Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 73
 Almost Worthless May 12, 2007
R. Peterson
8 out of 17 found this review helpful
There are at least two valuable books on screenplay writing - this is not one of them. Once a writer has read David Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible" and Robert McKee's "Story", it is obvious that "How Not to Write a Screenplay" is full of obvious points and platitudes that are almost worthless. Most of this book is excerpts from screenplays that blatenly seem to be there so the book has more pages. Don't waste money your money on Flinn's book.
 Read this one - but not first. March 11, 2007
gely (Charlotte, NC)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have several "How to" books on screenplay writing. If you do too, then you need this one. It tells you what you are doing wrong. I promise many more than one "Oop!" moment from this entertaining and easy to read work.
Entertaining overview of the things most new screenwriters do wrong August 29, 2006
K. Cramer (Tampa, FL USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Flinn has a sense of humor. That is the first thing one notices while reading his book, and that's the one thing that makes it stand out.
"How NOT to Write a Screenplay" is a witty and entertaining tool for learning the DOs and DON'Ts of the screenwriting craft. Packed full of examples drawn from real and make-believe scripts, it can be a definite help to a writer new to the industry. Anyone who has ever read another of the many available books on script formatting will find his commentary amusing. For example:
"Don't use (CONTINUED) at the top and bottom of each page. You're wasting four lines. Anyone reading your screenplay who doesn't know he's supposed to turn the page is a numskull."
Or his comments regarding music suggestions:
"Leave the music track alone: 'THIS SHOULD BE AN UPBEAT SCENE WITH A GOOD MUSIC TRACK.' (Darn. The studio really wanted to use a bad music track.)"
The second half of the book, covering content and story development, provides similar information to that of books by more well-known authors such as Linda Seger or Syd Field, but offers that information encapsulated in smaller sections that make everything quite easy to relate to...sections such as "Suspense", "Believability", "Twists" and "Whammies".
While the book doesn't teach you how to write the perfect screenplay, it does cover many of the practical details. Its strength isn't in storycraft but rather in addressing all the little details screenwriters tend to forget or abuse. Though some of the information is repetitive, there are plenty of examples and excerpts from screenplays -- some good, most bad, and some you may even recognize. Flinn's advice coupled with the many examples can help you avoid the pitfalls so many screenwriters encounter.
Excellent workbook August 7, 2006
Barbara J. Gilmer (North Carolina)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
So happy I purchased this before starting my screenplay so I didn't have to do endless edits.
As a reader of many bad screenplays Mr. Flinn certainly knows the pitfalls that will keep a screenplay from even being finished. excellent workbook.
Barbara Gilmer
 Okay, Okay August 5, 2006
Charles Brashear (Corvallis, OR United States)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a book that could have been a long article, or two. But those article would have been interesting. I found the book getting very repetitive in the last half, when we started getting the same material over and over again. But the notions is good: that you need short scenes, with a whammy.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 73
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