Screenwriting and The Unified Theory of Narrative, Part I provides an advanced investigation of narrative structure for readers who wish to understand cinematic storytelling not in terms of its bits and pieces, but as a comprehensive whole. A great story is not a collection of parts, but a process by which many elements interact to create a single meaningful experience. By seeking the principles of these interactions, this book unites the formerly separate structures of plot, character, and theme to reveal for the first time the single overarching structure by which every successful traditionally-told Hollywood or American Independent film abides, regardless of genre, premise, style, or tone. The unified narrative structure is not a formula. It simply reveals the natural method by which great cinematic stories always have and always will unite their many elements into a cohesive line of action that communicates as well as entertains. Whether it be celebratory story like Star Wars, a cautionary tale like Raging Bull, a tragic narrative like Chinatown, or a cynical film like The Godfather, the interactions between plot, character, and theme remain exactly the same. With its approach, The Unified Narrative Structure comes as close as currently possible to a truly universal model of cinematic storytelling; one that takes into account all three dimensions of narrative and stands applicable to virtually any traditional feature-length film.

There are many books on screenwriting that claim to have all the answers. Unfortunately, quite often the more aspiring writers read, the more confused they become as they encounter contradictory statements, incomplete perspectives, and methods that fail to do more than scratch the surface. "Screenwriting Down to the Atoms" was written to end all the confusion. It picks up where the best leave off and makes up for where the rest fall short by looking closer and digging deeper to reveal the "true" principles beneath great cinematic stories. No confusion. No contradictions. "Atoms" provides a light in the dark to give a full, simple, and truly effective understanding of the craft. "Screenwriting Down to the Atoms" takes the basics "far beyond" the basics. It begins by putting the entire field under the microscope to challenge, and often refute, ideas writers have been taught to assume for decades. It then builds a simple, systematic approach clear enough for any writer to understand and put directly into use. Readers will discover storytelling's "golden key" - an elegantly-simple structure that forms the basis of all other structures. They will learn how to satisfy viewers by meeting the responsibilities of the "storyteller-audience relationship." They will understand how to creatively control story information to give a narrative the greatest dramatic impact. Most writers toil for years to learn these principles. With "Atoms, " you can have this knowledge from the very start. Whether you are working on your fifteenth screenplay or your first, "Screenwriting Down to the Atoms" gives indispensable knowledge found in no other source. "Atoms" is screencraft for the 21st century. The next generation of guides for the next generation of writers.

Screenplay and Narrative Theory draws attention to the notion that in order to comprehend complex narrative dynamics, which are encountered in a great variety of narrative genres, forms, and formats, a more comprehensive theory of narrative is required. George Varotsis explains how a work of narrative functions synergistically and systemically, as well as elucidates the heuristic problem-solving mechanisms that are employed in various structural levels of thought processes, which allow the coherent accumulative derivative we call a story to emerge. The transition from an empirical to theoretical perspective is achieved by introducing characteristics of complex narrative systems: a network of narrative components, i.e. characters, structure, goals, motivations, theme, plot and subplots, narrative action, etc., which are arranged hierarchically over three fundamental levels of structure, i.e. deep, intermediate, and surface structure, that interact parallel to one another in non-linear ways. Varotsis tackles questions about how stories semantically emerge in the underlying dynamics that allow a work of narrative to function as a unified whole.

A successful screenplay starts with an understanding of the fundamentals of dramatic story structure. In this practical introduction, Edward J. Fink condenses centuries of writing about dramatic theory into ten concise and readable chapters, providing the tools for building an engaging narrative and turning it into an agent-ready script. Fink devotes chapters to expanding on the six basic elements of drama from Aristotle’s Poetics (plot, character, theme, dialogue, sound, and spectacle), the theory and structure of comedy, as well as the concepts of unity, metaphor, style, universality, and catharsis. Key terms and discussion questions encourage readers to think through the components of compelling stories and put them into practice, and script formatting guidelines ensure your finished product looks polished and professional. Dramatic Story Structure is an essential resource not only for aspiring screenwriters, but also for experienced practitioners in need of a refresher on the building blocks of storytelling.

Hollywood's premier teacher of screenwriting shares the secrets of writing and selling successful screenplays in this perfect gift for aspiring screenwriters. Anyone fortunate enough to win a seat in Professor Richard Walter's legendary class at UCLA film school can be confident their career has just taken a quantum leap forward. His students have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus hundreds of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious indie productions, including two Oscar winners for best original screenplay—Milk (2008) and Sideways (2006). In this updated edition, Walter integrates his highly coveted lessons and principles from Screenwriting with material from his companion text, The Whole Picture, and includes new advice on how to turn a raw idea into a great movie or TV script-and sell it. There is never a shortage of aspiring screenwriters, and this book is their bible.

Drawing on a wide range of films from the 1920s to the 1990s—from Keaton’s Our Hospitality to Casablanca to Terminator 2, Kristin Thompson offers the first in-depth analysis of Hollywood’s storytelling techniques and how they are used to make complex, easily comprehensible, entertaining films.

part 2 of 2 of the Unified Theory of Narrative