Short Films: Writing the Screenplay

Every award-winning short film begins life with a clever idea, a good story and a screenplay. Patrick Nash analyses the process of writing short film screenplays and gives advice on:



Story and structure
Ideas generation
Plot and pace
Screenplay format
Dos and don'ts
Eliciting emotion
Dialogue and subtext
Character design
Protagonists and antagonists



Character motivation and goals
Conflict, obstacles and stakes
Cliches and Stereotypes
Beginnings, middles and ends
Hooking the viewer
Screenplay competitions
Loglines, outlines and synopses
Rewriting and length
Practicalities and budgets

The book also includes a number of award-winning scripts and interviews, advice and contributions from their award-winning screenwriters and a discussion of the benefits to writers of writing short screenplays.