Crafting Short Screenplays that Connect introduces the essential element of 'human connection' - the ability to 'touch' the reader or observer - to the screenwriting and story creation process for short films. Claudia Hunter Johnson teaches the craft of short screenplay writing by guiding you through carefully focused writing exercises of increasing length and complexity. You will learn how to think more deeply about the screenwriter's purposes, craft an effective pattern of human change, and hone your vision and process for your short screenplays.
Audience: Students in screenwriting courses, primarily in film/video. Secondary market is aspiring screen writer.
Synopsis
Practical, hands-on approach to teaching and learning the craft of writing.
Exercise-based text puts the students' work at the center of the screenwriting course.
Breaks the complex craft of screenwriting into teachable/learnable phrases and pieces.
The beauty and power of any story lies in its ability to connect to the reader, listener, or observer. Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect is the first screenwriting guide to introduce connection as an essential, although essentially overlooked, aspect of creating stories for the screen and of the screenwriting process itself. Written with clarity and humor, this book teaches the craft of writing short screenplays by guiding the student through carefully focused writing exercises. The worktext format allows the student to write preparatory exercises directly in the book. Five award-winning student screenplays are included for illustration and inspiration.
About the Author, Claudia H. Johnson
Florida State University Screenwriter in Residence Claudia Hunter Johnson, Ph.D. has written numerous screenplays for feature film and television productions, including two documentary specials commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts. Her last screenplay, Obscenity (co-written with Matt Stevens), was a finalist for the 1997 Sundance Screenwriters Lab. She has written several award-winning full-length and one-act plays. Her many awards include the Lorraine Hansberry Award, American National Theatre West Award, and Academy Award. In 1993, she won the inaugural PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award for her campaign to restore banned literary classics to high school classrooms in Florida. Her widely acclaimed book, Stifled Laughter: One Woman’s Story About Fighting Censorship, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
