Writing Screenplays That Sell (The Way to Write)

If my house were burning, and I could only rescue ONE screenwriting book of the 60 that I own and (yes) have read, it would be Michael Hauge's "Writing Screenplays That Sell." While it is terrific for the beginner, I had already written three scripts before reading this book, but the advice and guidance in this book focused me so well that I now judge my writing experience as "pre-Hauge," and "post-Hauge." Post-Hauge, I have had five scripts reach Semi-Final stage in the Nicholl Fellowship, and three have been optioned. I have also bought this book as gifts for five friends, including my son, who said that they wanted to learn how to write a feature script. You won't go wrong following the advice in this book.

I read this book about ten years ago when I was an aspiring screenwriter. I am now able to make a living at screenwriting and I have to say that I have used Michael Hauge's book as a guide for nearly everything I've written. It has become my Bible of Screenwriting. This is the perfect book for beginner screenwriters as well as those who have been writing for a long time. Beginners will find all of the basic building blocks needed for a solid script and great characters, and those who have been writing for years will probably read some things and go "aha, that's the part I've been missing!" I've created my own charts for when I start a new script and I base them on everything I learned in this book. Without this book it would have been a long, hard road to learning how to be a good writer. Michael not only explains the different components necessary for a good story, but gives examples which is extremely helpful. And for those of you exclaiming "but then my stories will be too formulaic if I follow 'rules' too much!" -- that just isn't true. Once you learn and use all of the components of a great story that Michael teaches you, you'll realize that most - if not all - great movies pretty much follow the patterns Michael talks about in this book. Your scripts will be solid - structurally, thematically, and emotionally. You'll learn how to make layered, believable characters that your audience will root for. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in screenwriting.

Michael Hauge is one of the top screenwriting consultants in Hollywood. If you're interested in becoming a screenwriter or just curious about the process professional Hollywood screenwriters go through, this is the book for you. It's considered an industry standard by many of the top film schools in New York & L.A. In clear and simple language, Hauge lays out the basic fundamentals of screenwriting. This is a great book for both the novice screenwriter as well as the working professional looking to reacquaint themselves with the fundamentals of screenwriting.

This is by far one of the best books on screenwriting that I own. Hauge is a skilled and experienced teacher and his methods are communicated clearly. I find that the book is a perfect blend between the over-technical school (Syd Field) and the "just write it" school (Lazarus, Viki King). Highly recommended.

This was fortunately one of the first books I started with and it was a dandy. Much better than Syd Field and several of the other starting books. Hague remains upbeat (something you need to break in to screenwriting) and covers all the main points and questions for starting out. Even more important, he talks about why you should and should not be doing it and living a good life.When you're read for something intermediate, check out Armer's WRITING THE SCREENPLAY and Thom's THE BIG DEAL (about spec scripts that sold in the last decade or so).And, for advanced techniques go to: Lagos Egri's THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING (more for plays but it does apply) and McKee's STORY . . . and, of course, the superlative WORDPLAYER.COM with free articles by two working screenwriters . .. Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio.