Screenwriting gurus and so-called experts

Craig and John look at why the books and seminars purporting to teach screenwriting are generally terrible, trying to reduce the hard work of the craft to a series of formulas and templates. It’s a rare podcast in which I sway Craig’s opinion whatsoever, but if you listen really carefully, I think he leaves the show just slightly less negative about screenwriting books than he started. It’s all about degrees with Craig. Plus, we get a visit from the LAPD, follow-up on residuals, and a bit more about unionizing videogame writers. LINKS: Crime rates in Los Angeles (Wolfram-Alpha) Syd Field’s classic book Screenplay. Christopher Volger’s The Writer’s Journey Stuart’s review of Vogler’s book Linda Seger’s Making a Good Script Great (Note that none of the books listed above are actually recommended. But we talk about them, so it feels fair to provide links.) Intro: Jem and the Holograms Outro: Exquisite Corpse by Casey Spooner You can download the episode here: AAC. UPDATE 12-13-11: The transcript of this episode can be found here.The post Screenwriting gurus and so-called experts first appeared on John August.