki King's book prior to writing my first screenplay and was completely hyped to begin writing.Probably, like most writers who have read (or will read) her book, I believed I could stick to the 21-day Writing Schedule she outlines. Ok, a little honesty here, I was certain I could finish my project in less time because I knew my story and my characters like the back of my hand. This was no big deal.
Wrong! Everything Viki said would happen, did happen. Some days I would write aimlessly and other days it was pure genius. When I completed my screenplay, I was on top of the world! However, when I realized I had 200 total pages, I dreaded climbing the mountain of Editing! As I trimmed it back 80 pages for industry standard, I felt like I was being asked to give my child up for adoption! As I reread my script and looked to see if I had honestly told my character's story, I realized I had not.
However, as I kept picking her book up and reading it, and reading it, and READING IT some more, Viki's voice came through very calm, almost as if to say "we've all been there, it's going to be fine." So, I didn't finish my screenplay in 21 days, but I did finish it, thanks to Viki.