Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay [Versión Kindle]

For those who are attempting to follow their lifelong dream of writing- and more precisely, writing something that will entertain others, it's easy to get lost in a maze of templates, websites and all manner of tools and help by industry professionals and shucksters alike. Having a good old fashioned book at hand is a far more convenient way to look up the information you need than to spend countless wasted hours crawling through the Internet. I have a Science Degree, and I found during my studies that the best place to find information was still the library, not my laptop.

"Story Maps: How To Write a Great Screenplay" by Daniel P. Calvisi is a succinct, and readable guide to that magical element of storytelling that seems to pass over the heads of many aspiring writers (myself included): structure. It's easy to just sit in front of a computer and just let it all out, but I'm sure many of you out there have found that sooner or later... you just run out of steam. Structure is a nebulous element of storytelling, but it's critically important. A story is like an other entity. It needs "parts" just like a body does: a metaphorical skeleton, heart, arms legs, and guts. The structure gives a story all of these things. This book takes the reader into the blood and guts of story structure, gives a plethora of tips and hints on storytelling and gives it all in plain English.

I call myself a writer (that is, I'm working on my first novel), and only half way through "Story Maps" I found myself restructuring parts of my own story; elements, scenes and other sections that I subconsciously knew were in need of help. So, before I've even finished reading this book, it's already given aspects of my own writing a much needed boost, and has re-invigorated my novel in my mind. "Story Maps" is aimed at screenwriters, obviously, but there's no reason why Mr Calvisis' ideas and sincere advice cannot be applied to other forms of storytelling. A story is a story by any other name, after all.

In all, I'm damned glad I decided to purchase this book, and it's one of the most useful books on writing and storytelling I've ever read. Kudos to Mr Calvisi!

Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT ScreenplayI bought and read STORY MAPS: HOW TO WRITE A GREAT SCREENPLAY in one sitting and was blown away with Dan Calvisi's breakdown of story structure.

I have used every approach known to man attempting to break a story and I think I own every piece of writing software ever created -- I have studied Vogler, Chris Soth's Mini Movie method, Jeff Kitchen's weekend seminars, Blake Snyder's Save The Cat and have read most every book the Writer's store has on plot and plot structure.

Without a doubt I am the writing software's fool. I own both FD and MMSW, Truby products and Truby Blockbuster, Dramatica, Movie Outline, Save The Cat and scads of others ad infinitum. When it comes to owning plotting and writing software I feel like that character in TIN CUP, Roy, when he gets the shanks and has all of those bells and whistles on his head and body supposedly to cure his golf swing -- But they don't cure his swing at all.

And neither do all of the software programs I own cure my writer's shanks. But, today, after reading Dan Calvisi's STORY MAPS: HOW TO WRITE A GREAT SCREENPLAY, I took one of my current screenplays I was "doodling" with and MAPPED IT -- Seriously, then I MAPPED IT FULLY -- Suddenly, fogs lifted, confusion vanished, and clarity came roaring in with a vengeance. His writing and approach spoke to me. In a matter of hours I had my story FULLY MAPPED and I had my writer's swing back again along with nearly all of my SCENE BEATS -- I feel like I have created a Story on Steroids and have cured the limp noodle story imitation I have been doodling with for the past months. And I did all of this in HOURS not days or weeks.

Thank you Dan Calvisi!!

I am not new to writing. I have been optioned, written on assignment, sold an original and had the good fortune of once having been a signed client of the William Morris Agency. But that is all in the past.

If you are having problems breaking a story, or your story lacks structure, or you are having writers' shanks, I highly encourage you to purchase My Calvisi's incredible book. And then visit his website at [...] where you will find a host of programs to aid you the writer.

I have not taken Mr Calvisi's classes yet because I just discovered him yesterday. But after reading his book and knowing what is out there with other writing methods and approaches, to me, this is the ABSOLUTE BEST, bar none. I was comfortable with the approach at once. It's simple, succinct and spot on. And I highly encourage others to give it a try to cure the writer's Shanks or just improve your writer's Swing. Trust me, just buy this great book.

I'm an actual screenwriter who on a daily basis uses Dan's Story Map for my spec scripts, hired book-to-script adaptations and other literary projects. I actually won this book through a contest Dan was running about five months back (should've reviewed this amazing commodity long ago). There are a handful of times in a writer's career where he/she comes across a product or person or event or incident that changes their outlook on what they're doing as a writer for the better. This was one of those times for me. By using his maps I'm able to see potholes in my stories before starting the actual writing of the scripts, which is a beautiful thing because of the time, energy and effort saved by avoiding such pitfalls as logical errors, poor scene placement, character growth (development) throughout the script and absence of scene subtext. This book is filled with useful information any writer, regardless of skill level, can benefit from. And perhaps the most practicable information this book has is the detailed maps of previously produced and released films. Maybe you're stuck on what your main character's Fatal Flaw should be. You can refer to these sample maps, see what type of Fatal Flaws the characters in their movies had, and generate a Fatal Flaw for your character. The information in this book is a steal. The price is a steal. What you will take away from it and achieve as a writer will be a steal. Heck, it might even be a robbery years down the road when your script gets produced and grosses $500 million at the BO.