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| Foreword | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Film Tells a Story Differently Than a Book or a Play | |
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| Classic Story Structure | |
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| A "Story" is not the Same Thing as a "Plot" | |
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| A Story's Content Determines its Length | |
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| A Commercial is the Ultimate Short | |
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| A Short is Just a Slice of Life and not a Whole Life Story | |
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| "Reel" Time Moves Differently than "Real" Time | |
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| Casting Call | |
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| The Audience and the Box Office | |
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| Knowledge = Credibility | |
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| What Do You Want Your Film to Say? | |
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| Speaking the Language of Screenwriters | |
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| Linear Versus Nonlinear Storytelling | |
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| Story Beats | |
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| A Theme is the Glue that Holds Your Story Together | |
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| Relatable Characters are What Give a Story an Audience | |
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| Relatable Characters Come From...Everywhere! | |
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| Compelling Ideas Come From...Everywhere Else! | |
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| Ideas that Work Best as Shorts | |
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| A Conflict is What Drives a Plot Forward | |
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| Show Us Who (and What) We're Rooting For | |
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| Substance Versus Style: Who's in the Driver's Seat? | |
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| All Conflicts Derive from Reward, Revenge and Escape | |
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| Aiming for High Concept | |
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| Catchy Loglines | |
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| Synopses Shouldn't Read Like Book Reports | |
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| Location, Location, Location | |
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| Master Scenes | |
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| How to be Multiple Places at Once | |
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| Conflict is a Collision Course of Multiple Layers | |
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| A Conflict is Ignited by an Inciting Incident | |
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| Objective Acceptance and Subjective Engagement | |
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| Action = Reaction | |
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| To Make a Conflict Convincing, the Opponents Need to be Evenly Matched | |
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| When "Losing" Isn't an Option | |
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| A Conflict can't be Resolved Until the End of the Film | |
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| Surprise is on Your Side | |
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| Conflict Grows Out of Character | |
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| Character Grows Out of Conflict | |
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| Character and Conflict Comprise the Hero's Journey | |
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| Crossing the Point of No Return | |
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| A Character Arc is a Transformation | |
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| Heroes Aren't 100% Good; Villains Aren't 100% Bad | |
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| Sidekicks, Confidantes and Confederates | |
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| Ordinary Characters Need Extraordinary Situations | |
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| Extraordinary Characters Need Ordinary Situations | |
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| Hooks, Foreshadowing and Uh-Oh's | |
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| A Character Should Do More than Just Take Up Space | |
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| Minor Characters Don't Need Major Introductions | |
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| Designer Genes | |
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| Names Should be a Reflection of Character | |
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| A Character's Actions Say More Than His or Her Words | |
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| Sometimes the Audience Needs to Know More Than the Characters | |
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| Sometimes the Characters Need to Know More Than the Audience | |
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| Motivation and Redemption | |
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| A Script is No Place for Words That Just Ramble | |
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| Dining at the Speed of Light | |
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| Fancy Footwork and Fisticuffs | |
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| For "Reel" Talk to Sound "Real," You Need Vocal Variety | |
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| Characters Shouldn't Use Dialogue to Explain Things to Each Other That They Already Know | |
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| Don't Use a Voice Over if a Visual Would Say Much More | |
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| Topic: Dreams and Flashbacks | |
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| Mood-Setting Montages | |
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| Save the Big Speeches For When They'll Really Count | |
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| Actors Should Never be Left to Ad-Lib | |
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| What We See Isn't Always What We Get | |
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| Stereotypes and Character Reversals | |
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| Context + Subtext = Delivery | |
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| Always Keep the "Accent" On Readability | |
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| Every Story Needs a Point of View | |
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| First One In, Last One Out | |
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| Treatments | |
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| Splat! Hitting the Wall With Writer's Block | |
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| Genres are to Film What Menus are to Restaurants | |
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| The Perils of Genre Zeitgeist | |
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| Genre Dictates Structure | |
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| Genre Bling-Bling | |
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| Don't Switch Genres in Midstream | |
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| A Comedy is Something That Makes Us Laugh | |
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| A Drama is Something That Makes Us Sad, Mad, Disturbed or Contemplative | |
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| A Sci-Fi Film Takes Us Out of This World | |
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| A Western Film is Always About a Showdown | |
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| A Fantasy Film is a Ticket to All Things Magical | |
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| A Horror Film Will Make You Sleep With the Lights On | |
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| A Romance is a Pas De Deux | |
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| A Thriller Keeps You Guessing from Start to Finish | |
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| Action/Adventure Films are An 'E' Ticket to Fun | |
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| Taking a Page From Real Life | |
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| The Magic of Animation | |
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| Music, Music, Music | |
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| Family Fare and Coming of Age | |
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| Genre is a Reflection of Attitude and Intention | |
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| Elvis May Have Left the Building But His Heirs are Alive and Kicking | |
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| Rules of the (Formatting) Game | |
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| Bulletproofing Your Script | |
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| What's Mine is Mine | |
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| Screenwriting Competitions | |
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| Fast Pitch | |
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| Screenwriter's Etiquette | |
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| You Hate Me. You Really Hate Me | |
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| Filmography | |
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| Recommended Reading | |
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| About the author | |
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| About the Author's Assistant | |